#Symptoms of barotrauma ear how to

In rare situations, the increase in middle-ear pressure during a normal ascent can cause reversible injury of the facial nerve and weakness of the facial muscles. Inner-ear barotrauma can develop secondarily in individuals with middle-ear barotrauma, causing rupture of the labyrinth and leakage of liquid from the inner ear. It may involve bleeding, rupture of the eardrum and fullness of the ear. Special cases: Middle-ear barotrauma is usually associated with the acute onset of ear pain. Inner-ear DCS symptoms usually occur within 30 to 60 minutes of surfacing and generally require significant depth-time exposure. Inner-Ear DCS Systemīoth ear barotraumas and inner-ear DCS can cause vertigo (a severe spinning sensation), hearing loss, tinnitus (ringing in the ear), nausea and vomiting.Įar barotrauma symptoms occur abruptly during descent or in the course of an ascent.

Special cases: In the case of a mild spinal DCS injury, a diver may initially complain of lower back pain and bilateral leg numbness and yet still have normal strength and sensation.Ģ. Behavioural and cognitive aspects of cerebral DCS may be persistent or slow to improve. The neurological examination may show hemiparesis (i.e., weakness on right or left side), dysphasia (i.e., disturbance of speech and language), loss of balance and difficulty with gait, partial loss of vision in both eyes and other focal signs. The neurological examination will often reveal weakness or paralysis of both legs and a partial or complete loss of sensation.Ĭerebral DCS can occur alone or in combination with spinal DCS and manifests as confusion, weakness, headache, gait disturbance, fatigue, diplopia (i.e., double vision) or visual loss. Patients complain of paresthesias (i.e., pins and needles) and sensory loss in the trunk and extremities, a tingling or constricting sensation around the chest or abdomen, ascending leg weakness that can range from mild to severe, lower back or pelvic pain and loss of bowel and/or bladder control.

#Symptoms of barotrauma ear how to

How to tell the difference: Spinal DCS is caused by spinal cord damage, most often in the thoracic segment. Cerebral symptoms are present in 30 to 40 percent of neurological DCS cases, while spinal cord symptoms are found in 50 to 60 percent of neurological DCS cases Diving injuries involving the nervous system, including decompression sickness ( DCS), arterial gas embolism ( AGE) and ear barotrauma ( EBT), are blessedly rare, but when they do happen, these conditions require prompt diagnosis and treatment to prevent serious and lasting injury.Ĭommon symptoms: Distinguishing between spinal and cerebral manifestation of DCS is of academic interest only, and the treatment – emergency oxygen and hyperbaric therapy – is the same.