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The ineffectiveness of applying moisture to the ear on the incidence and severity of otic barotrauma for air passengers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 September 2018

R P Morse  and
A Mitchell-Innes
R P Morse*
Affiliation:
School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham, UK
A Mitchell-Innes
Affiliation:
ENT Department, University Hospital Birmingham, UK
*
Author for correspondence: Dr Robert Morse, School of Engineering, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK Email: [email protected] Fax: +44 (0)24 7641 8922
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Abstract

Objective

The application of moisture to the ear is anecdotally claimed to relieve the pain from otic barotrauma that can arise during aircraft descent. This claim was tested in a randomised double-blind study on an aircraft with eight participants heavily predisposed to barotrauma.

Methods

On the outward flight, half the participants wore ‘active’ devices that applied moisture to the external ear; the remainder wore placebo devices that contained no moisture, but were otherwise identical. On the return flight, the groups were reversed. Participants wore the devices from just before descent until landing, unless they experienced symptoms of barotrauma, in which case they switched to what they knew was an active device.

Results

There were no significant differences between conditions regarding the appearance of the tympanic membrane on landing or the discomfort levels immediately before and after any switch.

Conclusion

Applying moisture is ineffective for passengers heavily predisposed to otic barotrauma.

Keywords

Air TravelAerospace MedicineBarotraumaOtic BarotraumaPrevention
Type
Main Articles
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 132 , Issue 9 , September 2018 , pp. 790 - 795
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited, 2018 

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Footnotes

Dr R P Morse takes responsibility for the integrity of the content of the paper

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