Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
close window
Housecall Archives
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
close window
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffAirplane ear usually isn't serious and responds to self-care. Long-term complications may occur when the condition is serious or prolonged or if there is damage to middle or inner ear structures. Rare complications may include:
- Permanent hearing loss
- Ongoing (chronic) tinnitus
References
- Mirza S, et al. Otic barotrauma from air travel. Journal of Laryngology and Otology. 2005;119(5):366-370.
- Vernick D. Ear barotrauma. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 25, 2008.
- Ears and altitude. American Academy of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery. http://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/earsAltitude.cfm. Accessed Sept. 4, 2008.
- Hoecker JL (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Sept. 28, 2009.
- Travel safety tips. American Academy of Pediatrics. http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/travelsafetytips.cfm. Accessed Sept. 28, 2009.
