Analysis of the otorhinolaryngological problems caused by mask-wearing in the coronavirus disease 2019 era.

A survey with 26 questions was sent by e-mail to 576 individuals.

The most frequently worn masks were three-layer surgical ear loop masks (n = 434, 80.1 per cent), followed by N95 or filtering facepiece code 2 masks (n = 58, 10.7 per cent), and cloth masks (n = 50, 9.2 per cent). The most bothersome symptoms caused by mask-wearing were difficulty in nasal breathing (n = 227, 41.8 per cent), nasal itching and pain (n = 93, 17.2 per cent), earache (n = 88, 16.2 per cent), difficulty in expressing oneself (n = 73, 13.5 per cent), difficulty in understanding speech (n = 56, 10.3 per cent), and ear itching (n = 5, 0.9 per cent).

The problems associated with mask-wearing may result in avoidance of wearing them. Thus, there is a need for new methods that will reduce the problems related to mask-wearing, to increase their use in the community.

We report the previously undocumented complication of gustatory itching following superficial parotidectomy.

Case report and review of the English literature concerning Frey's syndrome, complications of superficial parotidectomy and the pathophysiology of itching.

A 49-year-old woman developed gustatory itching following a superficial parotidectomy. Her symptoms were satisfactorily managed with topical and oral antihistamine preparations. We propose a neurophysiological pathway involving acetylcholine and histamine to explain this phenomenon.

To our knowledge, this is the first documented case of gustatory itching following superficial parotidectomy. The use of antihistamine preparations appears to effectively manage this symptom, without the need for invasive procedures.