What Researchers Did
Researchers studied 88 healthy military jet pilots to determine the prevalence of delayed ear pain after breathing pure oxygen at altitude and to test if a nasal balloon could prevent it.
What They Found
The day after altitude exposure, 53.4% of subjects reported ear pain. In the group using a nasal balloon, 61.4% were free of symptoms, significantly more than the 31.8% in the control group who only performed the Valsalva maneuver.
Canadian Relevance
No direct Canadian connection identified. However, ear barotrauma is a known side effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), which is used in Canada for Health Canada-recognised indications like decompression sickness and arterial gas embolism.
Study Limitations
This was a pilot study conducted on a specific group of healthy military pilots, which may limit how broadly the findings apply to other populations.