Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Barotrauma
Barotrauma means injury to your body because of changes in barometric (air) or water pressure. One common type happens to your ear. A change in altitude may cause your ears to hurt. This can happen if you are flying in an airplane, driving in the mountains, or scuba diving. Divers can also get decompression sickness, which affects the whole body.
Common symptoms of ear barotrauma include:
- Pain
- A feeling that your ears are stuffed
- Hearing loss
- Dizziness
Treatments for ear barotrauma include chewing gum and yawning to relieve the pressure. Medications such as decongestants may also help.
It sits within Ear, Nose and Throat and Safety Issues.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Barotrauma
66 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- NASA Exercise Prebreathe StudyDuke University
- Diagnostic Precision and Accuracy Using the Teed Scoring System Versus the O'Neill Grading SystemNorthwell Health
- Post-Amputation Stump Infection as a Predictor of Persistent Residual Limb Pain: A Prospective Cohort StudyUkrainian Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Therapy
- Comparing Hearing Aid Fitting Methods in Blast-exposed VeteransVA Office of Research and Development
- Ultrasound Predictors of Persistent Burn Scar Pain After Blast and Drone-Related Injuries: A Prospective Cohort StudyUkrainian Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Therapy
- Chronic Pain After Combat-Related Traumatic Brain Injury (cTBI-Pain Study) A Prospective Cohort Study of Pain Chronification After Combat-Related Traumatic Brain InjuryCharitable Organisation Charitable Fund Superhumans (Co Cf Superhumans)
Research already completed
- Effect of Rate (Slope) of Compression on the Incidence of Symptomatic ETD and MEB: a Phase III Prospective Study.Northwell Health
- A Descriptive Analysis of Diving Accidents Treated at the Hyperbaric Chamber of Nice Hospital Between 2014 and 2025Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice
- NASA Prebreathe StudyDuke University
- Fireworks Eye Injuries During Festivals in Upper EgyptAssiut University
- Symptom-Targeted Approach to Rehabilitation for ConcussionSouth Texas Veterans Health Care System
- Brain Training to Enhance Frontal Lobe ReasoningThe University of Texas at Dallas
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Learn More
- Airplane EarMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Ear - blocked at high altitudesMedical Encyclopedia
- Ear barotraumaMedical Encyclopedia
- Ears and Altitude (Barotrauma)American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery
- Flying and Your Child's EarsNemours Foundation
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: BarotraumaNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Barotrauma. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Barotrauma, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.