Awareness and attitudes towards external auditory canal exostosis and its preventability in surfers in the UK: cross-sectional study.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the proportion of UK surfers aware of external auditory canal exostosis, to identify surfer characteristics associated with knowledge of the condition and to explore attitudes to earplug use.


METHODS
An online, cross-sectional survey of UK-based surfers.


RESULTS
Of 375 surfers, 86.1 per cent (n = 323; 95 per cent confidence interval = 82.3-89.3) reported awareness of external auditory canal exostosis. Further investigation revealed that, despite their awareness of the condition, 23.4 per cent of these surfers (88 out of 323; 95 per cent confidence interval = 19.5-28.0) had little or no knowledge about external auditory canal exostosis. Predictors of knowledge included: distance from nearest surfing beach (p = 0.001), surfing standard (ability) (p = 0.008), earplug use (p = 0.024) and positive external auditory canal exostosis diagnosis (p = 0.009).


CONCLUSIONS
The findings suggest that a significant minority of UK surfers have no knowledge about this condition. Knowledge of external auditory canal exostosis was significantly associated with earplug use when surfing. Efforts to improve surfers' knowledge are required to enable surfers to better protect themselves, which could reduce the incidence of external auditory canal exostosis.
School of Health and Population Sciences,University of Birmingham,UK.
S
S
Morris
ENT Department,Worcester Royal Hospital,UK.
T
T
Martin
Clinical Institute of Applied Health Research,University of Birmingham,UK.
D
D
Mccahon
School of Health and Population Sciences,University of Birmingham,UK.
S
S
Bennett
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004424:Ear Canal; D004427:Ear Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D004430:Ear Protective Devices / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005096:Exostoses / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013550:Swimming; D006113:United Kingdom; D055815:Young Adult
Attitude; Awareness; Cross-Sectional Studies; Ear Canal; Ear Diseases; Ear Protective Devices; Exostoses; General Practitioners; Sports