Earlobe Size

Your result, the one DNA position behind it, and what the research says.

6/10 confidence.

About Earlobe Size

Earlobe shape is the trait most often used to teach simple inheritance in school, usually as attached versus free with one gene deciding. That is wrong. Large studies have found dozens of positions involved, and the result is a continuous range rather than two neat categories. This position is one of the contributors that turns up repeatedly in ear-shape studies, alongside effects on the smaller ridges and bumps of the outer ear. It is a good illustration of a textbook example that did not survive contact with real data.

Good to know: Attached versus free earlobes is not a single-gene trait, despite the textbooks. Dozens of positions contribute, producing a continuous range. Earlobes lengthen with age, independently of genetics.

Fun fact: Earlobe shape was taught for decades as a clean dominant-recessive example, and large genetic studies eventually showed the textbook version was simply wrong.

Discovery: Large ear-morphology studies from 2015 onward mapped dozens of contributing positions, replacing the single-gene story.

The Variant

The single variant behind this trait

Gene: Near LINC01780

Variant (rsID): rs17023457

Location: Chr 1:119,333,107

dbSNP rs17023457

The studies

A genome-wide association study identifies multiple loci for variation in human ear morphology (Adhikari K et al., Nature communications, 2015)

Evaluation of loci to predict ear morphology using two SNaPshot assays (Noreen S et al., Forensic science, medicine, and pathology, 2023)

DNA-based prediction of external ear morphology in the Chinese population: an exploratory study (Wang X et al., PeerJ, 2025)

Other lifestyle traits

Earwax & Body Odor: A single ABCC11 variant sets whether your earwax is wet or dry - and tracks with how much underarm odor you produce.

Sneezing at Bright Light: A common variant linked to the photic sneeze reflex, the sudden urge to sneeze on stepping from shade into bright sunlight.

Pain Sensitivity: A change in the sodium channel that pain-sensing nerves use to fire, linked to where your pain threshold sits.

Back to All Traits

Content updated September 2026.

ReadYourDNA provides educational interpretation of DNA data you already have. It is not diagnostic, not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Talk to a clinician before acting on any result.

Raw DNA Data Reports for 23andMe & AncestryDNA · About ReadYourDNA · FAQ · Methodology & Science · Pricing · Support and complaints · Legal & Contact · Health Traits · Pharmacogenomics · Carrier Status · Variant Explorer · The Human Karyotype · Privacy Policy · Terms of Service · Accessibility · Consumer Health Data Privacy · Your Privacy Choices · Editorial Standards · Your Data, Checkable · Sample Report · ReadYourDNA and Promethease compared · What is inside a 23andMe raw data file · What is inside an AncestryDNA raw data file · What a chatbot can and cannot do with your raw DNA file · Where a raw DNA file can still be uploaded in 2026

Written, maintained and operated by Martin Pechhacker, sole proprietor, Vienna, Austria. Trade register GISA 40064420. support@readyourdna.com