Formal education about hygienic aural care and the relationship between aural hygiene awareness and practices: a cross-sectional study from a super-speciality hospital in West Bengal, India

Background: The result of poor ear care and hygiene behaviours are often encountered in otology practice. There is also lack of any proper guideline of hygienic ear care behaviours. The present study aims to assess the awareness and practice of hygienic ear care behaviours of the community, in the light of the guidelines as per WHO Primary Ear and Hearing Care Training Resources-Basic level.Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at Baruipur Sub-Divisional Hospital serving semi urban population of South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India. Patients and parents (in case of children below the age of six years) were interviewed. Maintaining the inclusion and exclusion criteria after obtaining informed consent 480 participants were included in the study who responded to a validated self-reported semi structured questionnaire.Results: The mean age was 32.44 (±18.95) years. Around 51.3% were male, 81.25% were professionals. Majority belonged to nuclear family (52.083%) and Islam (53.333%). Around 88.958% of the population had practice of ear care behaviour which was poor. Joint family had an odds of 2.86 (p value=0.002) and Islam by religion had an odds of 1.99 (p value=0.044) for a higher level of awareness. Educated group had an odds of 4.07 (p<0.001) for higher awareness. Aware group had an odds of 19.95 (p<0.001) in favour of having hygienic ear care practices.Conclusions: The study demonstrated lack of formal education regarding ear hygiene at the community level. Dearth in formal knowledge leading to poor practices is compounded with several socio-cultural issues.

A rare cause of nasolacrimal duct obstruction: Dentigerous cyst in the maxillary sinus.

The most common abnormality of the lacrimal drainage system is congenital or acquired nasolacrimal duct obstruction. The causes of acquired nasolacrimal duct obstruction may be primary or secondary. The secondary acquired obstructions may result from infection, inflammation, neoplasm, trauma or mechanical causes. The maxillary sinus cysts usually obstruct the nasolacrimal duct mechanically. Dentigerous cysts are one of the main types of maxillary cysts. These cysts are benign odontogenic cysts which are associated with the crowns of unerupted teeth. The clinical documentations of mechanical nasolacrimal duct obstructions due to a dentigerous cyst in the maxillary sinus are very rare in literature. In this case report, we describe a dentigerous cyst with a supernumerary tooth in the maxillary sinus in an 11-year-old male child causing an obstruction to the nasolacrimal duct. The case was successfully managed surgically by Caldwell Luc approach.

Care of nasal airway to prevent orthodontic problems in children.

Obstruction in the upper respiratory passage is a cause of mouth breathing. A mouth breather lowers the tongue position to facilitate the flow of air in to the expanding lungs. The state of equilibrium of forces inside themouth is disturbed, thereby resulting altered soft tissue force acting on the bones in between. The resultant effect is maldevelopment of the jaw in particular and deformity of the face in general. Setting of the teeth on the jaw is also affected. All these make the face to look negative. So, to prevent orthodontic problem in children, it is necessary to detect the nasopharyngeal obstruction and treat the same accordingly.

Geriatric problems in otolaryngology.

Overall data in the feld of 'gerontology' are scarce in India. Some major geriatric problems in otolaryngology like presbyacusis, disequilibrium, vertigo, tinnitus, nasal and pharyngeal changes, voice change, dysphagia, arthritis, snoring, falls, have been briefly addressed to in the present article.