Supplementary Files
Keywords
External Ear
Ear care practices
IgA
Knowledge-attitude-practice
Physicians
How to Cite
Abstract
Objective: To assess the knowledge, practice, and attitude of MBBS doctors regarding ear hygiene and analyse the statistical association with their clinical speciality and duration of professional experience.
Methods: This cross-sectional-analytical study was conducted at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Niazi Welfare Foundation Teaching Hospital, from October 2024 to March 2025, after obtaining ethical committee approval. A structured questionnaire was distributed among 520 MBBS doctors, recruited through convenience sampling. Data were analysed using SPSS version 23. Descriptive analysis was conducted for all variables, and one-way ANOVA was used to explore statistical associations between the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices (KAP) of MBBS doctors and their clinical speciality and experience.
Results: Among the 520 study participants (mean age: 33.2 ± 9.9 years; 59.2% female), 77.7% correctly recalled the ear canal's curved anatomy, but only 52.7% acknowledged cerumen’s immunological function. More than half (56.9%) of study participants confessed to using cotton buds, with 51.5% cleaning their ears more than twice a week. Itching was identified as the most common (38.5%) stimulant for inserting objects in the ear canal, and 12.3% had a history of self-inflicted ear injury. Only 47.7% referred to ENT specialists for ear problems. Clinical speciality showed a significant positive association with KPA (p < 0.05), except for the influence of parental habits (p = 0.66).
Conclusion: A significant knowledge gap was identified among many MBBS doctors, reflecting their unsafe ear cleaning practices. Educational corroboration is prudent to promote knowledge of ear hygiene and evidence-based counselling in clinical practice.
Keywords: Cerumen, External Ear, Health behaviour, IgA, Physicians.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Muhammad Zubair Khan, Muhammad Nasir Akram Kundi, Sheraz Bashir, Mohsin Raza, Junaid Hussain, Sana Muhammad Sadiq