Decompression Sickness After Flying, Ear Barotrauma, and Travel Medical Fitness¶

Flying in a commercial aircraft or driving across a high mountain pass immediately after scuba diving exposes your body to a rapid reduction in ambient atmospheric pressure. Even though commercial airliners have pressurized cabins, federal and international aviation standards permit cabin pressure at cruising altitude to drop to the equivalent of 1,830 to 2,440 meters (6,000 to 8,000 feet) above sea level. This pressure drop equals roughly 0.75 atmospheres absolute, down from 1.0 atmosphere at sea level. If you still carry residual dissolved nitrogen in your blood and tissues from scuba diving, or if you have a trapped pocket of air inside a middle ear, sinus cavity, recent surgical site, or unvented pneumothorax, this sudden decompression can trigger crippling pain, permanent inner-ear deafness, or fatal arterial gas embolism in mid-air.

Whether you are experiencing joint pain and numbness during a post-vacation flight, struggling with excruciating ear pressure that will not equalize on descent, or evaluating whether a family member is medically fit to board an international flight after hospitalization abroad, rapid recognition and strict physiological protocols prevent permanent injury. This guide covers emergency in-flight actions for suspected decompression sickness, Divers Alert Network (DAN) and Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) pre-flight surface intervals, safe maneuvers for severe otic and sinus barotrauma, and Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA) MEDIF fitness-to-fly rules.

Үүнийг одоо хий¶

1. Declare an immediate in-flight or roadside medical emergency if neurological or joint symptoms appear after diving. If you or a companion develop deep joint pain, skin mottling, numbness, tingling, dizziness, visual changes, or shortness of breath while flying or driving over a mountain pass after scuba diving, press the flight attendant call button immediately or pull over and call your local emergency number (911 АНУ, Канадад, 112 Европын холбоо даяар, 999 Их Британид) ашиглан манай яаралтай тусламжийн дугаар лавлах.
2. Request 100 percent high-flow medical oxygen immediately. Tell the cabin crew or paramedics: "I am a scuba diver who dived within the last 48 hours, and I am experiencing suspected decompression sickness. I need continuous high-flow 100 percent oxygen right now." Ask the crew to use a non-rebreather mask or demand valve if available in the aircraft's enhanced emergency medical kit, rather than a low-flow nasal cannula.
3. Contact the Divers Alert Network (DAN) 24-hour Emergency Hotline for hyperbaric physician guidance. As soon as you have satellite Wi-Fi, air-to-ground phone access, or ground cellular signal, call the DAN Emergency Hotline at +1-919-684-9111 (worldwide, collect calls accepted) or the DAN Europe hotline at +39-06-4211-8685 so a dive medicine specialist can coordinate with the airline's ground medical control (such as MedAire or Stat-MD) and locate the nearest operational multiplace hyperbaric chamber.
4. Lay the patient flat (supine) and hydrate with plain water if fully conscious. Keep the affected person lying horizontally. Do not elevate the legs or place the patient head-down (Trendelenburg position), as head-down tilt increases cerebral venous pressure and worsens brain edema. Give oral non-alcoholic, caffeine-free fluids if the person can swallow safely.
5. Stop forceful nose-blowing immediately if you feel sudden vertigo, tinnitus, or hearing loss during ear equalization. If an attempt to pop your ears causes a sudden spinning sensation, loud ringing, or muffled hearing, you may have ruptured the round or oval window membrane of your inner ear (inner ear barotrauma). Stop performing the Valsalva maneuver, sit upright, avoid straining or lifting heavy bags, and seek an urgent ear, nose, and throat (ENT) evaluation upon landing.
6. Never board a flight or drive above 610 meters (2,000 feet) before completing your mandatory post-dive surface interval. If your dive computer still displays a "No-Fly" icon or you have not met the minimum 12-hour to 24-hour surface interval guidelines established by DAN and UHMS, cancel or rebook your flight. Paying an airline change fee is minor compared to suffering spinal cord paralysis at 11,000 meters (36,000 feet) over an ocean.

flowchart TD
    A["Traveler Developing Acute Symptoms on Flight or Mountain Pass"] --> B{"Did Traveler Scuba Dive or Freedive Within Past 72 Hours?"}
    B -->|"Тиймээ"| C{"Symptoms: Joint Pain, Numbness, Vertigo, Rash, or Shortness of Breath?"}
    B -->|"Үгүй"| D{"Symptoms: Severe Ear/Sinus Pain, Popping, or Sudden Deafness?"}
    C -->|"Yes - Suspected DCS or AGE"| E["Alert Cabin Crew Immediately and Request 100% High-Flow Oxygen"]
    E --> F["Place Patient Flat (Supine) + Give Oral Water if Conscious"]
    F --> G["Request Pilot Contact Ground Medical Control + Request Lower Cabin Altitude / Diversion"]
    G --> H["Call DAN Emergency Hotline (+1-919-684-9111) Upon Landing for Hyperbaric Chamber Transfer"]
    D -->|"Ear/Sinus Pain Only"| I["Use Oral Fluids, Swallowing, Toynbee, or Gentle Lowry Maneuver + Oxymetazoline Spray"]
    D -->|"Sudden Vertigo, Nausea, or Sensorineural Deafness"| J["Suspected Inner Ear Barotrauma / Perilymph Fistula: Stop Valsalva Completely"]
    J --> K["Keep Head Elevated, Avoid Straining or Nose-Blowing, Seek Urgent ENT Evaluation on Arrival"]

Why flying or crossing high mountain passes after diving triggers decompression sickness¶

Усан доор шахсан агаар эсвэл баяжуулсан нитроксоор амьсгалахад хүрээлэн буй орчны усны даралт ихсэх нь уушигны цулцангийн дундуур идэвхгүй азотын хийг цусны урсгал болон биеийн эд эсэд хүргэдэг. Далайн усны 10 метр (33 фут) тутамд 1.0 атмосфер (101.3 килопаскаль буюу 1 квадрат инч тутамд 14.7 фунт) даралт нэмэгддэг. Усанд шумбах төгсгөлд гадаргуу руу өгсөхөд хүрээлэн буй орчны даралт буурч, даралтын градиент үүсгэснээр ууссан азот нь таны эд эсээс ялгарч, уушгинд буцаж амьсгалаа гаргахад хүргэдэг.

Even after you exit the water completely symptom-free, your slow-clearing tissues (such as bone marrow, cartilage, tendons, spinal cord myelin, and adipose fat) remain supersaturated with dissolved nitrogen for 12 to 48 hours. Decompression algorithms calculate safe ascent rates assuming you will remain at sea-level atmospheric pressure (1.0 ATA, or 760 mmHg) while off-gassing.

The physics of commercial aircraft cabin pressurization¶

Many travelers mistakenly believe that commercial airline cabins are pressurized to sea-level pressure. Pressurizing an aircraft fuselage to full sea-level pressure while cruising at 10,600 to 12,500 meters (35,000 to 41,000 feet) would place excessive fatigue on the airframe. Under United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations (14 CFR § 25.841) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) standards, commercial aircraft are designed to maintain a maximum cabin pressure altitude of 2,438 meters (8,000 feet) during normal cruise:

• Standard narrow-body and wide-body aircraft (such as Boeing 737, 767, 777, and Airbus A320/A330): Maintain a cabin altitude between 1,830 and 2,438 meters (6,000 to 8,000 feet), which corresponds to an ambient barometric pressure of 0.75 to 0.80 atmospheres (565 to 609 mmHg).
• Composite-fuselage aircraft (such as Boeing 787 and Airbus A350): Maintain a lower cabin altitude of 1,524 to 1,830 meters (5,000 to 6,000 feet), or roughly 0.80 to 0.83 atmospheres.
• Unpressurized island-hopper aircraft and helicopters: Small turboprop or piston commuter planes used between dive islands are frequently unpressurized and expose passengers directly to the ambient pressure of their actual flight altitude.

Going from sea level (1.0 ATA) into an airliner cabin at 2,438 meters (8,000 feet, or 0.75 ATA) is physiologically identical to ascending from 3.3 meters (11 feet) of seawater to the surface. That 25 percent drop in ambient pressure causes residual nitrogen microbubbles in your tissues to expand into symptomatic gas bubbles that block capillaries, stretch nerve sheaths, and trigger Decompression Sickness (DCS).

The hidden mountain pass trap on dive islands¶

You do not have to board an airplane to suffer altitude-provoked decompression sickness. On many volcanic dive destinations, coastal dive shops sit at sea level while the highway back to your resort or airport climbs over a high ridge:

• Hawaii (Big Island and Maui): Driving the Saddle Road between Kona and Hilo climbs to 2,021 meters (6,632 feet), and driving up Haleakala reaches 3,055 meters (10,023 feet).
• Canary Islands, Reunion Island, Bali, Taiwan, and Costa Rica: Coastal-to-inland highways routinely cross mountain passes between 1,000 and 2,500 meters (3,300 to 8,200 feet) within 45 minutes of the beach.

Any drive or cable-car ascent above 300 to 610 meters (1,000 to 2,000 feet) immediately after scuba diving carries the exact same bubble-expansion hazard as flying in a pressurized aircraft.

Нислэгийн өмнөх гадаргуугийн интервалын албан ёсны заавар (DAN ба UHMS)¶

Өндрөөс шалтгаалсан даралт буурах өвчнөөс урьдчилан сэргийлэхийн тулд Divers Alert Network (DAN) болон Далайн ба Гипербарик Анагаах Ухааны Нийгэмлэг (UHMS) нь өндөрт гарах эсвэл арилжааны онгоцоор нисэхийн өмнө эцсийн шумбалтаа орхисны дараа далайн түвшинд хүлээх хамгийн бага хугацааг тодорхойлсон нэгдсэн удирдамжийг гаргасан.

Нислэгийн өмнөх гадаргуугийн интервалын шийдвэрийн хүснэгт¶

Нислэгийн үед даралт бууруулах өвчнийг таних, удирдах (DCS)¶

Өндрөөс шалтгаалсан даралт буурах өвчний шинж тэмдэг нь ихэвчлэн онгоцыг далайн өндөрт авирах үед (хөөрснөөс хойш 20-60 минутын дотор) эсвэл нислэгийн эхний хоёроос дөрвөн цагийн дотор эхэлдэг. Эмнэлгийн эмч нар даралт бууруулах өвчнийг I хэлбэр (булчин, арьс, тунгалагийн) ба II хэлбэр (мэдрэл, дотор чих, зүрх, уушиг) гэж ангилдаг ч хоёуланд нь 100 хувь хүчилтөрөгч, гипербарик эмнэлгийн үзлэг шаардлагатай байдаг ч II төрөл нь агаарын хөлгөөр байнга даамжирдаг.

Усанд шумбалтын дараах даралтыг бууруулах өвчний шинж тэмдэг, шинж тэмдэг¶

• I төрлийн DCS (зөвхөн өвдөлт ба арьс):
  • Үений орчмын үе мөчний гүн өвдөлт ("The Гулзайлтын"): Том үений дотор уйтгартай, гүн өвдөлт, ихэвчлэн мөр, тохой, өвдөг, эсвэл ташаа. Шөрмөсний суналтаас ялгаатай нь DCS-ийн үений өвдөлт нь ихэвчлэн зөөлөн хөдөлгөөнөөр мууддаггүй бөгөөд цусны даралтын ханцуйвчийг үений эргэн тойронд хийснээр өвдөлтийг түр намдааж болно.
  • Арьсны DCS (Cutis Marmorata / Арьс нугалж): Их бие, мөр, цээж, хэвлийн хэсгээр хүчтэй загатнах, дараа нь толботой, гантиг өнгөтэй, улаавтар ягаан эсвэл хөхөвтөр цагаан тууралт гарч ирдэг. Анагаах ухааны судалгаагаар cutis marmorata нь баруунаас зүүн тийш зүрхний шунттай (Patent Foramen Ovale, эсвэл PFO) хүчтэй холбоотой бөгөөд ихэвчлэн мэдрэлийн нугасны болон тархины DCS-ийн өмнө тохиолддог болохыг харуулж байна.
  • Лимфийн хаван: Цээжний хана, суга, цавинд байрлах тунгалаг булчирхайн хаван эсвэл эмзэг тунгалагийн зангилаа.
• II хэлбэрийн DCS (амь насанд аюул учруулах мэдрэлийн болон зүрх судасны өвчин):
  • нугасны нугасны DCS: Хөл, хөл, гарт мэдээ алдуулах, зүү ба чисэх (парестези); дэвшилтэт хөл сулрах; онгоцны хонгилоор алхахад хүндрэлтэй байх; хэвлий эсвэл аарцагны эргэн тойронд тууз хэлбэрийн нарийсал; эсвэл гэнэт шээх чадваргүй болох (мэдрэлийн гаралтай давсагны саатал) эсвэл гэдэсний хяналт алдагдах.
  • Тархины DCS: Хүнд толгой өвдөх, харааны бэрхшээл (сохор толбо, хонгилын хараа, давхар хараа), хэл яриа алдагдах, төөрөгдөл, хэт ядаргаа, эсвэл нэг талын сулрал цус харвалт.
  • Дотоод чихний DCS (Vestibular Bends / "The Staggers"): Гэнэт эргэдэг толгой эргэх, дотор муухайрах, бөөлжих, нүдээ өөрийн эрхгүй татах (нистагм), тэнцвэр алдагдах.
  • Зүрхний уушигны DCS ("The Chokes"): Цээжний доорх хэвлийгээр шатаж буй өвдөлт, гүнзгий амьсгаагаар үүсгэгдсэн хуурай ханиалгах, хурдан гүехэн амьсгалах, уушигны шүүлтүүрт венийн хийн эмболи үүссэнээс үүссэн хөхрөлт. Энэ нь хэдхэн минутын дотор цусны эргэлтийн уналт руу шилжиж болно.

Step-by-step emergency protocol inside an aircraft cabin¶

If you or a dive buddy develop any of these symptoms while airborne:

1. Notify the Lead Flight Attendant (Purser) immediately and do not hide your symptoms. Divers sometimes stay silent on airplanes because they fear being blamed for violating fly-after-diving rules or causing a flight diversion. Delaying oxygen while nitrogen bubbles compress your spinal cord across an ocean can cause permanent paralysis.
2. State the exact medical phrase to trigger airline ground medical control: > "I am a scuba diver experiencing acute Decompression Sickness triggered by cabin altitude. Please contact the Captain and your ground aviation medical physician (MedAire or Stat-MD) immediately. I need continuous 100 percent medical oxygen at the highest available flow rate."
3. Optimize the aircraft oxygen delivery system:
   • Standard portable passenger oxygen bottles on commercial airliners are often configured with a constant-flow regulator set at 2 liters per minute (LPM) or 4 LPM through a simple nasal cannula or basic mask.
   • Explain politely to the cabin crew that oxygen in decompression sickness is given to create a zero-nitrogen washout gradient so nitrogen rapidly diffuses out of the bubbles. Ask the crew to check the aircraft's Enhanced Emergency Medical Kit (EEMK) for a Non-Rebreather Mask with reservoir bag and set the oxygen cylinder regulator to its highest flow setting (10 to 15 LPM), monitoring the cylinder supply across the remaining flight time.
4. Ask the Captain to lower the cabin pressure altitude if operationally feasible:
   • Depending on the aircraft type, airspace traffic, and fuel reserves, the flight crew can manually set the cabin pressurization controller to maintain maximum differential pressure at a lower flight level, reducing the cabin altitude toward sea level (or 600 to 1,200 meters / 2,000 to 4,000 feet). Every fraction of an atmosphere of increased cabin pressure physically compresses nitrogen bubbles according to Boyle's Law (\(P_1 V_1 = P_2 V_2\)).
   • If the diver has Type II neurological or cardiopulmonary symptoms (leg weakness, paralysis, bladder retention, confusion, or "the chokes") on a long flight, ground medical control will normally advise the Captain to execute an immediate medical diversion to the nearest airport with hyperbaric medicine capabilities.
5. Maintain horizontal positioning and oral hydration:
   • Recline the seat fully flat or lay the diver across empty row seats with a seatbelt extension secured during turbulence.
   • Have the diver drink 500 to 1,000 milliliters (17 to 34 fluid ounces) of water or oral rehydration solution over the first hour if fully alert and not vomiting. Dehydration from dry cabin air and immersion diuresis causes hemoconcentration, which worsens tissue ischemia around nitrogen bubbles.
   • Do not give aspirin or ibuprofen unless directed by a dive physician, and never give nitrous oxide anesthesia if treated later at a hospital, as nitrous oxide diffuses into nitrogen bubbles and expands them rapidly.
6. Keep the dive computer strapped to the patient or in their carry-on bag:
   • The hyperbaric physician at the receiving hospital will inspect the dive computer's depth-time log to select between a US Navy Treatment Table 6 (the standard 4-hour 45-minute hyperbaric oxygen recompression protocol at 2.8 ATA / 18 meters equivalent depth) or an extended table.

Severe ear and sinus barotrauma during flights and mountain ascents¶

Even travelers who have never scuba dived regularly experience aerotitis media (otic barotrauma) and aerosinusitis (sinus barotrauma) during commercial flights, gondola rides, or steep mountain pass drives. Understanding Boyle's Law and the anatomy of the Eustachian tube allows you to distinguish between painful middle-ear squeeze and a surgical inner-ear emergency.

Why descent is far more dangerous to your ears than takeoff¶

According to Boyle's Law, the volume of a fixed mass of gas is inversely proportional to its absolute pressure at constant temperature. The greatest proportional change in gas volume occurs near sea level (between 0 and 2,440 meters / 8,000 feet):

• During takeoff and climb (Ascent): As cabin pressure drops from 1.0 ATA to 0.75 ATA, the air trapped inside your middle ear cavity expands by roughly 33 percent. Once the pressure inside your middle ear exceeds cabin pressure by about 15 to 20 mmHg, the expanding air pushes the flexible Eustachian tube open passively like a one-way flapper valve, venting bubbles into the back of your nose. Ascent pain usually only happens in a blocked sinus cavity or during alternobaric vertigo, where one ear vents suddenly while the other stays pressurized.
• During landing approach (Descent): As the aircraft descends back to sea level over 20 to 30 minutes, cabin pressure rises from 0.75 ATA back to 1.0 ATA. The air pocket inside your middle ear shrinks in volume by 25 percent, creating a relative vacuum inside the middle ear space. Because the lower two-thirds of the Eustachian tube is a soft collapsible tube, you must actively contract the muscles of your soft palate and pharynx (by swallowing, yawning, or equalizing) to pull the tube open and let air flow into the middle ear.
• The Locking Phenomenon (At roughly 90 to 120 mmHg differential): If you sleep through the beginning of the aircraft's descent or have mucosal swelling from a cold or allergies, the rising cabin pressure outside your eardrum squeezes the soft walls of your Eustachian tube flat shut. Once the pressure differential across the tube exceeds 90 to 120 mmHg (roughly equivalent to a descent of 900 to 1,200 meters / 3,000 to 4,000 feet without equalizing), the negative vacuum locks the Eustachian tube with a force that exceeds the muscular strength of your soft palate. Swallowing and yawning can no longer open the tube, the eardrum stretches inward, blood vessels in the middle ear lining rupture (hemotympanum), and the eardrum can perforate.

Safe vs. dangerous ear equalization techniques¶

Distinguishing Middle Ear Barotrauma from Inner Ear Barotrauma (Perilymph Fistula)¶

If you feel a sudden sharp pain or pop in your ear during a flight or after a dive, distinguish between two different injuries:

• Middle Ear Barotrauma (Tympanic Membrane Rupture / Hemotympanum):
  • Symptoms: Increasing sharp pressure pain during descent that may lessen after a sharp pop, followed by muffled conductive hearing loss, a feeling of fullness or fluid behind the eardrum, and sometimes a small trickle of blood or clear fluid in the ear canal.
  • First aid: Keep the ear completely dry. Never put ear drops, water, oil, hydrogen peroxide, or cotton swabs into an ear with a suspected perforated eardrum. Most traumatic eardrum perforations heal spontaneously within 2 to 6 weeks, though a physician should inspect the ear.
• Inner Ear Barotrauma (Round or Oval Window Rupture / Perilymph Fistula):
  • Symptoms: Happens immediately after a forceful Valsalva maneuver when trying to force a blocked ear to pop. You experience instantaneous rotational vertigo (the cabin spins), nausea and vomiting, loud roaring or ringing tinnitus, and profound sensorineural hearing loss (nerve deafness in that ear).
  • Emergency action: This means the delicate membrane separating your middle ear from your fluid-filled inner ear cochlea has torn, leaking inner-ear perilymph fluid. Stop all nose-blowing and equalization immediately. Sit with your head elevated at 30 to 45 degrees, avoid straining or lifting heavy bags, and go straight from the airport to an emergency department with an Otolaryngologist (ENT surgeon) on call. Prompt corticosteroids, bed rest, or surgical patching of the fistula is required to salvage permanent hearing.

Flying with other medical conditions: Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA) fitness rules¶

Scuba diving is not the only condition where cabin depressurization creates a medical emergency. Under Boyle's Law, any trapped pocket of air inside the human body expands by 30 to 35 percent at a cabin altitude of 2,438 meters (8,000 feet). Even in healthy travelers, arterial blood oxygen partial pressure (\(PaO_2\)) drops from roughly 95 to 100 mmHg at sea level down to 55 to 60 mmHg at an 8,000-foot cabin altitude (a pulse oximeter \(SpO_2\) around 88 to 91 percent).

If you suffer an injury, surgery, or illness abroad, airlines enforce the Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA) and International Air Transport Association (IATA) Medical Manual clearance intervals before allowing you to board a commercial flight home.

Mandatory medical wait times before commercial air travel (IATA / AsMA guidelines)¶

How to obtain Airline Medical Clearance (IATA MEDIF Form) and travel insurance intervention¶

If you are recovering from dive decompression therapy, a broken bone, pneumonia, or surgery abroad and need to fly home on a commercial airline:

1. Request the airline's Special Assistance / Medical Desk (MEDIF) form at least 48 to 72 hours before departure:
   • Almost all international airlines use the standardized two-part IATA Medical Information Form (MEDIF).
   • Part 1 is completed by the passenger or travel agent (listing flight numbers, wheelchair needs, stretcher requests, or in-flight oxygen flow rate).
   • Part 2 is completed and signed by your attending physician at the local hospital (listing exact diagnosis, hemoglobin level, room-air oxygen saturation \(SpO_2\), date of last dive or surgery, whether any surgical chest tubes or casts are split, and whether a medical escort is needed).
2. Coordinate with your Travel Insurance / Assistance Medical Director before booking your ticket home:
   • If you suffered decompression sickness or another acute medical emergency overseas, read our guide on medical emergencies and evacuation abroad and call your travel insurance 24-hour emergency assistance center immediately.
   • Following serious Type II decompression sickness, a commercial flight at an 8,000-foot cabin altitude, even 72 hours after hyperbaric treatment, can sometimes cause a relapse of neurological symptoms. In severe cases, your dive insurance or travel medical policy will arrange a sea-level pressurized air ambulance evacuation (where a dedicated medical aircraft flies with its cabin pressurized to 1.0 ATA sea-level pressure) so you experience zero decompression stress on the journey home.

Байнга асуудаг асуултууд¶

Can I fly safely right after snorkelling or swimming at the surface?¶

If you only swam at the surface of the water breathing through a snorkel without diving underwater, you have accumulated zero excess nitrogen and can fly immediately. However, if you performed repetitive deep breath-hold freediving (repeatedly diving down to 10 to 30 meters / 33 to 100 feet for several hours), especially if you also scuba dived earlier in the week, nitrogen can accumulate enough to cause freediving decompression sickness. After intense repetitive deep freediving, wait at least 12 to 24 hours before flying.

What happens if I develop mild joint pain or skin mottling after I have already landed from my flight home?¶

Never assume that post-flight symptoms will go away on their own now that you are back on the ground. Nitrogen bubbles triggered during a flight induce endothelial damage, platelet aggregation, and inflammatory swelling inside your tissues that continue even after returning to sea-level pressure. Call the Divers Alert Network Emergency Hotline (+1-919-684-9111) immediately and go to an emergency department connected to a hyperbaric medicine center. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy remains effective even when started 24 to 72 hours after symptom onset.

Do pressurized ear plugs actually prevent ear barotrauma on airplanes?¶

Ceramic-filtered pressure-regulating earplugs contain a porous filter that slows the rate at which changing cabin air pressure hits your eardrum during climb and descent. While they cannot open a blocked Eustachian tube by themselves, slowing the pressure change gives a sluggish tube extra time to equalize before locking shut. Insert them before takeoff, remove them at cruising altitude, and re-insert them 45 minutes before landing while swallowing and sipping water.

Why did an urgent care doctor tell me my diving ear injury is an ear infection when it started during a dive or flight?¶

Clinicians who do not specialize in dive or aerospace medicine sometimes look at a red, hemorrhagic eardrum with fluid behind it after a flight or dive and misdiagnose middle ear barotrauma as acute bacterial otitis media. Always tell the examining physician the exact barometric history: whether the pain started during descent, whether you performed a forceful Valsalva maneuver, and whether you have any vertigo or high-pitched tinnitus.

Эх сурвалжуудыг шалгасан¶

• Divers Alert Network (DAN) & Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS): Flying After Recreational Diving Workshop Proceedings and Consensus Guidelines (International / United States).
• United States Navy: U.S. Navy Diving Manual, Revision 7, Volume 2, Chapter 9 (Ascent Procedures and Flying After Diving) & Volume 5, Chapter 20 (Diagnosis and Treatment of Decompression Sickness and Arterial Gas Embolism) (United States).
• Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA): Medical Guidelines for Airline Travel, 2^nd Edition / Air Transport Medicine Committee Fitness-to-Fly Advisories (International).
• International Air Transport Association (IATA): IATA Medical Manual, 12^th Edition: Passenger Care, MEDIF Clearance Timeframes, and Cabin Altitude Physiology (International).
• British Thoracic Society (BTS): Clinical Statement on Air Travel Recommendations for Passengers with Respiratory Disease and Post-Pneumothorax Wait Times (United Kingdom).

Холбогдох хөтөч¶

• Medical emergencies and evacuation abroad
• Embassy and consular assistance
• Stranded abroad or flight cancellation
• Cruise ship emergencies, abandon ship, and man overboard
• Яаралтай тусламжийн дугаарын лавлах