Prevalence of External Auditory Canal Exostoses in Surfers

• Published in: Archives of otolaryngology, head & neck surgery Vol. 125; no. 9; pp. 969 - 972
• Main Authors: Wong, Brian J. F, Cervantes, William, Doyle, Karen Jo, Karamzadeh, Amir M, Boys, Phillip, Brauel, George, Mushtaq, Ednan
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago, IL American Medical Association 01.09.1999
• Subjects: Adult; Athletic Injuries - etiology; Biological and medical sciences; California; Cold Temperature - adverse effects; Ear Canal - injuries; Ear, auditive nerve, cochleovestibular tract, facial nerve: diseases, semeiology; Endoscopy; Exostoses - etiology; Female; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Non tumoral diseases; Otorhinolaryngology. Stomatology; Risk Factors; Swimming - injuries; California; Human; Surf; Sport; Prevalence; External auditory canal; Cross sectional study; External ear disease; ENT disease; Localization; Epidemiology; Exostosis; Gravity
• ISSN: 0886-4470; 2168-6181; 1538-361X; 2168-619X
• DOI: 10.1001/archotol.125.9.969

OBJECTIVE To determine (1) the prevalence of external auditory exostoses in a population of surfers and (2) the relationship between the length of time spent surfing and the prevalence, severity, and location of the exostoses. DESIGN Cross-sectional epidemiological study. SETTING General community. PATIENTS Three hundred seven avid surfers (93.5% males and 6.5% females; age distributions: 11.2% were ≤20, 67.9% were 21 to 40, 17.5% were 41 to 50, and 3.3% were >50 years). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Questionnaires focusing on surfing habits (number of years, geographic region, and number of days per year of surfing) were correlated with otoscopic findings. A simple grading system was devised, based on the degree of external auditory canal stenosis. Grades of normal, mild, moderate, and severe corresponded to 100%, 99% to 66%, 65% to 33%, and less than 33% effective patent surface area, respectively. RESULTS There was a 73.5% overall prevalence of external auditory exostoses and a 19.2% overall prevalence of osteomas in the group studied. Of 441 ears with exostoses, 54.2% were mild, 23.6% were moderate, and 22.2% were severe. Of individuals who had surfed for 10 years or less, 44.7% had normal ear canals and only 6% had severely obstructed auditory canals. In comparison, in the group that had surfed for longer than 20 years, only 9.1% had normal auditory canals and 16.2% were severely affected. Of surfers with no exostoses, 61.1% had surfed for 10 years or less. In contrast, of surfers with severe exostoses, 82.4% had surfed for more than 10 years. Finally, the lesions seemed to affect all external auditory canal quadrants equally. CONCLUSION A positive association exists between the amount of time individuals spend surfing and the presence and severity of exostoses of the external auditory canal.Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1999;125:969-972-->