Ear, nose diseases on the rise in Nigeria, experts warn

…Say Cotton Bud Not Good For Ears

As the controversy surrounding President Muhammadu Buhari’s medical trip to the United Kingdom (UK) over a “persistent ear infection” continues, some Ear, Nose and Throat (E.N.T) specialists in Nigeria have raised the alarm over growing E.N.T complaints among Nigerians.

The E.N.T specialists called for urgent steps to curb the trend in the country.

Explaining reasons behind the rise of E.N.T diseases among Nigerians, Head of E.N.T Department at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Dr. Vincent Adekoya, said wrong lifestyles and practices was a major cause.

Speaking with The Guardian yesterday in an exclusive interview, Adekoya stated that conversing over the phone for at least 20 minutes consecutively everyday could create hearing problems, adding that noise pollutions from social gatherings, generators and bakery outfits have contributed to the high number of Nigerians coming down with E.N.T problems.

Adekoya stated that LASUTH sees about 140 patients every week in its E.N.T clinic days.

“People’s habits can make them to have ear problems. You can see people wearing ear sets to listen to music, exposing themselves to generator noise and noise from social gatherings. These produce hazards and pollutions that can actually damage the ear,” Adekoya added.

Corroborating Adekoya’s position, an E.N.T surgeon with the Military Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, Dr Johnson Ukeje, stated that “when you do screening for most Nigerians, you will notice ear problems.”

Ukeje explained that the “common factor responsible for hearing loss in our environment is noise pollution”, adding that “although we are living in a noisy environment”, there are no checks to control it.

“Moreover, we see a lot of people using cotton bud to clean out the dirt in their ears. But when you use cotton bud to clean your ear, you cause more problems than you tend to solve because cotton bud is contra-indicated for the ear; you are not supposed to clean the ear since the ear cleans itself.”