The Relation Between Eardrum Failure and Blast-induced Pressure Variations

Book excerpt: In field and laboratory experiments designed to study overall blast effects, incidental observations were made of the ears of over 490 animals. Those inside structures were exposed to a variety of 'atypical' blast waves. Those located inside shock tubes or in the open when high explosives were detonated were exposed to fairly 'typical' wave forms. An attempt was made to relate the incidence of eardrum rupture to various elements of the measured pressure-time curves. The association was not the same for 'typical' and 'atypical' wave forms. Within the limits of the meager differences were noted and discussed with emphasis on the apparent wide variability in tolerance for which an explanation was proposed.