Aural hygiene practices among underprivileged children of Delhi

Though ear hygiene is important for proper hearing, it is usually neglected. Improper ear care practices may have serious consequences such as loss of hearing. In childhood, loss of hearing may affect learning and development. There is scarcity of information on ear care practices in the community in India. We aimed to ascertain the magnitude of problems related to aural hygiene and assess ear care practices among children of schoolgoing age in a resettlement colony of Delhi.

A cross-sectional community-based survey was done among 1398 children 5-14 years of age. The houses were selected by systematic random sampling and all eligible children in the selected house were interviewed and examined. The data were analysed using SPSS version 12 and chi-square test was used to ascertain significance between two variables.

Almost two-thirds (60%; 834) of the children gave a history of themselves or an elder cleaning the ear using unhealthy methods. Earbuds were used by 21.7% (304) of children. Match and broomsticks were used for cleaning by 18.3% (256) and 3% (43) of children, respectively. One hundred and fifty-nine children (11.3%) were applying oil to clean the ear canal. Ear cleaning with unhealthy means was significantly higher (56% v. 44%, p<0.03) among children belonging to low socioeconomic strata. There was a significant association between unhealthy ear cleaning practices and middle ear infection (p<0.001).

A majority of children practised unhealthy/ not recommended methods for cleaning their ear. There is a need to raise awareness about healthy ear cleaning practices in the community.