3/20/2023 0 Comments Clean ear practiceThis study aimed to determine the self-ear cleaning practices and associated risk of injury and related symptoms in undergraduate students at KwaZulu-Natal University. The practice is common among young adults and highest in university than any other graduates. Self-ear cleaning is the insertion of objects into the ear canal to clean it, a widespread practice that has the potential to compromise its integrity as a natural, selfcleansing mechanism, and a risk factor for possible injuries. In order to rectify the erroneous views, more public health education is needed to dissuade people from practicing self-ear cleaning and teach them about the function of cerumen and problems associated with self-ear cleaning. Conclusion: Self-ear cleaning is a widespread practice, and most respondents showed a lack of knowledge regarding ear-cleansing mechanisms. About 32% of them clean to remove the dirt and 29.30% clean to improve their ear hygiene. In contrast, 274 (50.4%) thought that we do not have to remove the wax from our ears constantly. Forty-four (8.1%) of participants thought that it is harmful to self-clean your ear. Results: A total of 544 participants responded to the survey, 351 (64.5%) were males and 193 (35.5%) were females, age between 18 to 55. We included all people aged between 18 to 90 years who live in Makkah region, also we excluded health care workers and who had previous ears, nose, and throat injuries. Methods: Cross-sectional online survey performed in May 2021 among general population to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices of self-ear cleaning. we have concluded this study to assess the local community's knowledge about ear-cleaning, attitudes toward ear care, and self-ear cleaning practices. Wrong self-ear cleaning attempts may lead to cerumen impaction, injuries, and otitis externa. Trained health care providers should be consulted whenever someone has a problem related to hearing or any other symptoms.īackground and aim: Cerumen or ear wax is a normal secretion from sebaceous and ceruminous glands found in the external auditory canal. Community education to avoid this practice is therefore of paramount importance. CONCLUSION: In addition to ridding the ear of its natural protection, self-ear cleaning is associated with a risk of injury to the ear drum and retention of foreign bodies. Several complications arising from this practice included perforation of eardrum, retained foreign body and otitis externa. Wax/dirt removal was the commonest reason for engaging in this practice. The commonest method used for ear cleaning was cotton buds with an average of 69.6%. RESULTS: On average the prevalence of self-ear cleaning amongst all studies was 76.6%. Articles older than 15 years or published in languages other than English were excluded. The inclusion criteria included: article published in English language study carried between 20 inclusive article discussing materials used and complications associated with self-ear cleaning. Many articles were retrieved but only a few were about self-ear cleaning and only seven could be included in this review. METHODS: Electronic retrieval of articles for review was done from PubMed, Google and Google scholar with key-ward – self-ear cleaning, ear-wax, cerumen. This review paper aims to determine the prevalence of self-ear cleaning, the common methods used and the complications associated with this practice. Potentially, this rids the ear of its protective defences in addition to posing a risk of ear related injuries. It is a common practice amongst many individuals. Self-ear cleaning refers to self-insertion of objects into the ear canal, with an attempt to remove the wax to get rid of these symptoms. Build-up of this wax in the ear causes hearing loss, pain in the ear, irritation, dizziness and ringing in the ears. Jaw movements, like during chewing, moves the old earwax from inside the ear canal to the outside and finally flakes off. It also has some antibacterial properties. This wax is important for protection of the ear by trapping dust and other foreign particles that could damage the eardrum. BACKGROUND: Naturally the ear produces soft wax from the sebaceous and ceruminous gland.
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