Swinging Or Shaking Head To Remove Water in Ears Can Lead To Brain Damage In Children
Source: Thailand Medical News Nov 24, 2019 5 years, 3 weeks, 6 days, 23 hours, 29 minutes ago
A new study by scientific researchers from Cornell University and a Virginia Tech that will be unveiled at the ongoing American Physical Society’s Division of Fluid Dynamics 72nd Annual Meeting, shows young
children can suffer irreparable
brain damage merely by shaking or swinging their heads in order to remove trapped water in their ears that got there as a result of swimming or showering.
Although it is a common method to release trapped water in the ear canal, researchers say the acceleration of head shaking needed to free water can cause
brain damage especially in small
children.
Typically, trapped water in the ear canal can cause infection and even damage, but it turns out that one of the most common methods people use to get rid of water in their ears can also cause
complications. Researchers at Cornell University and Virginia Tech have gathered evidence that demonstrates shaking the head to free trapped water can cause
brain damage in small
children.
Dr Anuj Baskota, Dr Seungho Kim, Dr Hosung Kang, and Dr Sunghwan Jung will present
their findings at the American Physical Society’s Division of Fluid Dynamics 72nd Annual Meeting on Nov. 23 at 4:15 p.m. The conference takes place at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle on November 23-26, 2019.
Dr Anuj Baskota from Cornell University told
Thailand Medical News via a phone interview, “Our research mainly focuses on the acceleration required to get the water out of the ear canal.The critical acceleration that we obtained experimentally on glass tubes and 3D printed ear canals was around the range of 10 times the force of gravity for
infant ear sizes, which could cause
damage to the
brain.”
For human adults, the acceleration was lower due to the larger diameter of the ear canals. They said the overall volume and position of the water in the canal changes the acceleration needed to remove it.
Dr Anuj Baskota added, “From our experiments and theoretical model, we figured out that surface tension of the fluid is one of the crucial factors promoting the water to get stuck in ear canals.”
Fortunately, the researchers said there is a solution that does not involve any head shaking.
The solution according to Dr Anuj. “Presumably, putting a few drops of a liquid with lower surface tension than water, like alcohol or vinegar, in the ear would reduce the surface tension force allowing the water to flow out.”
Parents are strongly advised to prevent any young
children from swinging or shaking their heads around when there is trapped water in their ears in an attempt to remove it.
Reference: “Acceleration-induced water ejection in the human ear canal” by Anuj Baskota, Seungho Kim, Hosung Kang and Sunghwan Jung.
