Hi everyone, I have been lurking on these forums for a while but this is my first time posting. About 10 days ago I went on 2 boat dives. The first dive I descended to about 80 ft and felt slight pressure as I was on my way down. Not wanting to force anything, I took my time and was eventually able to equalize to the bottom. Immediately after the first dive I noticed fullness and muffled hearing in my right ear. I brushed it off as water trapped in my ear from the hood I was wearing. The second dive was uneventful with no issues equalizing.
A few days later I still had almost *complete* hearing loss in my right ear along with ringing/tinnitus. I called DAN and they assured me it is most likely middle ear barotrauma and will resolve itself with time. I then saw my ENT who gave me a different diagnosis: no fluid trapped in my middle ear as a sign of barotrauma, but instead sensorineural hearing loss as a result of nerve damage in the inner ear. This was not what I was expecting to hear, especially as the pressure I felt on the first descent was not significant enough to concern me. It also surprised me because I never had any dizziness or vertigo which are both listed as main symptoms of trauma to the inner ear/cochlea. Looking back, however, I probably did not equalize early and often enough on that first descent.
Nevertheless, he prescribed me a full dose of oral steroids which I am currently taking and advised that if the hearing does not come back, I should not dive again to avoid risking hearing loss in my other ear. This was obviously a total gut punch to hear and I'm trying not to get depressed about it.
I am seeing another ENT/neurotologist on Friday who is well versed in diving knowledge. I am not sure he will tell me anything different but I am praying there is a path forward both in terms of restoring my hearing in my right ear and being able to dive again. I have read some reports of hyperbaric oxygen therapy as a solution to this issue (
Sudden hearing loss causes scare for diver) as well as another poster who experienced a similar issue and got their hearing back after the steroids (
Question - Full ear/hearing loss but can equalize fine?). The ENT I saw said that oxygen therapy is a type of fringe medicine used mainly for DCS and would not help in my case.
Has anyone else experienced/heard of complete hearing loss in one ear after diving and know any other possible solutions? From what I have seen/read it is very rare to have a complete loss of hearing, rather than partial hearing loss associated with barotrauma. The thought of never diving again is one that I could barely fathom to imagine and I'm praying there will be a positive outcome to this situation. Thanks.
en.m.wikipedia.org
