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Preventing preeclampsia may be as simple as taking an aspirin. Caring for an aging parent? Tips for enjoying holiday meals. A conversation about reducing the harms of social media. Menopause and memory: Know the facts. A tiny cut may be made in the eardrum. In rare cases, a ventilation tube in the eardrum may be needed to equalize pressure between the middle ear and outside air. This may help cut your risk for these problems. You can take steps to help prevent ear barotrauma.
If you are congested from a cold or allergies, you may want to delay flying, driving in the mountains, or scuba diving. Or you can take medicines such as a decongestant or antihistamine. These may help your ears equalize more easily and prevent ear barotrauma. Pinching your nose, closing your mouth, and then acting as if you were going to breathe out through your nose. The eustachian tube links the middle ear to the throat to equalize pressure and drain fluid as needed.
These may help you if you need high pressure oxygen therapy for wound healing. A surgeon places these tubes in the eardrum. They then help even out pressure differences. Ventilation tubes can't prevent ear barotrauma caused by diving. When an airplane climbs or descends, the air pressure changes rapidly. The eustachian tube often can't react fast enough, which causes the symptoms of airplane ear. Swallowing or yawning opens the eustachian tube and allows the middle ear to get more air, equalizing the air pressure.
You may also experience a minor case of barotrauma while riding an elevator in a tall building or driving in the mountains. Any condition that blocks the eustachian tube or limits its function can increase the risk of airplane ear. Common risk factors include:. Airplane ear usually isn't serious and responds to self-care.
Long-term complications can rarely occur when the condition is serious or prolonged or if there's damage to middle or inner ear structures. In a Valsalva maneuver, you gently blow your nose while pinching your nostrils and keeping your mouth closed. If you're prone to severe airplane ear and must fly often or if you're having hyperbaric oxygen therapy to heal wounds, your doctor might surgically place tubes in your eardrums to aid fluid drainage, ventilate your middle ear, and equalize the pressure between your outer ear and middle ear.
Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. The good news is that ear barotrauma usually goes away on its own after a few hours or days, as the pressure slowly equalizes. The even better news is that some simple rules -- whether you're going underwater or up in the air -- can help you cope with it, ease your recovery, or even make sure it never happens at all.
Ear barotrauma occurs when the pressure inside your ear -- on the interior side of your eardrum -- is higher than it is outside. Flying and underwater diving are the most common causes, because they're the two times most of us find ourselves dealing with pressure outside the normal range. However, if you've ever climbed or driven up a steep hill, your ears may have popped, just like when you're on a flight.
That popping sensation means your eardrum is trying to equalize those levels so the pressure is the same on both sides of the eardrum. You can avoid or ease this painful experience with the common go-to tricks, like chewing gum and yawning during your ascent, and by making sure you and your children are awake during ascent and descent to help your body make these equalizations as easily as possible. But because this is a process your body has to do for itself, there's only so much you can do.
Think about the pain of sinus pressure when you have a cold, for example. That's due to a similar problem, only instead of a sudden change in pressure outside your body, it's an internal pressure buildup due to the obstructions of mucus and inflammation. In fact, doctors recommend the same preventive treatment for ear barotrauma as this more familiar type of pressure: A decongestant, taken according to the label, throughout your flight, will help your body's equalization procedures move as quickly and efficiently as possible.
For scuba divers , it's key to your certification that you understand how barotrauma works, what it's doing to you, and how you can avoid it.
Divers have a much higher danger of other types of barotrauma, because going underwater also involves a difference between the air in your lungs and the pressure of the water outside you. If you're having lung problems -- chronic ones like asthma, or even just a cold -- you're going to have more trouble regulating that pressure.
As a diver, you're cautioned never to hold your breath, because it could cause your lungs to balloon up, essentially, which can be incredibly painful and cause real damage to your respiratory system.
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