Sharp curves, steep ascents and descents, and dizzying speeds ensure a powerful roller coaster ride in the funfair. Unfortunately, such entertainment can be harmful to our ears, warned Detroid scientists at the Combined Otolaryngology Spring Meeting in Las Vegas.
As shown by the group of Kathleen Yaremchuk from Henry Ford Hospital, very large forces acting on our body and huge acceleration of the queue often cause the so-called barotrauma, i.e. an ear injury caused by a sudden change in pressure between the external environment, the eardrum and the middle ear.
In its extreme form, barotrauma can lead to temporary hearing loss, and it almost always causes dizziness, earache, and a feeling of blocked ears. As the authors of the research explain, because the pressure surges accompanying the roller coaster ride are sudden, it is very difficult to equalize the ear pressure later with popular methods such as yawning or chewing gum.
In their work, ENT specialists described the case of a 24-year-old who, 36 hours after visiting an amusement park and riding a cable car, had severe pain in his right ear. As it turned out, while the line was speeding up, he was talking to the girl sitting on his left side, so all the force was exerted on his right ear. The device reached a maximum speed of about 193 km / h in 4 seconds.
During an ENT examination, the right ear was found to be swollen and the eardrum was inflamed. As calculated by the researchers, a pressure of 0,6 PSI was applied to the patient’s tympanic membrane, which did not cause it to rupture, but ended up with an injury – swelling and redness. The pain started to subside only after 72 hours.
Scientists advise queue-hungry enthusiasts to ride forward facing the direction of traffic, which will allow the high forces to be spread over two sides and slightly mitigate the effects of acceleration on the ears. (PAP)