Investigation of auricula morphometry in the population of Marmara region

The auricle (pinna), located in the outermost part of the ear, is a complex sensory organ and contributes to the aesthetic appearance of the facial region. It picks up sound waves from the environment and transmitting them to the external auditory canal. In addition, abnormalities or traumatic changes in the pinna, whose projections on either side of the head are used to attach devices such as eyeglasses, earrings, headphones, and surgical masks, cause aesthetic and auditory problems in individuals. Detailed morphometric information about the location and complex structure of the auricle is required for surgical procedures and the insertion of prostheses to correct these problems. Based on the discourse about the "musical ear," the question also arises whether the pinna, which plays an important role in the perception of sounds, exhibits anatomical differences between professional musicians and other members of society. The aim of our study was to determine the average values of the auricular morphology in the population of the Marmara region, to determine whether the surgical masks used due to the pandemic have caused a change, and to investigate whether the "musical ear" term is related to the auricular morphology. A total of 83 volunteers, 53 males (21 musicians) and 30 females (9 musicians), participated in our study. The morphometric measurements of the participants' auricles and facial region were measured using a digital calliper and a rigid tape measure. Participants were given a brief questionnaire asking for information such as demographic characteristics and use of glasses/headphones. Our study was conducted in compliance with the protection of personal data according to the Declaration of Helsinki, and the data obtained were analysed with descriptive and comparative statistics (Mann-Whitney U test, one-way test ANOVA) using GraphPad Prism version 8.0 software. The statistical significance value was determined as p<0.05, and all data were presented in tables as mean±standard deviation and min-max values. The morphologic data obtained in our study were compiled as male and female professional musicians and not musician population (control group), and presented in tables as number of participants, min-max values, mean, and standard deviation of anthropometric measurements. Comparisons between groups revealed that there were significant differences between male and female participants on most measures. In addition, there were few statistically significant differences between the height of the right lobulus auriculae between the professional musicians and the control group (musicians, 16.34±2.21, n=30; control group, 17.61±2.94, n=53, p=0.04). . The distance between the left commissura lateralis palpebrarum and the subaural point showed a statistically significant difference between the men in the control group and the men playing music (control group, 92.78± 3.70, n=31; musicians, 90.34± 3.98, n=21, p=0.027). The left auricle index was significantly different between musician men and women (p=0.013). No significant difference was found between the other index values of the right and left auricles. When comparing the right lobulus index between the musician and control groups, there was a statistically significant difference (p=0.0184). In our study, the average morphometric values of the auricles of males and females residing in the Marmara region were determined. As observed and expected in previous studies, the morphometric values of males were significantly higher than those of females. Compared with other studies conducted in Turkey before the pandemic, an increase in auricular protrusion values was observed, and it was predicted that this increase was not related to the wearing of glasses but to the wearing of masks. When asked about the relationship between music making and auricular morphology, no significant morphometric difference was found between musicians and non-musicians. It is believed that it would be useful to study the radiological images of the external auditory canals and temporal bone of the participants to reveal in detail the relationship between the discourse about the "musical ear" and the anatomy of the ear. Keywords: Auricle, Morphometry, Marmara Region