Seamen proudly sported earrings as a mark of their travels and voyages. Earrings were given to young sailors to commemorate their first crossing of the equator, or when they rounded the treacherous waters of Cape Horn, the southernmost tip of South America.
Earrings were also worn for superstitious reasons. Some pirates were convinced that wearing an earring would improve or even cure bad eyesight, as they believed that the precious metals in an earring possessed magical healing powers. Another tale was that pierced ears would prevent seasickness. Others believed that a gold earring served as a protective talisman and that a man wearing an earring wouldn’t drown.
wearing hoop earrings did serve one truly beneficial purpose for living sailors. "Pirates, especially those who fired the ships’ cannons during close combat with the enemy, dangled wads of wax from their earrings to use as earplugs,
Wearing earrings didn’t protect pirates from drowning, seasickness or bad eyesight, but at least it helped protect them against hearing loss.
Earrings made of gold and silver were used as money . If a pirate or sailor drowned and washed up on the beach, the earrings would serve as payment for a proper Christian burial. Sometimes, they engraved the name of their home port on the inside of the earring so that their bodies could be sent to their families for a proper burial.
I am not a pirate nor have I ever played one on T.V. but, I have never had earrings either. A personal choice I would say! If I was to go out on the high seas I would probably get gold, silver and platinum earrings to help from getting sea sick!