Can You Cause Barotrauma by Covering Your Ears and Pushing Too Hard?

Basically... we've all been there, a truck is passing by, so you totally occlude your canals with your hand over your ears and push HARD. I did this too hard I think, and my ear seemed to feel weird.

Is it possible to case barotrauma (and permanent damage) like that? A search of Tinnitus Talk and literature came up with nothing, not even terminology...

 

I would severely doubt it. I asked both an audiologist and ENT a few days ago if ripping ear plugs out hard would cause damage, and they both said it would have to be done EXTREMELY hard to cause any kind of permanent damage. You may have some temporary discomfort, but I don't think that would cause any permanent damage.

 

Usually most people who got tinnitus through hand-to-ear contact got it from a hard slap, usually from another party. I think you'll be fine the eardrum can flex a bit before being damaged, if you've ever been underwater several feet you'd get a similar feeling of pressure on your ear.

 

Thank you all.