Morphological changes of the human pinna in relation to age and gender of Urhobo people in Southern Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: The knowledge of anthropometry of normal human ear and symmetry is required for the timing of surgical reconstructions, when the contra lateral organ cannot be used as a template and for the design of hearing aid instruments. Ear prints have a potential for personal identification, and reference anthropometric data that consider age and sex related modifications are necessary. Purpose of the study: The purpose of this study was to measure the morphological length and width of the pinna and ear lobe among the Urhobo people of Southern Nigeria (aged 6 to 60 years). Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study adopted the multistage sampling technique. The study subjects comprised 368 Urhobo individuals (191 males and 177 females). Results: Total ear length, Ear width, Lobular length and Lobular width, were measured with digital vernier caliper (in millimeter) and recorded in a proforma. The mean total ear length, ear width, lobular length, and lobular width across the entire cohort for both left and right sides were 56.79 [+ or -] 4.26 mm, 30.47 [+ or -] 1.99mm, 15.36 [+ or -] 1.99mm and 16.12 [+ or -] 1.66mm respectively. Pearson's correlations between right and left sides in each of the parameters were positive and highly significant (P = 0.001). The effect of age on the parameters measured as analyzed with two-way factorial ANOVA showed statistical significance (P = 0.001) on both sides. The effect of gender on the parameters measured reached statistical significance only in the cases of lobular length on the right (P = 0.03) and lobular length on the left (P = 0.01); other parameters were not significant (P > 0.05). Conclusion: This will be useful in surgery, forensic human identification and product designs.