KNOWLEDGE OF CERUMEN AND EFFECT OF EAR SELF-CLEANING AMONG HEALTH WORKERS IN A TERTIARY HOSPITAL.

BACKGROUND

Ear wax lubricates, cleans and protects the external auditory canal while ear self-cleaning can lead to ear infections, trauma and perforation of the tympanic membrane. An erroneous understanding of these facts can lead to wrong practices with grievous consequences.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the knowledge on ear wax and the effects of ear self-cleaning among health workers in Nigeria.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was done on health workers in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria with administration of structured questionnaire. Knowledge of the participants on the effect of ear self-cleaning were classified as poor, fair or good based on the calculation of their knowledge score.

RESULTS

Out of 150 respondents, 10.7% of them had good knowledge of ear wax and the health effects of self-ear cleaning while 51.3% had poor knowledge. There was strong association between knowledge score and occupation (x2=24.113, P=0.007), while there was no association between knowledge score and practice of ear self-cleaning.

CONCLUSION

Most respondents had poor knowledge of the function of ear wax and the damage to the auditory canal associated with ear self-cleaning. There is thus, the need for public enlightenment on the complications of the practice.