Roller coaster rides and ear damage

What appropriate timing for this recent U.S. News & World Report article about ear damage and roller coaster rides. Recently, I saw an 18 year old patient at the clinic for a hearing test. Her symptoms included a sharp temporary ear pain and muffled hearing for the left ear following hitting the left side of her head against the harness during a ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, CA. 

When I looked into her ear canal, I saw a relatively medium-sized tympanic membrane perforation, or a rupture in the eardrum (example on left). Her tympanogram (a test used to reveal the condition of the middle ear ear and movement of the eardrum) showed that her eardrum was not moving properly. The hearing test showed a mild low-frequency conductive hearing loss for the left ear, which is consistent with the hole in the eardrum. This type of hearing loss is typically temporary in nature, until the eardrum heals over time by itself or is surgically repaired. In the case of this patient, she was told by her ENT (Ear Nose Throat doctor) that they would wait for the eardrum to heal on its own, which can take between weeks to a year to heal completely. It's unfortunate for this young girl that her roller coaster ride turned into a such a negative experience. 

The U.S. News and World Report article, published on May 3, 2010, gives an example of another type of ear trauma called barotrauma. Barotrauma is when there is a "quick change in pressure between the external environment, the ear drum and the pressure in the middle ear space." The common symptoms are discomfort, pain, ear popping or dizziness and sometimes even hearing loss. The article gives the example of a 24 year old man who turned his head to the left to speak to his girlfriend during the ride and as a result, his right ear suffered from the rapid acceleration. According to otolaryngologists, his right ear was swollen and he experienced pain and fullness in that ear for 36 hours. Thus, researchers have linked rapid acceleration on roller coasters with ear barotrauma. It would be interesting to see if there are any studies about tympanic membrane perforations and roller coasters. 

It's important to be aware of these type of risks, but this is not to say that people should avoid roller coasters... just ride with caution! 


via Hearing Sparks