I don't remember anything about ears in the Midas myth. Do you?
"Mr Merdle was immensely rich; a man of prodigious enterprise; a
Midas without the ears, who turned all he touched to gold.''
"
I found the myth:
After the death of his daughter, Midas hated wealth and splendor and became a worshiper of Pan, god of woodlands. In another myth, Pan challenged Apollo, god of the music, to a test of skill at music. Tmolus, god of the mountain, was the judge at the contest and ruled that Apollo was the victor. Midas, being a follower of Pan, questioned the ruling and this offended Apollo. As a punishment for Midas' lack of musical "taste", Apollo changed Midas' ears into donkey ears. Ashamed of his disfigurement, he hid his ears under a large hat with only his barber knowing about the deformity. It was so hard for the barber to keep the secret that he dug a hole, whispered the secret into the hole, then covered it with earth. From this spot grew reeds that whispered, "Midas has donkey ears!" every time the wind blew. Another version has the queen letting out the secret. In the end, Midas ran away from Phrygia never to be heard from again.
