Frequency of complications in aural foreign bodies

Objective: to determine the frequency of three complications in terms of bleeding,laceration of external auditory canal and perforation of tympanic membrane due to presence of foreign body in external auditory canal. material and methods: this was a randomized study. one hundred and ninty six patients that presented during six months were included in our study by consecutive non-probability sampling. otoscopic examination of both ears was carried out and patients with incidental findings were also included. after removing the foreign body,laceration,ear bleed,and perforation of tympanic membrane and its type were documented. results: twenty five percent of patients developed bleeding,(13.8%) were having laceration while none of the patient presented with tympanic membrane perforation. cotton bud was found to be the commonest foreign body (33.7%) with associated bleeding. conclusion: cotton buds are not suitable for ear cleaning,it causes bleeding and lacerations. © 2008 khyber medical college peshawar.