Nerve Deafness & Diving

[EricDive]

I have some hearing loss which my ENT describes as "nerve deafness" during my discussion with him he was suggesting protecting my hearing at all times (ie. hearing protection in loud situations etc.) he also suggested giving up scuba diving! I just started diving in the spring and have logged over 50 dives (I am currently not diving until spring as I dive wet and the water is getting a little stiff around here). What are the concerns and the odds that diving will cause further deafness. I'm really looking forward to next season and don't want to give it up.

Thanks for any advice,

Eric

 

[bigz]

You are not alone. I was diagnosed with the very same ailment quite a few years ago. the ENT specialist said to quit. I gave his advice about a 30 second ponder and I've not stopped. Down side - I've still got a 45% loss in my left ear and slightly better in my right. Stopping would not have improved things, and there has not been too mych deterioration over the past 15 years.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND IGNORING MEDICAL ADVICE. However this is an individual choice and your circumstances may vary. You may want a second opinion. My problem may also be associated with such non-diving activities as being too close to tank main guns on the firing range in an earlier life!

"Bottom line" -I leave for Cozumel in 23 days!

Don't despair.

Neil

 

[DocVikingo]

In general, the opinion of a competent examining ENT would be determinative in such a call. If you have uncertainties, you can seek a second opinion from a specialist with training in diving medicine.

Fact is the changes in barometric pressure, and methods to control them, inherent in scuba pose a threat to audition. Rupture of the eardrum or of the round/oval window, other inner ear injuries and ear infection can result in hearing loss. Even in the absence of such events, repeated strains placed upon ear structures over time can result in a gradual diminution of acuity.

There are divers who continue to scuba following hearing loss, conductive and sensorineural ("nerve deafness"), without apparent additional adverse effect, although without longitudinal audiometric testing it cannot be stated with confidence whether or not they're dodging further loss. Others clearly do sustain additional hearing alterations that appear to be beyond those attributable to normal age-related changes.

It boils down to how important scuba is in your life and if you're willing to risk further hearing abnornmality in order to pursue it.

Best of luck.

DocVikingo

 

[redacted]

I've got 90+% loss in one ear & 50% in the other from nerve damage. I started diving 9 years ago & I don't think there has been any change. But I'm not sure the wife would agree.

 

[d33ps1x]

Sorry could you repeat that....joke

I had an ear injury earlier in the year and definately lost a bit of hearing from it (full tests from ENT).

This was on top of some hearing loss from a car accident a few years ago.

Not really sure if I've lost more since but the problem is more of not noticing gradual loss vs major trauma.

Gradual loss is not remarkable and it can slip by you that your hearing is fading until it's too late.

 

[wrongkey]

My suspicion is your ENT may well be more interested in covering his or her own rear than in helping you make a genuinely informed decision. I have nerve deafness in one ear. I've been 100% deaf in that ear since the day I was born. When I was a kid, I had an opportunity to learn to dive, but the ENT my parents took me to said that was nothing I would ever be medically fit to do. The rascal put a number of other "thou shalt nots" on his list for me, although I really didn't much care about the others.

A couple of years ago, a neighbor who dives and knew it was the kind of thing I'd enjoy told me he suspected I'd gotten some really lousy advice those many years ago. I went to an ENT who dives and specializes in diver's ear problems. After a very thorough exam, he told me it was too bad I'd gotten screwed out of a quarter of a century of diving for no valid medical reason, go have fun, and be careful because, obviously, with only one ear that works, my margin for screwing up is diminished.

I'm no medical professional. I suspect that the temptation to tell a patient not to do something is a handy default for many. If I were in your shoes, I would do my research to find a highly credentialed ENT who dives, and get a second opinion from that doctor. You might start getting a recommendation from DAN, or your LDS may be able to give you the name of an ENT who dives.

Good luck.

 

[EricDive]

Thanks everyone for your good advice. I am going to try to track down a diving ENT in my area and get a second opinion. In the meantime the ENT I'm seeing is sending me for a CTScan to be sure he hasn't missed anything and then a follow up appointment so I will have lots of data when I find someone else.

It's interesting ... the reason I made the appointment to see the ENT was because I had some sudden hearing loss last spring (prior to my starting diving) that my family doctor said was fluid in my middle ear and that it would go away. Of course it didn't so I went back and he scheduled the ENT appointment. The night before my appointment I played a game of Underwater Hockey, I had some sinus blockage and blew pretty hard trying to clear ... after the game I noticed quite a bit of hearing loss in my other ear as well as a real increase in the volume of my tinnitus. I think the underwater hockey (all of the up and down in the pool) along with my equalizing caused the problem and I hope it is short term.

My feeling is that these 2 episodes of hearing loss had nothing to do with "diving" as one was before I started and the other seems directly connected to the pool session. I logged over 50 dives this summer with my maximum depth being 133 feet (AOW) and I never had trouble equalizing. I watched Dr. Kay's Ear Video (all divers should watch this
http://faculty.washington.edu/ekay
) and I'm feeling a lot more comfortable understanding what is going on.

Sorry for the long rambling note ... bottom line ... more research, a second opinion and an informed decision.

Thanks all!!!
Eric

 

[Frank O]

EricDive once bubbled...
It's interesting ... the reason I made the appointment to see the ENT was because I had some sudden hearing loss last spring (prior to my starting diving) that my family doctor said was fluid in my middle ear and that it would go away. Of course it didn't so I went back and he scheduled the ENT appointment. The night before my appointment I played a game of Underwater Hockey, I had some sinus blockage and blew pretty hard trying to clear ... after the game I noticed quite a bit of hearing loss in my other ear as well as a real increase in the volume of my tinnitus. I think the underwater hockey (all of the up and down in the pool) along with my equalizing caused the problem and I hope it is short term.

Hi Eric, I sympathize with your problem because I've had a lot of issues with ears and sinuses (I freedive as often as I dive on scuba, and the former is much more of a load on those parts of the body.) I have one friend who blew out the round window in one ear a few years ago while trying to equalize too aggressively on a scuba dive, and ended up totally and permanently deaf in that ear. He continues to freedive, however, relatively shallowly. Your decision, though, is one you need to make yourself with your doctors.

One thing I did want to bring up about your story, though, is the fact that you played uw hockey while having an ear problem. From personal experience I've found that it's always asking for trouble when you try to get in the water with an ear issue. Last June I thought I had recovered from an ear problem that persisted for several weeks, did some freediving and ended up with a much worse problem that lingered for six more weeks. So in the bigger picture I've learned that sometimes I have to stay out of the water and heal.

Also, your recollection that you "blew pretty hard" trying to clear during the hockey game is a really bad idea. This is exactly how my friend went deaf in one ear.

Hope your problem clears up! Seeing a dive ENT sounds like a good idea.

 

[LilMerl2]

What does ENT stand for?
And when you walk do you walk straight?
I want to know this things because my child is doing his science project on deafness in one ear and for him to complete his project he has to know this answer so please help him.

 

[caymaniac]

I had some nerve damage when I was in the military from shooting a 45 on the pistol range, I had in ear plugs but should have had muffs. This is from about 1975 when they didn't really use muffs. So I can live with the slight ring in my left ear. One really great thing about diving is that it gets really quiet when I dive because water seems to block the ringing. I've never had a doc tell me that I could sustain more hearing loss, and if he did, I'm not sure I could give up diving.
Dive Safe,
Caymaniac