Level of Knowledge of Using Cotton Bud with The Accident of Cerumen Impaction in Students of Faculty of Medicine, Palangka Raya University

The ear requires proper care to function as part of the auditory system. However, many people are unaware of maintaining ear health. A contributing factor is a lack of knowledge. Cotton buds disrupt the ear's natural cleaning mechanism by pushing earwax deeper, causing cerumen impaction. Medical students are expected to educate the public on ear health. This study examined the relationship between knowledge levels and cerumen impaction using a cross-sectional approach with proportionate stratified random sampling. A total of 162 respondents were involved, including 76 students from the 2021 intake and 86 from the 2022 intake. The results showed 80 respondents (49.4%) had good knowledge, 62 (38.3%) sufficient knowledge, and 20 (12.3%) insufficient knowledge. A total of 53 respondents experienced cerumen impaction. Bivariate analysis indicated a significant relationship between knowledge level and cerumen impaction with a p-value = 0.017 (<0.05).