[The relationship between the ear protective measures and the prevalence of external auditory canal exostoses]

To determine the relationship between the ear protective measures during winter swimming and the prevalence, severity of the incidence of external auditory canal exostoses.

Three hundred and fifteen people who enjoyed swimming were recruited as research subject (62.2% males and 37.8% females; age distribution: 4.4% were ≤ 40, 40.3% were 41 to 60, and 55.2% were > 60 years). People fill in the questionnaires including personal information, the ear protection measures, the time of winter swimming, the history of ear infections and so on, and questionnaires were correlated with otoscopic findings. We classify external auditory canal exostoses according to the degree of the stenosis of external auditory canal s. Grades of normal,mild, moderate and severe corresponded to 100%, 99% to 66%, 65% to 33%, and less than 33% respectively.

Of 110 ears with exostoses, 63.6% were mild, 23.6% were moderate, and 12.7% were severe. Among the group of without ear protection during winter swimming, about 33.0% have auditory canal exostoses and 4.6% were severely affected. In comparison, in the group that had ear protection, only 2.8% had external auditory canal exostoses and no one had severely obstructed auditory canal.

A negative association exists between the ear protection measures during winter swimming and the prevalence and severity of exostoses of the external auditory canal. That means taking ear protective measures when having winter swimming can prevent the onset of the external auditory canal exostoses and reduce its severity.