Hold Ear

It could mean he held his hands up to ears to block the noise.

khoffIt could mean he held his hands up to ears to block the noise.

This interpretation would be my first choice provided he held his own ears.

CJ

Yes -- I meant to say "he held his hands up to his ears" (not just any random ears.) I guess that's still ambiguous, but I did mean "his own ears."

Could it also mean holding the ear lobes between the thumb and index finger?

SheltieBitesCould it also mean holding the ear lobes between the thumb and index finger?

Yes. And in the case of Vincent VanGogh, one of them might be detached from his head.

CJ

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/magazine/18Afghanistan-t.html?pagewanted=2&page

"The blast from the bomb was sharp and deep, and a dirty cloud shot up a hundred feet. Waves from the blast shot out, toward the village and toward us. Ten Marines at the front of th

holding their ears and eyes = they had their hands cupped around their ears/eyes.
Had you provided the context of a blast earlier, we could have answered you more rapidly.

On the off chance that you suggest that their ears had become sectioned from their head and that the Marines were holding them between their thumb and index finger, thi