Liam Palmer says his dream is to serve in the British Army. But the military won't accept the 21-year old with gaping holes in his earlobes from ear piercings, followed by stretching the skin with plugs. "I don't regret it. [Wearing ear plugs] was just a part of who I was," Palmer says about his younger counter-culture days of gelled hair, skinny jeans and ear plugs - also known as ear gauges or "tribal" ear piercings. "Patients realize [ear gauges] are not becoming in terms of job hunting or work - sort of like tattoos," Edwards says.