Published in:
01-12-2021 | Otology
Impact of ear protection on occurrence of exostosis in surfers: an observational prospective study of 242 ears
Published in: European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology | Issue 12/2021
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Purpose
The aim of the study was to investigate the efficacy of ear protection (earplug and surf hood) in preventing the development of external auditory exostosis (EAE) in surfers.
Methods
We performed a prospective observational study. Volunteer surfers were recruited from June 2016 to October 2017 on the Brittany coast in France. Each participant filled in a questionnaire and underwent otoscopic digitalized photography to establish the degree of external ear obstruction by two different practitioners. The correlation between the percentage of external ear obstruction and the time spent in water with or without protection was evaluated. Risk factors of EAE were assessed.
Results
Two hundred and forty-two ears were analysed. The incidence of EAE was 89.96% with an average rate of obstruction of 37.65%. Risk factors for EAE were male sex (p = 0.0005), number of years practicing surf (p < 0.0001) and symptoms of ear obstruction (p = 0.0358). A significant correlation was found between EAE severity and number of hours spent in water without any protection (earplugs or surf hood) (p < 0.0001). No correlation was found between EAE severity and time spent in water with earplugs (p = 0.6711) but a correlation was identified between obstruction and time spent in water with surf hood (p = 0.0358).
Conclusions
Wearing earplugs is an effective way to prevent EAE in surfers unlike surf hood.