Is hyperbaric oxygen treatment painful?
Hyperbaric oxygen treatments are usually painless, but patients may experience a full sensation in their ears, similar to driving up or down a mountain road, changing altitudes in an airplane, or changing depths in underwater diving. The feeling of fullness occurs as the eardrums respond to the changes in atmospheric pressure. At ground level, the eardrum is normally flat. During compression, the eardrum tends to bow inward and unless positive action is taken, fullness or pain may occur. To avoid this, patients are taught to force air into their middle ear during chamber descent (approximately 10 minutes) when the chamber is being pressurized. Specific maneuvers are: swallowing, moving the lower jaw or blowing air from your lungs out of your nose with you mouth closed and nose pinched. What is actually happening is that air is being forced behind the eardrum, via the eustachian tubes, which connects the middle ear with the throat for passage of air. This greatly reduces the minor risk
