Yes, protruding or "sticking out" ears are largely genetic. The shape and position of the ear are determined by cartilage development in the outer ear (pinna), and variations in this development are strongly influenced by inherited genes. The condition is often called "prominent ear" or, in medical terms, can involve underdevelopment of a fold called the antihelical fold or an overly deep concha (the bowl-shaped part of the ear), both of which cause the ear to stick out farther from the head than average.
Family patterns are commonly observed — protruding ears often run in families, and studies suggest they can follow an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern with variable expression, meaning a parent with prominent ears has a reasonably high chance of passing the trait to a child, though not everyone who inherits the predisposition will have the same degree of protrusion. Some research has pointed to specific genes involved in cartilage and connective tissue formation, but no single "prominent ear gene" has been definitively isolated, and the trait is likely polygenic (influenced by multiple genes) with some environmental or developmental factors also playing a minor role during fetal development.
It's worth noting that ear position and shape can also be affected by factors unrelated to heredity, such as sleeping position in infancy, minor trauma, or rare syndromes, but the vast majority of cases in otherwise healthy individuals are simply a heritable variation in normal ear anatomy, similar to other physical traits like ear size or earlobe shape.
If protruding ears cause self-consciousness or social concern, options like ear-molding for infants (most effective in the first few weeks to months of life, when cartilage is still soft) or otoplasty (a surgical procedure) later in childhood or adulthood can reshape the ear, but the underlying tendency itself is not something that can be changed genetically.