There is a difference for sure. Linguistically speaking, "ear" reads as [ɪə], and year as [jɪə], or [jɜː] In other words, there is a sound similar to Spanish "y" or "ll" in the beginning of the word in case of "year".

En thefreedictionary.com hay archivos sonoros para muchas palabras inglesas, tanto en inglés nortemericano como en británico. No más haga clic en el icono de altoparlante, o en las “banderitas” norteamericana e inglesa.

You can listen to it here (British accent) http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=ear&submit=Submit http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=year&submit=Submi Here is a video which tells the difference in american accent: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLpf70c3aTY

Year is pronounce with the semi vowel sound "j" [jɪə]

When you say "y", your tongue actually rises up in you mouth.