Ear barotrauma causes discomfort in the ear due to pressure differences between the inside and outside of the eardrum. It may include damage to the ear.
Causes
The air pressure in the middle ear is most often the same as the air pressure outside of the body. The eustachian tube is a connection between the middle ear and the back of the nose and upper throat.
Swallowing or yawning opens the eustachian tube and allows air to flow into or out of the middle ear. This helps equalize pressure on either side of the ear drum. If the eustachian tube is blocked, the air pressure in the middle ear is different than the pressure on the outside of the eardrum. This can cause barotrauma.
Many people have barotrauma at some time. The problem often occurs with altitude changes, such as flying, scuba diving, or driving in the mountains. If you have a congested nose from allergies, colds, or an upper respiratory infection, you are more likely to develop barotrauma.
Blockage of the eustachian tube could also be present before birth (congenital). It may also be caused by swelling in the throat.
Symptoms
Common symptoms include:
Dizziness
Ear discomfort or pain in one or both ears
Hearing loss (slight)
Sensation of fullness or stuffiness in the ears
Other symptoms may develop if the condition is very bad or goes on for a long time, such as:
Ear pain
Feeling of pressure in the ears (as if underwater)
Moderate to severe hearing loss
Nosebleed
Exams and Tests
During an exam of the ear, the health care provider may see a slight outward bulge or inward pull of the eardrum. If the condition is severe, there may be blood or bruising behind the eardrum.
Severe barotrauma may cause the eardrum to look similar to an ear infection.
To relieve ear pain or discomfort, you can take steps to open the eustachian tube and relieve the pressure, such as:
Chew gum
Inhale, and then gently exhale while holding the nostrils closed and the mouth shut
Suck on candy
Yawn
When flying, DO NOT sleep as the plane prepares to land. Repeat the listed steps to open the eustachian tube. For infants and small children, nursing or taking sips of a drink may help.
Scuba divers should go down and come up slowly. Diving while you have allergies or a respiratory infection is dangerous. Barotrauma may be severe in these situations.
If self-care steps do not ease discomfort within a few hours or the problem is severe, you may need to see a provider.
You may need medicine to relieve nasal congestion and allow the eustachian tube to open. These include:
Decongestants taken by mouth, or by a nose spray
Steroids taken by mouth, or by a nose spray
You may need antibiotics to prevent or treat an ear infection if barotrauma is severe.
Rarely, surgery may be needed if other treatments do not work to open the tube. In this procedure, a surgical cut is made in the eardrum to allow pressure to become equal and fluid to drain (myringotomy).
If you must change altitude often or you are prone to barotrauma, you may need to have surgery to place tubes in the ear drum. This is not an option for scuba diving.
Outlook (Prognosis)
Barotrauma is usually a benign, self-limited condition that responds to self-care. Hearing loss is almost always temporary.
Try home care measures first. Contact your provider if the discomfort does not ease after a few hours.
Contact your provider if you have barotrauma and new symptoms develop, especially:
Drainage or bleeding from the ear
Fever
Severe ear pain
Prevention
You can use nasal decongestants (spray or pill form) before altitude changes. Try to avoid altitude changes while you have an upper respiratory infection or active allergy symptoms.
Talk to your provider about using decongestants if you plan to scuba dive.
Peak DA. Scuba diving and dysbarism. In: Walls RM, Hockberger RS, Gausche-Hill M, eds. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 131.
Van Hoesen KB, Lang MA. Diving medicine. In: Auerbach PS, Cushing TA, Harris NS, eds. Auerbach's Wilderness Medicine. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2017:chap 71.
Review Date 5/30/2022
Updated by: Josef Shargorodsky, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
The Eustachian tube (/juːˈsteɪʃən/), also called the auditory tube or pharyngotympanic tube, is a tube that links the nasopharynx to the middle ear, of which it is also a part.
is blocked, the air pressure in the middle ear is different than the pressure on the outside of the eardrum. This can cause barotrauma. Many people have barotrauma at some time. The problem often occurs with altitude changes, such as flying, scuba diving, or driving in the mountains.
Symptoms usually occur only during the change in pressure, and perhaps for a short time afterward. More severe cases, including serous otitis media, can last longer, perhaps weeks or months. Perforations of the eardrum often heal on their own, but this can take weeks.
Ear barotrauma is a type of ear damage. It is caused by pressure differences between the inside of the ear and the outside of the ear. It can cause pain and sometimes lifelong (permanent) hearing loss.
Barotrauma is physical tissue damage caused by a pressure difference between an unvented space inside the body and surrounding gas or fluid. The damage is due to shear or overstretching of tissues.
Ear barotrauma is usually the result of difficulties in equalizing the middle ear pressure during descent, such as during a dive or airplane descent. Inner ear decompression sickness on the other hand is caused by the formation of inert gas bubbles within the microvessels and inner ear fluids during assent.
Barotrauma may be severe in these situations. If self-care steps do not ease discomfort within a few hours or the problem is severe, you may need to see a provider. You may need medicine to relieve nasal congestion and allow the eustachian tube to open.
Grade 1: diffuse redness and retraction of the TM. Grade 2: Grade 1 plus slight hemorrhage within the tympanic membrane. Grade 3: Grade 1 plus gross hemorrhage within the TM. Grade 4: Dark and slightly bulging TM due to free blood in the middle ear (a fluid level may also be present)
Keep the ear dry. Initial treatment involves oral decongestants and nasal spray to help open the eustachian tube. Antihistamines may also be prescribed if an allergy is a contributing factor. Pain medications are helpful, and eardrops to relieve pain may be used if the eardrum is not ruptured.
When pressure builds up in the ears, people can usually relieve it by yawning, chewing gum, or wiggling the jaw. If these do not help ears pop, a person may need a nasal spray or other medical treatment. From altitude changes to ear infections, there are many reasons why pressure may build up in the ears.
Ear barotrauma may make your ears feel full and you may have trouble hearing. Rarely, ear barotrauma causes a ruptured eardrum. Sinus barotrauma (sinus squeeze or barosinusitis) Sudden or extreme changes in air or water pressure may put pressure on your sinuses, making them hurt.
This compression and expansion can cause pain and damage to tissue. Barotrauma most often affects the ears. However, barotrauma affecting the lungs (pulmonary barotrauma) is the most serious.
With monsters lurking around every corner and rogue players to contend with, Barotrauma gives gamers plenty to think about when in the game. For this reason, the title has something of a steep learning curve and can be challenging for beginners at first.
Pulmonary barotrauma is a potentially life-threatening complication in patients on mechanical ventilation. It is important to recognize and quickly act to prevent barotrauma for prolonged periods as this may lead to significant morbidity and mortality in patients intubated in the intensive care unit.
However, it should be possible to relieve the symptoms of mild ear barotrauma by using certain techniques to help open the eustachian tube. This allows air to enter or leave the middle ear to equalize the pressure. These techniques include: Chewing gum, sucking on a lozenge, swallowing, or yawning.
In conclusion, barotrauma is damage caused by pressure differences in the body, especially in the ears, lungs, and sinuses. Deaths from barotrauma are commonly associated with diving, especially freediving and gear diving. flow in or out so that the pressure in these cavities balances the pressure in the environment.
Many cases of barotrauma will resolve spontaneously and without any treatment. If barotrauma is caused by allergies or respiratory infections, it will often be resolved when the underlying cause has been resolved. Mild to moderate cases take an average of up to two weeks for a full recovery.
Eustachian tube dysfunction is a condition where the tubes that connect your middle ears to your upper throat become blocked. This can lead to discomfort, hearing difficulties and a feeling of fullness in your ear. Eustachian tube dysfunction usually resolves itself in a few days.
Most small eardrum perforations will heal within three to six weeks. Other eardrums may heal many months after the initial rupture. This time frame varies depending on the size of the hole in your eardrum. Your ear may take longer to heal if you have an ear infection or other complications.
You may be able to open the blocked tubes with a simple exercise. Close your mouth, hold your nose, and gently blow as if you are blowing your nose. Yawning and chewing gum also may help. You may hear or feel a "pop" when the tubes open to make the pressure equal between the inside and outside of your ears.
Introduction: My name is Greg O'Connell, I am a delightful, colorful, talented, kind, lively, modern, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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Ear anatomy
