Ears and pressure
I'm curious. Do the frequent changes in pressure harm pilots' ears at all?
I suppose all pilots have to do the yawning..sweet sucking...fingers over nose and blowing to get their ears used to the pressure. Is it something they have to get used to?
Do they get frequent ear aches when they start out?
Now I'm asking this because a few years ago, whilst diving off a 5m diving board, my left eardrum burst....nothing tragic..it healed and i can hear just as well as i could before..(i think)(I have a class 1 med so that's good) but the one thing i can do is that i can change the pressure in my ears at will i.e. just by doing something involving my tongue, the back of my throat and breathing in or out. Sounds weird and potentially advantageous but i can feel the changes in pressure when going up and down some hills in my car. Also from a couple of thousand feet up in my little cessna.
They were fine when I went in an airliner last time and I don't think they've changed since, well i hope not. I didn't get earache or anything like that..but what about doing it repeatedly numerous times a day?
This ability wasn't triggered off by the diving board incident but it may have weakened my left eardrum slightly...(I don't know)
Does anyone know whether this is bad for me or not?
I suppose I'm after knowing whether eardrums can stretch to a point where they are less effective or worse still, burst under the constant strain.
ps sorry about the long explanation..i hope you undertand what i'm trying to get at.
Thanks
[This message has been edited by Ceppo (edited 10 August 2000).]