The ideal auricular protrusion - An interactive perceptual pilot study

Area of Science:

• Plastic Surgery
• Aesthetic Medicine
• Facial Aesthetics

Background:

• Excessive ear protrusion (prominauris) can impact facial appearance.
• The ideal auriculocephalic angle for surgical intervention remains controversial.
• Current surgical planning often assumes angles over 30° require correction, lacking public perception data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess public perception of varying degrees of ear protrusion.
• To determine aesthetic preferences for ear protrusion angles in relation to evaluator and model sex.
• To establish a target angle for corrective ear surgery based on aesthetic perception.

Main Methods:

• An interactive panel survey was conducted with 44 dental medicine students (22 male, 22 female).
• Evaluators assessed digitally altered images of male and female models with ear protrusions ranging from 0° to 90°.
• Attractiveness of auricular appearance was the primary outcome, analyzed against evaluator sex, model sex, and protrusion angle.

Main Results:

• Attractiveness ratings showed sexual dimorphism, with different perceptions for male and female models.
• Male evaluators preferred closer-fitting ears on female models (18° ± 9.38°) and male models (30° ± 7.94°).
• Negative aesthetic impact began at 42° (female clone) and 54° (male clone); ideal protrusion was perceived as 21-24° for both sexes.

Conclusions:

• Ear appearance perception is influenced by the sex of both the evaluator and the individual depicted.
• Less prominent ears are generally preferred, with greater acceptance of protrusion in males compared to females.
• A target angle of approximately 22° is recommended for corrective ear surgery to achieve desirable aesthetic results.