Up until recently I never consciously washed behind my ears, I just shampooed & let that do the job, until I read about wiping a finger behind your ear and sniffing it. It was bad
Not that washing behind your ears isn't a good thing to finally start doing, but half the time this'll smell grim because your hands smell grim. It's like the old chestnut of huffing into your hands to smell your own breath, you're smelling your hands not your breath.