Background and Objectives: Cerumen is a common physiological condition; it only becomes a problem if it causes a hearing impairment or other ear-related symptoms. There is increasing evidence for a relationship between stress and hearing problems. The study aims to understand the association between acute stress and increasing cerumen secretion among medical students during exams.
Materials and Methods: The study is a retrospective, single-center, and consecutive case series conducted in Benha University Hospitals in Egypt We defined four cases of medical students who complained of earwax accumulation during their final exams from the 15th to the 13th of July 2021.
Results: Four medical students participated in the study. Younger Females and males’ percentages were equal, and the mean age was 19.625 years old. Headache, ear discomfort, and ear pruritus are most common, followed by tinnitus, ear debris, and otitis media with effusion, while hearing loss, fever, and ear pain are slightly rare. The bilateral accumulation of earwax is typical than unilateral accumulation. Remowax was used in almost of cases and then ear wash. Males had high perceived stress, while females had moderate stress.
Conclusions: This retrospective case series showed an association between acute stress and excessive cerumen secretion among small medical students during their final exams.