title: Foreign bodies in the external auditory canal: Influence of age on incidence and outcomes in a Japanese population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Otolaryngologists occasionally observe foreign bodies (FB) in the external auditory canal (EAC), although relatively few studies have focused on the role of age in this condition.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively compared the incidences, outcomes and complications of FB in the EAC in different age groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patients at our center included 24 children (19%), 46 adults (37%) and 56 older adults (44%). Compared with adults, older adults were significantly more likely to have FB (peak age 75-79 years), be women (18/46 vs 34/56, P = 0.0461) and be unaware of their FB (18/46 vs 34/56, P = 0.0461). We observed that all EAC FB were more common during the summer, and biotic FB were not observed during the winter. Complications were more common in cases of biotic FB, compared with abiotic FB (5/27 vs 6/99, P = 0.0421).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings show that older adults are particularly susceptible to FB, are frequently unaware of their FB and can develop complications. These characteristics should be considered before treating FB in the EAC. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 2131-2135.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Yoshida General Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakao
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Aichi Medical University, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Tohru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanigawa
authors.affiliation: Division of Biostatistics, Clinical Research Center, Aichi Medical University, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenta
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Murotani
authors.affiliation: Public Health Center, Okazaki City Medical Association, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Jun-Ichi
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Yamashita
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D004424:Ear Canal; D005260:Female; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: external auditory canal; foreign body; geriatric