MIDDLE EAR BAROTRAUMA

Course overview

EUSTACHIAN TUBE DYSFUNCTION (ETD) AND MIDDLE EAR BAROTRAUMA (MEBT) REMAIN THE TWO MOST COMMON COMPLICATIONS OF SCUBA DIVING, COMMERCIAL DIVING, AND CLINICAL HYPERBARIC OXYGEN TREATMENT (HBO). SIGNIFICANT BAROTRAUMA (BT) MAY BE ASSOCIATED WITH PERMANENT COMPLICATIONS SUCH AS HEARING AND BALANCE DEFICITS; THUS PREVENTION AND RECOGNITION OF ETD AND BT REMAIN IMPORTANT WHEN EVALUATING FOR THE HYPERBARIC ENVIRONMENT AND TREATING A PRESSURE-RELATED INJURY. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF EAR BAROTRAUMA AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN ITS MANAGEMENT.