Ear Barotrauma (Airplane ears).

The ear is one of the most important sense organs of the human body and could be very inconvenient if one gets really troubled with it. The ear is divided into three parts: the outer part, middle and the inner part. The pressure between the out and the inner ears must be balance to cause inconveniences.

Ear Barotrauma is a disturbance experience especially when one boards the airplane. It might not be that common but to a certain percentage, it disturbs the ear drum. It occur when there is a change in pressure when one is in the air or water. It is commonly experience during scuba diving in water or in the  airplane when one  ascend or descend the air.

 

This is different from ear tinnitus which is a symptom of some underlying disease, this could be controlled by little exercise before boarding the airplane or scuba diving. One can decide to chew gum or chew as one enters the environment that changes the pressure between the outer and the inner part of the ears. It usually clears up by itself when the pressure is balance. But to some persons, it takes a longer time to clear up and they need to go talk to a doctor and sometimes a surgical approach could be used to correct it.

 

The blockage of the eustachain tube that connects the ear to the mouth is usually the common cause of this illness. if there is a blockage in the tube, the pressure in the inside and outer part of the middle ear could change, causing the symptoms. 

 

Doctors describes this illness into two, the acute and chronic barotrauma, the mild barotrauma always clears before one sees the doctor because the pressures betwen the outer and inner ears would have been balanced The chronic ones could result into ear drum rupture; one should report to the doctor if one notice any water droplet or blood during the barotrauma.

 

One way is to ensure that one clears the blockage between the ear and the mouth is through the mouth. By chewing, swallowing, yawning or sucking on lozenge one could clear the blockage in the eustachain tube and avoid barotrauma especially before boarding the airplane. One could see the doctors for chronic cases and one should avoid diving into water when one experience it and avoid droplet to your ears.