Otologic consequences of blast exposure: a finnish case study of a shopping mall bomb explosion

Objective-On 11 October, 2002, in the Myyrmanni shopping mall, Vantaa city, Finland, an explosion by a suicide bomber killed 7 people and injured at least 160, 44 of whom had ear trauma. We investigated the acute and subacute otologic consequences of the explosion. Material and Methods-Otologic examination of the 29 patients treated for ear trauma at the ENT clinic of the University Hospital of Helsinki was performed during the first month after the explosion, and a questionnaire was completed regarding subjective aural symptoms. Symptoms occurring directly after the explosion and for up to 1 month afterwards were assessed. Results-Of the 29 patients, 66% had tinnitus as the initial symptom, 55% hearing loss, 41% pain in the ears and 28% sound distortion. Tinnitus and hearing loss in combination were experienced by 12 patients (41%). Eight patients who had been situated