Barotrauma after flying - inner ear or middle ear ? (forceful valsalva several times)

[theotheo]

Hello to all,

I hope you guys can help me a bit,

yesterday I have been flying with a sudden onset of cold ( I took nasal and oral congestants before the flight). Upon landing bouth ears clogged even though trying to equalize pressure. The right ear, in which I have slight tinnitus since an acoustic trauma, had some very minor pain during the landing. No dizzines, no vertigo, no nausea.

Unfortunately afterwars I did try several times the valsalva maneuver with a lot of pressure which lead to a squeaking sound in my left ear and disappearing of the clogging. Right ear unaffected and I tried the same several times more -> one time squeaking sound like liquid blubbering again which did help a bit. Still a bit clogged. I took pseudoephedrine afterwards and went to sleep, ear still clogged. no clicking sounds affecting my right ear so far till then, in the morning I had some clicking sound when swallowing (i do not do the valsalva anymore as I found out it can be very harmful). Now my right ear feels like pressure is equalized but still a bit muffled/ dump and my tinnitus did increase.

Do you guys think I could have induced inner ear damage through doing valsalva ?

Regarding my cold - my nose is not stuffy anymore, but still some mucous in the thorat and occasional coughing. Really fearing the tinnitus got a permanent spike...

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

Hello to all,

I hope you guys can help me a bit,

yesterday I have been flying with a sudden onset of cold ( I took nasal and oral congestants before the flight). Upon landing bouth ears clogged even though trying to equalize pressure. The right ear, in which I have slight tinnitus since an acoustic trauma, had some very minor pain during the landing. No dizzines, no vertigo, no nausea.

Unfortunately afterwars I did try several times the valsalva maneuver with a lot of pressure which lead to a squeaking sound in my left ear and disappearing of the clogging. Right ear unaffected and I tried the same several times more -> one time squeaking sound like liquid blubbering again which did help a bit. Still a bit clogged. I took pseudoephedrine afterwards and went to sleep, ear still clogged. no clicking sounds affecting my right ear so far till then, in the morning I had some clicking sound when swallowing (i do not do the valsalva anymore as I found out it can be very harmful). Now my right ear feels like pressure is equalized but still a bit muffled/ dump and my tinnitus did increase.

Do you guys think I could have induced inner ear damage through doing valsalva ?

Regarding my cold - my nose is not stuffy anymore, but still some mucous in the thorat and occasional coughing. Really fearing the tinnitus got a permanent spike...

Hello @theotheo ,

I'm sorry to hear about this. From your description it sounds like you suffered from bilateral middle ear barotrauma. A forceful Valsalva maneuver can lead to inner ear barotrauma, and tinnitus is one symptom of this. Unfortunately the only way to definitively diagnose this is surgically. It is reassuring that you did not experience any vertigo and you haven't reported hearing loss, just muffling, which could also come from middle ear barotrauma. Still, I would recommend that you see an otologist (an ear/nose/throat physician who specializes in ear issues) as soon as possible. Also tagging @doctormike , who is an ENT physician and rebreather diver.

Best regards,
DDM