Oxygen ears FAQ

Oxygen ears
DAN medics and researchers answer your questions about dive medicine.
What is “oxygen ear”?
Also known as middle-ear oxygen absorption syndrome, oxygen ear describes a gas volume imbalance in the middle ear after diving with breathing gas that has a higher oxygen fraction than air. The phenomenon is commonly associated with open-circuit diving using nitrox and closed-circuit rebreather diving. The high-oxygen-content gas fills the middle-ear space over the course of the dive. Postdive, the tissues metabolise the oxygen, reducing the total gas volume below what it would be if the spacewere filled with air. If this loss in gas volume is not equalised, relative negative pressure will develop. This is in effect a squeeze, which can present as ear fullness, mild discomfort and/or impaired hearing.
This problem can be avoided easily with occasionalequalisation for several hours after diving. A person who is active, talking and/or laughing during this period may not needto equalise actively. On the other hand, a person who goes to bed immediately after diving might wake up several hours later with mild discomfort. Full resolution is best achieved using gentle equalisation techniques.
— Neal W. Pollock, PhD.
Also known as middle-ear oxygen absorption syndrome, oxygen ear describes a gas volume imbalance in the middle ear after diving with breathing gas that has a higher oxygen fraction than air. The phenomenon is commonly associated with open-circuit diving using nitrox and closed-circuit rebreather diving. The high-oxygen-content gas fills the middle-ear space over the course of the dive. Postdive, the tissues metabolise the oxygen, reducing the total gas volume below what it would be if the spacewere filled with air. If this loss in gas volume is not equalised, relative negative pressure will develop. This is in effect a squeeze, which can present as ear fullness, mild discomfort and/or impaired hearing.
This problem can be avoided easily with occasionalequalisation for several hours after diving. A person who is active, talking and/or laughing during this period may not needto equalise actively. On the other hand, a person who goes to bed immediately after diving might wake up several hours later with mild discomfort. Full resolution is best achieved using gentle equalisation techniques.
— Neal W. Pollock, PhD.
Posted in Dive Safety FAQ
Tagged with Oxygen ears, alert diver, Dive health, Ears injuries, Scuba dive
Tagged with Oxygen ears, alert diver, Dive health, Ears injuries, Scuba dive
Categories
2023
January
March
Demo DiversCape Marine Research and Diver DevelopmentKaboom!....The Big Oxygen Safety IssueTerrific Freedive Mode“LIGHTS, Film, Action!”Scuba Nudi ClothingDive into Freedive InstructionThe Benefits of Being BaldThe Inhaca Ocean Alliance.Special Forces DiverToughing It Out Is DangerousWhat Dive Computers Don\'t Know | PART 2
April
July
August
September
Avoid Diving With EarplugsKwaZulu Natal shipwrecks: The ProduceDive in the Fast Lane with DPVsLearning from Success. Learning from MistakeLiability in ContextUnderwater Crime Scene InvestigatorsTravel Smarter: Personal Safety While TravelingDive Boat Etiquette – From Yachts to rubber ducksThe Parting ShotMismatched Scuba Valves to Cylinder OutletsPredive Warm-UpWeight loss for diversTara Panton's Cape NudibranchsRESEARCHER PROFILE: Petar Denoble: Solving practical issues for diversMonitoring Cardiac Health in Scuba Divers
October
2022
January
February
UNCERTAINTY AFTER DIVING: Case Report and Recommendations #1.UNCERTAINTY AFTER DIVING: Case Report and Recommendations #2UNCERTAINTY AFTER DIVING: Case Report and Recommendations #3UNCERTAINTY AFTER DIVING: Case Report and Recommendations #4DIVERS LOSING ACCESS TO EMERGENCY CAREPreventing Breathing gas Contamination
March
When Should the Rescue Begin?Celebrating Young and Old in Turks and CaicosScuba Cylinder RundownChasing WeedsUnderwater Smartphone PhotographyAir and a SpareUnderwater Photographer: Fred BuyleBuilding Better BalanceLow-Visibility DivingMore Than a Sore ShoulderNot Only for DivingLaryngospasm and AnxietyPulmonary Hypertension and DivingTitan Meets TitanicPool Operation: Know Before you GoThe Argonaut Octopus and the jellyfishShort but Beautiful Lives
April
A Sense of PurposeMexico’s Sardine RunHigh-Pressure Hose injuriesA Hole in My HeartGoing UpConcussion and Return to DivingMarfan Syndrome Recommendations.South African Sardine Run by Walter BernardisSouth African Sardine Run By ProdiveSardine Run Port Elizabeth by ProDiveSardine Run Port St Johns by ProDiveScuba Diving In Mauritius