{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T06:34:20Z","timestamp":1791354860505,"version":"4.3.1"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine Journal","issue":"1","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diving Hyperb Med"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Introduction: Middle ear barotrauma (MEBt) is the most common medical complication in diving, posing a serious risk to dive safety. Given this prevalence and the continuing growth of the diving industry, a comprehensive overview of the condition is warranted.\nMethods: This was a survey study. An anonymous, electronic questionnaire was distributed to 7,060 recipients: professional divers of the Finnish Border Guard, the Finnish Rescue Services, and the Finnish Heritage agency; and recreational divers registered as members of the Finnish Divers\u2019 Association reachable by e-mail (roughly two-thirds of all members and recreational divers in Finland). Primary outcomes were self-reported prevalence, clinical characteristics, and health effects of MEBt while diving. Secondary outcomes were adjusted odds ratios (OR) for frequency of MEBt with respect to possible risk factors.\nResults: A total of 1,881 respondents participated in the study (response rate 27%). In total, 81% of the respondents had experienced MEBt while diving. Of those affected, 38% had used medications and 1% had undergone otorhinolaryngology-related surgical procedures due to MEBt. Factors most associated with MEBt were poor subjective success in Valsalva (\u2018occasionally\u2019 versus \u2018always\u2019 successful: OR 11.56; 95% CI 7.24\u201318.47) and Toynbee (\u2018occasionally\u2019 versus \u2018always\u2019 successful: OR 3.51; 95% CI 1.95\u20136.30) manoeuvres.\nConclusions: MEBt is common in both recreational and professional divers, having affected 81% of the respondents. The main possible risk factors include poor success in pressure equalisation manoeuvres.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.28920\/dhm51.1.44-52","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,28]],"date-time":"2021-03-28T20:20:57Z","timestamp":1616962857000},"page":"44-52","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":20,"title":["Middle ear barotrauma in diving"],"prefix":"10.28920","volume":"51","author":[{"name":"Department of Otorhinolaryngology \u2013 Head and Neck Surgery, Head and Neck Center, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Oskari H","family":"Lindfors","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anne K","family":"R\u00e4is\u00e4nen-Sokolowski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"name":"Department of Pathology, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"name":"Centre for Military Medicine, Finnish Defence Forces, Helsinki, Finland","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jari","family":"Suvilehto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"name":"Mehil\u00e4inen Oy, Helsinki, Finland","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Saku T","family":"Sinkkonen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"name":"Department of Otorhinolaryngology \u2013 Head and Neck Surgery, Head and Neck Center, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"11463","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,31]]},"container-title":["Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine Journal"],"original-title":[],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,11]],"date-time":"2025-12-11T23:59:09Z","timestamp":1765497549000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.dhmjournal.com\/images\/IndividArticles\/51March\/Lindfors_MidEarBaro_2020-76(715).pdf"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,31]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,31]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.28920\/dhm51.1.44-52","relation":{},"ISSN":["2209-1491"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2209-1491","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,31]]}}}