Skip to main content
ASOHNS ASM 2026
Seasonal Trends in Google Searches for Otological Conditions within Australasia
Poster

Poster

Themes

ASOHNS

Presentations Description

Institution: Logan Hospital - Queensland, Australia

Introduction: Online search data offers insights into health-seeking behaviour. While clinical seasonality for otitis externa (OE) and otitis media (AOM) is established internationally, Australasian seasonality for otological complaints is unknown. Aim: To investigate and compare seasonality of Google search trends for common otological conditions and symptoms in Australia and New Zealand. Methods: Monthly Google Trends RSV data (2004-2024) was extracted for Australia (AU) and New Zealand (NZ). Searches were analysed for "Otitis Media" (AOM) and "Otitis Externa" (OE). Three symptoms ("ear pain," "otorrhoea," "hearing loss") were analysed for Australia only. All RSV data was aggregated by Southern Hemisphere seasons. A Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn's post-hoc analysis identified seasonal differences. Results: A highly significant seasonal pattern was found for "Otitis Externa" in both AUS (P<0.0001) and NZ (P=0.0481), peaking in Summer. Conversely, "Otitis Media" (AUS: P<0.0001; NZ: P<0.0001) and "Hearing Loss" (AUS: P<0.0001; NZ: P<0.0001) demonstrated an opposite seasonality. Both peaked in cooler months (Winter/Spring) and were lowest in Summer. No significant seasonality was detected for the more general symptoms of "Ear Pain" (AUS: P=0.7041; NZ: P=0.4609) or "Otorrhoea" (AUS: P=0.7279; NZ:P=0.3739) in either country. Conclusion: Public search interest for specific otological diagnoses strongly aligns with clinical seasonality across both nations. The binational Winter/Spring peak for "AOM" and Summer peak for "OE" are robust. The non-seasonal nature of general symptoms like "ear pain" in Australia suggests they are a proxy for multiple conditions. These insights can be used to time public health campaigns, such as "swimmer's ear" prevention, in late spring, or to optimise seasonal availability of ototopical antibiotics.
Speakers
Authors
Authors

Dr Fred Chuang - , Dr Bernard Whitfield -