Pronounced with the final consonant vocalized (the "tch" sound as opposed to the "shh" sound), it refers to the big, flat open area inside the ear, behind the aural opening. It is tempting to get large gauge piercings in the conch, because it is a wide open field of possibility, without having to dramatically alter the shape of the ear (as sometimes must happen to get large lobe piercings). Unfortunately, the conch is composed of very brittle cartilage, so stretching in the conch can be dangerous and may result in shattering. Dermal punching is a convenient way to create a large hole without stretching, but it can be extremely painful and is sometimes regarded as cheating by piercing afficianados.

If a left ear looks something like this, the conch is the area denoted by the asterisks:

 ____
/ _  \
\_ \  |
 \ *| |
 /*_/ |
     /
 \__/