What is the treatment for ear barotrauma?įortunately, majority of ear barotrauma does not need any treatment and recovers fully on its own. Ventilation tubes placed in the ear drums for people who fly frequently.Taking decongestants or antihistamines half an hour to 1 hour before flight / diving.If these situations are unavoidable, some precautions that may help include during the change in pressure: diving, taking frequent airplane flights). People at risk of ear barotrauma should avoid exposing themselves to situations that result in a sudden change in atmospheric pressure (E.g. Babies and young children in a plane often cry during take off or landing as this helps open their Eustachian tubes to cope with the change in pressure. It is likely that their Eustachian tubes are not functioning as efficiently as they should.Īs one of the Eustachian tube opening is in the nose, if nasal allergies, colds or sinus infection, you may be more likely to sustain an ear barotrauma.Įustachian tubes in children and babies are smaller, less matured and positioned in a way such that they are not as effective as adult Eustachian tubes. in a tall building or mountains) are more likely to sustain ear barotrauma. People who has problems equalizing their ears during flight or in areas of high altitude (E.g. People with Eustachian tube dysfunction.There are 3 main groups of people who might be at risk of ear barotrauma: The pressure difference can be large enough to cause blood vessels and ear drum to rupture.įigure taken from “Koriwchak MJ, Werkhaven JA. When this occurs, there is a difference in pressure across the ear drum (look at the figure below). In ear barotrauma, the Eustachian tube fails to cope with the change in pressure. Maneuvers to actively open the Eustachian tube includes Valsalva maneuver (trying to “pop” your ear by blowing out against a pinched your nose and closed mouth), yawning, chewing and crying. It helps to equalize the pressure the pressure in the middle ear and that of the outside environment. The Eustachian tube is a bony-cartilaginous tube that connects the middle ear to the back of the nose (area known as nasopharynx). It is a condition in which one experiences ear symptoms (usually discomfort, blockage, pain or giddiness) as a result of exposure to changes in pressure in the environment (usually from a change in altitude) She was advised to take precautions to avoid such situation in the future. A clinical examination showed complete resolution of the blood in her middle ear. Upon review in the clinic about a month later, Ms A was happy that her symptoms have resolved and her hearing is now back to normal. Picture of a normal left ear canal and ear drum Picture of Ms A’s left ear drum with blood behind it Picture of Ms A’s right ear drum with blood behind it (reddish hue) I explained to Ms A that she sustained a barotrauma to her middle ear and reassured her that the blood behind her ear drum (known medically as hemotympanum) will resolve on its own with time. This resulted in a conductive hearing loss which was confirmed on a hearing test (audiometry). On clinical examination, there was a collection of blood in both her middle ears, just behind her ear drums. She did give a history of having ear discomforts during flights. She denied any ear discharge, giddiness, headaches or nasal symptoms. She was worried that she might have sustained a permanent injury to her ears. I recently saw a patient, Ms A who suffered from blocked ears and ear pain after taking her first diving lesson.
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