Investigation of auditory health in individuals exposed to elevated hydrostatic pressure
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15587/2519-4798.2024.323704Keywords:
diagnostics, sensorineural hearing loss, bone conduction, audiogram, divingAbstract
As diving depth increases, various environmental factors influence the human body, potentially triggering a range of physiological and psychological responses. One of the most significant factors is hydrostatic pressure. To ensure safe diving, tables and additional devices are used to pre-plan the route and create a dive profile that helps prevent unpleasant and hazardous complications. Among pathological conditions that may arise during or after diving, ear damage is one of the most common, occurring in 40–63 % of cases, according to various authors.
The aim of the study: This study aims to assess the condition of both the sound-conducting and sound-perceiving components of the auditory system in divers.
Materials and methods: Between 2019 and 2023, the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at Bogomolets National Medical University conducted examinations and collected data from 59 individuals engaged in scuba diving with specialized equipment. The inclusion criteria were ages 18 to 55 and professional certification. Initial screening involved medical history collection and ENT examination. The following audiological assessments were conducted: pure-tone audiometry and impedance audiometry. Additional parameters such as total number of dives, maximum dive depth, and time since the last dive were also recorded.
Results and discussion: Pure-tone audiometry results showed that median hearing thresholds in Group 1 were around 10 dB, whereas in Group 2, they were approximately 5 dB. Moreover, Group 1 exhibited significantly higher bone conduction thresholds across all tested frequencies.
Conclusions: A strong positive correlation was established between anamnestic data (number of dives, maximum dive depth, and diving experience) and elevated bone conduction thresholds. This indicates that prolonged exposure to hydrostatic pressure and other diving-related factors (e.g., pressure changes, acoustic effects, potential barotrauma) may contribute to progressive hearing impairment. The strongest correlation between diving experience and perceptual sensitivity thresholds was observed, suggesting a cumulative effect on the auditory system. These findings emphasize the importance of regular auditory health monitoring among both professional and recreational divers and highlight the need to develop preventive measures to mitigate the adverse effects of increased hydrostatic pressure on the auditory system
References
- Shopov, N. G. (2019). Study of the changes in respiratory function in self-contained underwater breathing apparatus divers. International Maritime Health, 70 (1), 61–64. https://doi.org/10.5603/imh.2019.0009
- Raymond, K. A., Cooper, J. S. (2022). Scuba Diving Physiology. StatPearls. Treasure Island: StatPearls Publishing.
- Blake, D. F., Crowe, M., Mitchell, S. J., Aitken, P., Pollock, N. W. (2018). Vibration and bubbles: a systematic review of the effects of helicopter retrieval on injured divers. Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine Journal, 48 (4), 241–251. https://doi.org/10.28920/dhm48.4.241-251
- Buzzacott, P. L. (2012). The Epidemiology of Injury in Scuba Diving. Epidemiology of Injury in Adventure and Extreme Sports, 57–79. https://doi.org/10.1159/000338582
- Buzzacott, P., Schiller, D., Crain, J., Denoble, P. J. (2018). Epidemiology of morbidity and mortality in US and Canadian recreational scuba diving. Public Health, 155, 62–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2017.11.011
- Hubbard, M., Davis, F. M., Malcolm, K., Mitchell, S. J. (2018). Decompression illness and other injuries in a recreational dive charter operation. Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine Journal, 48 (4), 218–223. https://doi.org/10.28920/dhm48.4.218-223
- Pedersen, C. C., Pedersen, E. R., Laugesen, S., Sanchez-Lopez, R., Nielsen, J., Sørensen, C. B. et al. (2023). Comparison of hearing aid fitting effectiveness with audiograms from either user-operated or traditional audiometry in a clinical setting: a study protocol for a blinded non-inferiority randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open, 13 (3), e065777. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-065777
- Sente, M. (2004). The history of audiology. Medical Review, 57 (11-12), 611–616. https://doi.org/10.2298/mpns0412611s
- Hizel, S. B., Muluk, N. B., Budak, B., Budak, G. (2007). Does Scuba Diving Cause Hearing Loss? The Journal of Otolaryngology, 36 (4), 247–252. https://doi.org/10.2310/7010.2007.0038
- Ohgaki, T., Nigauri, T., Okubo, J., Komatsuzaki, A. (1992). Exostosis Of The External Auditory Canal and Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Professional Divers. Nippon Jibiinkoka Gakkai Kaiho, 95 (9), 1323–1331. https://doi.org/10.3950/jibiinkoka.95.1323
- Duplessis, C., Fothergill, D. (2009). Exploiting otoacoustic emission testing to identify clinical and subclinical inner ear barotrauma in divers: potential risk factor for sensorineural hearing loss. Journal of otolaryngology – head & neck surgery, 38 (1), 67–76.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Yuliia Dieieva, Yaroslava Bondarenko
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Our journal abides by the Creative Commons CC BY copyright rights and permissions for open access journals.
Authors, who are published in this journal, agree to the following conditions:
1. The authors reserve the right to authorship of the work and pass the first publication right of this work to the journal under the terms of a Creative Commons CC BY, which allows others to freely distribute the published research with the obligatory reference to the authors of the original work and the first publication of the work in this journal.
2. The authors have the right to conclude separate supplement agreements that relate to non-exclusive work distribution in the form in which it has been published by the journal (for example, to upload the work to the online storage of the journal or publish it as part of a monograph), provided that the reference to the first publication of the work in this journal is included.
