Long-term health risks associated with diving?

[austriandiveress]

I'm sure you all have dealt with this in the past, but I've done a search and dont find what I am looking for.
I'd like to know what kind of studies have been done on folks who have health problems in later years, where the illnesses can be (if this is even possible) attributed to diving.
In particular, I know of two middle-aged men (one mid 40s, the other early 50s) who seem to have marked hearing loss, especially the younger man, who has about 2000 logged dives. Maybe its a coincidence, but the older man says it is due to diving.... ("all that equalizing")
And what about the odd brush with DCS? Does it return later, as joint problems, (or worse) , for example?
I am sure there are many benefits as well, such as maintaining an active life style, general health and physical strength, but I'd be very interested to know if any such information exists.

 

[Gene_Hobbs]

I would start by reading Dr. Walker's review from the SPUMS Journal in 2001. It has a nice review by system. From there you can work on those references.

Walker, RM. (2001) Long term health effects of diving. Journal of the South Pacific Underwater Medicine Society Volume 31 Number 2. RRR ID: 7725

There is also much more in our database... keyword: long term health effects diving

The ELTHI diving study technical reports may be of interest from a commercial diving standpoint.

Please let us know if there is something you need and can't find...

Good luck!

 

[austriandiveress]

Thank you very much!

 

[Tigerman]

You could start by researching northsea divers. Lots of them have gotten serious health issues, both mentally and physically. As of 2006 none of the norwegian northsea divers had reached retirement age.

Short story:
96% suffered reduced life quality for various reasons.
40% died.
85% of the ones who has had medical checkouts has been bent, gotten bone necrosis, chronic lung deceases and/or cancer.
30% has been diagnosed with brain damage.
23 northsea divers has comitted suicide. Something that put the rate 10s of times higher than any other occupation.

That said, this was extreme diving in a time where the knowledge was lots worse than it is now.

 

[nereas]

I'm sure you all have dealt with this in the past, but I've done a search and dont find what I am looking for.
I'd like to know what kind of studies have been done on folks who have health problems in later years, where the illnesses can be (if this is even possible) attributed to diving.
In particular, I know of two middle-aged men (one mid 40s, the other early 50s) who seem to have marked hearing loss, especially the younger man, who has about 2000 logged dives. Maybe its a coincidence, but the older man says it is due to diving.... ("all that equalizing")
And what about the odd brush with DCS? Does it return later, as joint problems, (or worse) , for example?
I am sure there are many benefits as well, such as maintaining an active life style, general health and physical strength, but I'd be very interested to know if any such information exists.

Deep technical commercial oil-well diving is typically a 5 year career, and then there are all sorts of health problems afterwards. Naval hard-hat submarine rescue/recovery divers sometimes go through the same problems. Worst case is bone death.

These are not issues that any ordinary amateur diver would ever experience, however. Not to worry!

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

For recreational divers or technical or commercial dives? Each type carried different possibilities.
For me, the long term risks are that my kids will not be able to go to college, due to lack of funds... That's about it for us.

 

[Coldwater_Canuck]

Deep technical commercial oil-well diving is typically a 5 year career, and then there are all sorts of health problems afterwards. Naval hard-hat submarine rescue/recovery divers sometimes go through the same problems. Worst case is bone death.

These are not issues that any ordinary amateur diver would ever experience, however. Not to worry!

Do you know off the top of your head what the causes were? I mean if it was just due to depth, wouldn't this affect amateur technical deep divers as well?

To the OP, I can't see equalizing hurting your hearing. I'm not doctor or do I do anything to do with the human body, but all you're doing is releasing excess air. This is by no means unique to scuba, it happens on airplanes, even on land if going from an area of higher altitude to a lower one. I know you can get damage if you don't equalize, but equalizing itself shouldn't cause hearing damage as far as I know. But if I'm incorrect, someone please correct me.