Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T16:11:36.989Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

An awareness and prevalence study of Irish cold-water athletes and external auditory canal exostoses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2022

S Boyle*
Affiliation:
ENT Department, Sligo University Hospital, Ireland
R Keane
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, Sligo Institute of Technology, Ireland
M Jinih
Affiliation:
Department of Cardiothoracics, The Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
E McCarthy Deering
Affiliation:
ENT Department, Sligo University Hospital, Ireland
N Patil
Affiliation:
ENT Department, Sligo University Hospital, Ireland
M Choo
Affiliation:
ENT Department, Sligo University Hospital, Ireland
*
Author for correspondence: Dr S Boyle, ENT Department, Sligo University Hospital, The Mall, Rathquarter, SligoF91 H684, Ireland E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Objective

This study aimed to determine the awareness, otological symptoms and prevalence of external auditory canal exostoses in Irish cold-water athletes.

Method

An online and in person cross-sectional survey was undertaken with Irish cold-water athletes to explore athletes' awareness, known prevalence of external auditory canal exostoses and attitudes towards preventive measures.

Results

Of the 926 participants surveyed, 67.5 per cent were aware of external auditory canal exostoses. Triathletes reported the lowest awareness (39.9 per cent) among water athletes. A total of 9.7 per cent (n = 90) had previously been diagnosed with external auditory canal exostoses and 46.7 per cent (n = 42) were non-surfers. Ear symptoms were reported in 76 per cent of athletes. Otoscopic examinations showed that 23.7 per cent had external auditory canal exostoses, 3.6 per cent of whom were aware of their diagnosis.

Conclusion

The majority of Irish surfing athletes are aware of external auditory canal exostoses. There is less awareness with regard to Ireland's newly emerging sports such as open water swimming and triathlons. Over 90 per cent of athletes surveyed had no idea they had external auditory canal exostoses, which highlights the need to increase public awareness.

Type
Main Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of J.L.O. (1984) LIMITED

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Dr S Boyle takes responsibility for the integrity of the content of the paper

Presented at the Irish Otolaryngology Society Meeting, 12 October 2018, Ballymena, Northern Ireland and The Sylvester O'Halloran Meeting, 28 February 2019, Limerick, Ireland.

References

Cooper, A, Tong, R, Neil, R, Owens, D, Tomkinson, A. External auditory canal exostoses in white water kayakers. Br J Sports Med 2010;44:144–7CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Alexander, V, Lau, A, Beaumont, E, Hope, A. The effects of surfing behaviour on the development of external auditory canal exostosis. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2015;272:1643–9CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Swim Ireland. 2019. In: https://www.swimireland.ie [20 March 2022]Google Scholar
Triathlon Ireland. 2019. In: https://www.triathlonireland.com [20 March 2022]Google Scholar
Canoe Ireland. 2019. In: https://canoe.ie [20 March 2022]Google Scholar
Surfing Ireland. 2019. In: https://www.irishsurfing.ie [20 March 2022]Google Scholar
Lennon, P, Murphy, C, Fennessy, B, Hughes, JP. Auditory canal exostoses in Irish surfers. Ir J Med Sci 2016;185:183–7CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morris, S, Martin, T, McCahon, D, Bennett, S. Awareness and attitudes towards external auditory canal exostosis and its preventability in surfers in the UK: cross-sectional study. J Laryngol Otol 2016;130:628–34CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Simas, V, Hing, W, Pope, R, Climstein, M. Australian surfers' awareness of ‘surfer's ear’. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med 2020;61:e000641CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reddy, VM, Abdelrahman, T, Lau, A, Flanagan, PM. Surfers' awareness of the preventability of ‘surfer's ear’ and use of water precautions. J Laryngol Otol 2011;125:551–3CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Attlmayr, B, Smith, IM. Prevalence of ‘surfer's ear’ in Cornish surfers. J Laryngol Otol 2015;129:440–4CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chaplin, JM, Stewart, IA. The prevalence of exostoses in the external auditory meatus of surfers. Clin Otolaryngol Allied Sci 1998;23:326–30CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hurst, W, Bailey, M, Hurst, B. Prevalence of external auditory canal exostoses in Australian surfboard riders. J Laryngol Otol 2004;118:348–51CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kroon, DF, Lawson, ML, Derkay, CS, Hoffmann, K, McCook, J. Surfer's ear: external auditory exostoses are more prevalent in cold water surfers. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2002;126:499504CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nakanishi, H, Tono, T, Kawano, H. Incidence of external auditory canal exostoses in competitive surfers in Japan. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2011;145:80–5CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wong, BJ, Cervantes, W, Doyle, KJ, Karamzadeh, AM, Boys, P, Brauel, G et al. Prevalence of external auditory canal exostoses in surfers. Arch Otolaryngol 1999;125:969–72CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Simas, V, Remnant, D, Furness, J, Bacon, CJ, Moran, RW, Hing, WA et al. Lifetime prevalence of exostoses in New Zealand surfers. J Prim Health Care 2019;11:4753CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Simas, V, Hing, W, Furness, J, Walsh, J, Climstein, M. The prevalence and severity of external auditory exostosis in young to quadragenarian-aged warm-water surfers: a preliminary study. Sports (Basel) 2020;8:17CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, RD, Schuman, TA, Scott, TA, Mann, SE, Davidson, MA, Labadie, RF. Exostoses of the external auditory canal in white-water kayakers. Laryngoscope 2010;120:582–90CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sheard, PW, Doherty, M. Prevalence and severity of external auditory exostoses in breath-hold divers. J Laryngol Otol 2008;122:1162–7CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ito, M, Ikeda, M. Does cold water truly promote diver's ear? Undersea Hyperb Med 1998;25:5962Google ScholarPubMed
Karegeannes, JC. Incidence of bony outgrowths of the external ear canal in U.S. navy divers. Undersea Hyperb Med 1995;22:301–6Google ScholarPubMed
Fisher, EW, McManus, TC. Surgery for external auditory canal exostoses and osteomata. J Laryngol Otol 1994;108:106–10CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sanna, M, Russo, A, Khrais, T, Jain, Y, Augurio, AM. Canalplasty for severe external auditory meatus exostoses. J Laryngol Otol 2004;118:607–11CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hetzler, DG. Osteotome technique for removal of symptomatic ear canal exostoses. Laryngoscope 2007;117(suppl 113):114CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barrett, G, Ronan, N, Cowan, E, Flanagan, P. To drill or to chisel? A long-term follow-up study of 92 exostectomy procedures in the UK. Laryngoscope 2015;125:453–6CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Whitaker, SR, Cordier, A, Kosjakov, S, Charbonneau, R. Treatment of external auditory canal exostoses. Laryngoscope 1998;108:195–9CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed