Introduction: The most effective preventive measures against COVID-19 among health-care personnel (HCP) are personal protective equipment (PPE) and hand hygiene. The documented side effects of continuous use of mask or PPE are dermatitis, but side effects on the Eustachian tube are untouched areas. The aim of this study was to investigate the Eustachian tube dysfunctions among HCP due to the continuous use of masks. Materials and Methods: This web-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 217 eligible HCP. The sample size was calculated as 97, considering the unknown prevalence of Eustachian tube dysfunctions among HCP (50%), so all HCP were included in the study. A structured questionnaire with close-ended responses was developed to collect study participants' responses. Results: Out of 217 participants, only 207 participants provided their written consent after understanding the study objectives and 206 were included in the analysis as one subject has pre-existing ear disease. The daily hours of mask usage among 52.4% of participants were between 4 and 8 h. About 2.6% of doctors experienced severe pain and pressure in the ear. Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Patient Questionnaire-7 score was significantly higher among females and masked usage of four or more hours (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The present study revealed that 42.3% of participants had Eustachian tube dysfunctions. The study findings might help local administration to provide practical recommendations for medical workers prior head supported masks instead of ear-supported masks, use of ear protectors.

Introduction: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) posed an extraordinary situation in front of humankind with the onset of the year 2020. The Government of India, on March 16, 2020, announced closure of all the educational institutions. The aim of this study was to investigate the accessible and preferable educational resources among medical students during this pandemic phase. Materials and Methods: This web-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 392 undergraduate medical students after obtaining informed consent using a structured questionnaire with close-ended responses. Existence of clustering within the student's preferred educational resources was investigated. Results: The mean age of the study participants was 20.71 ± 1.65, with 51.3% males and 48.7% females. The major responses regarding educational resources were online lectures, online teaching videos, reading textbooks, and written notes. Wilcoxon signed-rank test revealed preference for online lectures, online teaching videos, interactive online materials, and medical apps. Conclusion: As the count of users for educational resources available over the Internet is uprising, now, it is vital to generate evidence-based systems which support teaching merits and provide guidance for efficient teaching material available for online learning.

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