What Is Barotrauma and How Does it Affect Our Ears

Have you ever felt ear pain during a flight? If so, you’ve experienced barotrauma.

According to the National Library of Medicine, “barotrauma is physical tissue damage caused by an unrelieved pressure differential between a surrounding gas or fluid and an unvented body cavity (e.g., sinuses, lungs), or across a tissue plane.”

Why Does Barotrauma Happen When You Fly?

Woman experiencing ear pain on a flight.

Though barotrauma can happen during scuba diving or driving up a mountain, it’s most commonly associated with flying. More specifically during the flight’s ascent and descent when the pressure in the cabin changes more rapidly.

When a plane takes off, the environmental pressure around you decreases and can push your eardrum outward. When the plane begins its landing, the environmental pressure increases and pushes your eardrum inward.

For most people, this is temporary, and their ears work to equalize the pressure, which is what causes the “popping” noise. However, certain people can struggle to equalize, especially those who have an ear infection, cold or other problems with their Eustachian tubes.

Barotrauma Ear Symptoms

Symptoms of barotrauma in the ear include:

Ear pressure or pain that can range from mild to severe
A feeling of fullness in the ears
Muffled hearing or temporary hearing loss
Tinnitus
Feeling dizzy or unbalanced
In more severe cases, bleeding from the ear or a ruptured eardrum

Tips To Avoid Ear Pain on Your Next Flight

The good news is there are things you can do to help prevent or minimize ear issues when flying. Try a few of these tips the next time you head out to catch a flight at the Trenton-Mercer Airport.

Avoid flying when sick if you can help it
Take a decongestant 30 minutes before a flight (ask your doctor if this is safe for you as decongestants may pose a risk to those with certain heart conditions)
Use nasal spray 30 minutes to an hour before takeoff and landing
Try filtered earplugs
Chew gum, suck on hard candy or yawn while ascending or descending to open up your Eustachian tubes
Try the Valsalva maneuver during takeoff and landing. This is where you gently blow through your nose while pinching your nostrils and keeping your mouth closed. You may need to do this several times during descent to equalize pressure in your ears.

If you would like more information about protecting your ears when flying or need to schedule an appointment with one of our experts, call Advanced ENT & Allergy today.