Last updated on 2/25/26 | First published on 2/25/26 | Literature review current through Jan. 2026
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What is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?
Hyperbaric oxygen is a medical treatment in which the patient breathes pure oxygen under increased pressure.
It is administered in a multi person chamber and is the treatment for many medical and surgical conditions. It may be the main treatment for certain conditions but is usually part of an overall plan of care involving surgery, antibiotics or other therapy.
Hyperbaric oxygen is a simple concept. The air we breathe is normally 21% oxygen at 14.7 pounds of pressure per square inch (psi). In the chamber, the pressure can be increased to as much as 3 times normal (about 44.1 psi), and the patient breathes 100% oxygen. This increases the amount of oxygen in the blood to many times its normal levels, thereby delivering much more oxygen to all parts of the body. This increase in oxygen delivery helps improve healing and controls infection in certain conditions.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Facility
The Hyperbaric Medicine Service facility consists of either a single person chamber (monoplace) or a multiplace chamber (multiple patients). A monoplace chamber is approximately 7 feet long and 2 1/2 feet in diameter. The walls are clear acrylic plastic. A multiplace chamber is cylindrical or rectangular in shape with doors on either end with round windows called viewports. These chambers vary in size from 8’ to 50’. Once inside you’ll be seated in a comfortable chair. After all the patients are in, the inside attendant will close the doors. The chamber will begin to be pressurized with medical grade air. After you reach the prescribed pressure you will breathe 100% oxygen through an oxygen delivery device, a hood or a mask. All patients are closely monitored by board certified staff and a physician trained in hyperbaric medicine. During a treatment, which usually lasts about 2 hours, you may sleep, listen to music or watch TV or read a book. If appropriate you may bring in your own videos or DVDs.
Length of Treatment
The number of hyperbaric treatments is determined by the condition being treated. Treatments may range from 1 to 40 depending on the diagnosis. Treatments are scheduled daily and occasionally twice daily. It is vital that you be on time for treatments as any delay will affect other patients’ treatment as well as your own.
What are the Effects?
The treatment is painless. At the beginning and end of your treatment, you may notice a feeling of “fullness” in your ears, very much like the feeling when changing altitude in an airplane, driving in the mountains or diving underwater. As your eardrums respond to the changing pressure, you may hear “popping” or “crackling” noises. It is not usually painful, but if you do not fully clear your ears, you may develop an earache. To clear or pop your ears, you will have a water bottle with you in the chamber to help you swallow. We will also treat you with a decongestant spray before each treatment.
After entering the chamber, the door is closed and the compression room begins. You may feel warm for a moment until you reach the desired depth of treatment. After 10 to 15 minutes, compression is complete and the usual feeling of fullness in your ears will disappear. You will continue breathing oxygen for 90 minutes. After 90 minutes, the treatment will come to an end. You may again notice a “popping” or fullness in your ears. Rarely, patients will feel lightheaded for a few moments after the treatment. This ends quickly and does not interfere with normal activity. If you wear glasses for reading, you may have a few weeks in which you can read without your glasses. If your eyes are normal, your reading vision may temporarily worsen. This does not hurt in any way and is temporary. Do not discard your old corrective lenses. Heart rhythm is routinely monitored on all patients for the first treatment. For patients with a preexisting heart condition, monitoring may be done with each treatment. If you are diabetic, your blood sugar will need to be taken before and after each treatment.
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