Believe me, I feel just as strongly as you that's it's a silly conspiracy, but I made an emotional bet/response before I did my own research, and that's on me. 

Nobody ever claimed it blew his ear off. The amount of blood I saw live completely makes sense with a cut or nick on your head/ear and/or bullet grazings in general. 

So don't think me paying up means I buy into the conspiracy, because I definitely do not (and I say that as a very conspiratorially minded person!)