Lose hearing after diving so long?!

[Haleye97]

Someone told me their relative has been a commercial diver and has almost lost most of his hearing. Can that really happen?

 

[T.C.]

Commercial diving can be a very dangerous profession. Many people are hurt doing it, and the amount of time you can do the job is not very long.

The problem is in how they dive. Many commercial divers are underwater at greater than recreation depths, and work there for hours. When they get out, they are hauled up and decompress in a chamber, rather than decompressing slowly on the way up like a recreational diver.

So a commercial diver who hurts their ears due to barotrauma would not be unheard of.

 

[triplecove]

What?

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi Haleye97,

Indeed it can & does happen --> A twelve-year longitudinal study of hearing thresholds among professional divers. ( http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/8361/19341125.pdf?sequence=1 )

T.C. mentioned some important potential contributing factors, and I would add exposure to loud noises & contaminated environments to the list.

However, if it is sport/recreational diving that concerns you, I suggest that you read this thread from our archives --> http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/diving-medicine/409772-long-term-effects-diving-hearing.html

Regards,

DocVikingo

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

I suspect that most hearing loss in commercial divers is related to noise exposure like DocV pointed out. The sur-D-O2 (surface decompression using oxygen) procedures that T.C. described are no less likely to result in barotrauma than a recreational dive.

Best regards,
DDM

 

[T.C.]

I suspect that most hearing loss in commercial divers is related to noise exposure like DocV pointed out. The sur-D-O2 (surface decompression using oxygen) procedures that T.C. described are no less likely to result in barotrauma than a recreational dive.

Best regards,
DDM

Thanks, I forgot to consider the working environment (maybe because I've already suffered hearing loss due to my work "environment"? ) It is probably more of a factor than the actual diving is.

What I was driving at is that since commercial divers are often not brought up as slowly as a recreational diver; since they are pulled up relatively quickly and bundled into a chamber immediately, the potential for a reverse squeeze exists on being brought up. I didn't mean to imply that the actual deco procedures are a causitive factor.

Regardless, to Haleye97, in recreational diving, as long as the rules are adhered to, the risk of ear barotrauma is low. Equalize early and often, don't descend if you can't clear your ears, don't continue to descend if your ears hurt, call off the dive if you can't equalize, ascend slowly to allow your ears to equalize (among other benefits), and don't dive when you're congested or taking medicine for congestion.

 

[Superlyte27]

The reason us commercial divers can't hear is because we don't wear the hearing protection we should. We're surrounded by very loud stuff all day ever day and we think we're bullet proof.

"I don't need no stinking ear plugs."

Then one day, you realize you're struggling to hear the TV.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

What I was driving at is that since commercial divers are often not brought up as slowly as a recreational diver; since they are pulled up relatively quickly and bundled into a chamber immediately, the potential for a reverse squeeze exists on being brought up. I didn't mean to imply that the actual deco procedures are a causitive factor.

T.C.,

What is your information source for the statement above? Are you referring to a particular commercial diving outfit/deco table? The chamber descent rates can be pretty fast on a sur-D-O2, especially if the diver is slow to trip out of his/her gear, but to my knowledge the in-water and chamber ascent rates are about 30 feet per minute, which is right in line with the recommendations for recreational divers.

Best regards,
DDM

 

[Superlyte27]

T.C.,

What is your information source for the statement above? Are you referring to a particular commercial diving outfit/deco table? The chamber descent rates can be pretty fast on a sur-D-O2, especially if the diver is slow to trip out of his/her gear, but to my knowledge the in-water and chamber ascent rates are about 30 feet per minute, which is right in line with the recommendations for recreational divers.

Best regards,
DDM

Me thinks you've never been on a surface supplied commercial dive.
Speaking from experience, I'll go on record as saying I've been pulled up by my tender in excess of 30fpm literally hundreds of times.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

Me thinks you've never been on a surface supplied commercial dive.
Speaking from experience, I'll go on record as saying I've been pulled up by my tender in excess of 30fpm literally hundreds of times.

Me thinks that is not the case, though I can't claim numbers in the hundreds. What ascent rate did your tables specify?