Morphometric Study of the External Ear of Ikwerre Indigenes in Rivers State, Nigeria

The external ear is a morphologically complex structure that captures, concentrates, and amplifies sound waves to the inner ear. Morphometry of the external ear is essential in anthropological studies, forensic identification, and clinical applications. This study aimed to evaluate the external ear morphology among adult Ikwerre indigenes of Rivers State, Nigeria. A cross-sectional descriptive design was employed, and 200 healthy participants (100 males and 100 females) aged 18–50 years were selected using simple random sampling. Measurements of auricular height (AH), auricular width (AW), auricular index (AI), lobular height (LH), lobular width (LW), and lobular index (LI) were obtained bilaterally using standardized anthropometric methods. Paired sample t-tests were used to assess right-left differences, while independent t-tests compared male and female measurements. Results revealed that in males, auricular height (right: 54.70 ± 3.65 mm; left: 54.38 ± 2.64 mm; p = 0.02), auricular width (right: 32.93 ± 1.47 mm; left: 32.88 ± 1.48 mm; p < 0.001), and lobular height (right: 16.13 ± 1.07 mm; left: 16.04 ± 1.07 mm; p = 0.001) showed significant bilateral asymmetry, whereas auricular index, lobular width, and lobular index were symmetrical. In females, auricular width, lobular height, lobular width, and lobular index demonstrated right–left differences, while auricular height and auricular index were symmetrical. Comparison between sexes showed that males had significantly larger auricular width, auricular index, and lobular height than females, whereas auricular height and lobular index showed no significant sex differences. In conclusion, the study highlights population-specific patterns of auricular and lobular dimensions, with notable sexual dimorphism and mild bilateral asymmetry. These findings provide essential anthropometric reference data for the Ikwerre population, which may be applied in forensic identification, clinical evaluation, and ergonomic design.