These sensitive membranes are key to the ear’s health.
#Barotrauma ear windows
The inner earįinally, the oval and round windows are within the inner ear. Introducing air into this contracting air space is what equalizes the pressure on the inside of the tympanic membrane with the ambient pressure external to the diver descending through the water column. Therefore, its function is crucial to scuba divers. The Eustachian Tube connects the middle ear to the throat. Here, three tiny bones conduct the sound into a format that our brains can interpret. The average adult’s ear canal is around one inch long (2.4 cm), and on the other side of the eardrum is the middle ear. The auricle, or pinna, of the outer ear - the funnel visible on the outside - is what most of us think of as our “ear.” From here, sound waves funnel down a canal and arrive at the tympanic membrane - the eardrum. Diving with a cold or congestion can also cause ear barotrauma. If the ear cannot cope with abrupt pressure changes, a key area of the ear will likely rupture.
The word “barotrauma” stems from the Greek baros, meaning pressure, and trauma, meaning injury. The human ear consists of three main parts: the external, middle and inner ear. Symptoms can vary from mild to excruciating, with permanent hearing loss in extreme examples. Additionally, around 10 percent of experienced divers have suffered an incident as well. It often relegates divers to land or, sadly, deters potential divers from pursuing the sport at all.Įar barotrauma is incredibly common, hitting approximately 30 percent of first-time divers. New divers learn this information within the first few minutes of every scuba class, but why? Simply put, because ear barotrauma is the most common dive-related injury. Dive instructors always explain the relationship between pressure and volume to new divers, describing the need to descend slowly and steadily, and to equalize air-spaces early and often.
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