Author ORCID Identifier
Susan Voss: 0000-0002-3937-8145
Aaron Remenschneider: 0000-0003-0989-6264
Soomin Myoung: 0009-0004-9956-9455
Nicholas J. Horton: 0000-0003-3332-4311
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2025
Publication Title
Trends in Hearing
Abstract
This study provides a comprehensive analysis of ear canal geometry from 0.7 to 91 years, based on high-resolution computed tomography scans of 221 ears. Quantified features include cross-sectional areas along the canal’s length, total canal length, curvature, and key anatomical landmarks such as the first and second bends and the cartilage-to-bone transition. Significant developmental changes occur during the first 10 years of life, with adult-like characteristics emerging between ages 10 and 15 years, likely coinciding with puberty. Substantial interindividual variability is observed across all ages, particularly in the canal area. The canal becomes fully cartilaginous at and lateral to the second bend by 0.7 years, with further growth occurring only in the bony segment thereafter. These anatomical findings have important implications for audiologic threshold assessments, wideband acoustic immitance measures, age-appropriate hearing aid fitting schedules, and surgical planning, particularly in pediatric populations where anatomical variation is greatest.
Keywords
ear canal anatomy, ear canal development, wideband acoustic immitance (WAI), hearing-aid fitting
Volume
29
First Page
1
Last Page
22
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Rights
© The Author(s) 2025
Version
Version of Record
Recommended Citation
Voss, Susan E.; Remenschneider, Aaron K.; Farrar, Rebecca M.; Myoung, Soomin; and Horton, Nicholas J., "Comprehensive Measurements and Analyses of Ear Canal Geometry From Late Infancy Through Late Adulthood: Age-Related Variations and Implications for Basic Science and Audiological Measurements" (2025). Engineering: Faculty Publications, Smith College, Northampton, MA.
https://scholarworks.smith.edu/egr_facpubs/161