Hearing loss and freediving

[cdavis]

Hi Haydn, glad to see you back on the forums. Am I assuming correctly that this occurred after a dive where equalization as a problem? Could you describe exactly what happened?

Connor

[flying_spanner]

I've been told that the Valsalva can contribute to hearing loss, and to use the Frenzel technigue as it's much gentler on the delicate workings of your ears.

My Dad has 500 recreational scuba dives logged and he's got pretty bad hearing loss and should be wearing a hearing aid (if he weren't so bloody stubborn). But then again he's a tradesman and has 40 years of working as a mechanic to blame before pointing the finger at scuba.

The ear doc last time him and I both went in together (for two seperate appointments), told us that diving has been known to contribute to hearing loss, but in most cases it's because of scar tissur due to diving with a cold, infections etc. and the statistics are quite unreliable.

Just my two cents

[billieball]

While scuba diving, I've come up with a kind of "muffled" hearing thing going on occasionally. It would typically go away within a day. With freediving, it's never happened. Then again, as a former flight attendant who didn't wear her ear protection on the tarmacs...it's no surprise that I often find myself asking people to repeat what they've just said. I guess jet engines really can hurt one's ears, eh? Eh?

Oh, and while training in scuba techniques a couple of years ago, we were told that Valsalva was easier on the body than Frenzel. Funny how everyone's got an opinion about this. What's that old adage? "Opinions are like ___________."

Cheers!

[apneaboy]

Pardon...?

[samdive]

until about a year ago I had had loads of eardrum perfs and absolutely no hearing problems as a result - I get a full commercial medical each year when they test these things.

Unfortunately since about Christmas, after a nasty ear infection which resulted in my ear drum bursting (may or may not have anything to do with diving), I have definitely got reduced hearing in that ear and most annoyingly, evil tinnitus in it whenever the rest of life goes quiet (lying down particularly)

If anyone has a good cure for tinnitus I'd love to hear it. My doctor just told me to put it up with it and it might go eventually - but it drives me mad

S

[Fondueset]

Sam, theres a passel of natural treatments for Tinnitus - I honestly don't know if any of them work. You can also get vitamin formulations that are intended to make your ears happy. I do know tinnitus gets worse when I'm low energy or, specifically, if I have digestive problems or drink too much coffee. Its worst in my right ear which had a firecracker detonated near it in high school - I have slight high frequency loss in that ear but am in the normal range in both. Middle ear infections do seem to be a source of problems. My right ear usually gets a little muddy after diving - I think there is some sort of chronic inflammation or fluid build up in that Eustachian tube - but I can always equalize easily and it clears afterwhile. Any equalization technique - Frenzel or Valsalva - has the potential for being applied with too much force - I try to equalize as more of a 'flow' - probably every meter or so on the way down but its always been easy for me.

Chinese medicine relates tinnitus to organ/energy function. I have experienced a reduction after doing a liver cleansing regime. It also gets much worse after extended periods of time on the computer - which goes to the Chinese model as the liver is associated with the eyes.

[samdive]

thanks fondueset - stress/health/tiredness are definitely huge factors with mine too - and stress is usually linked to too long on the computer!

someone else recommended gingko biloba - trying that but not helping so far that I can tell!

tried hopi candles too but they don't seem to help either

[Haydn]

The doc thinks my deafness occured whilst trying to force a valsalva and damaged the middle ear. The dive in question did not give any pain, just a failed equalise followed by a short ascent to ensure no damage. Same thing happened next dive. Bith equalises were slow and ineffective, so I guess I just pumped up the pressue with the valsalva. Depth was around 10 metres. Being deaf for a while was soooooooo noisy. All I could hear was the tinitus. Now I hear the tinitus all the time, even in a noisy room, it is difficult to hear people speak in such environments. I dont wear my hearing aid much. But am learning sign language (just in case).

[smellsfishy]

I came back from a day of spearfishing with Tinnitus in my left ear. In the past it's gotten better over night or within a few days. This time it's been with me for a year or so.

Interestingly when I tilt my head to the right it gets worse. If I tilt it back to the left it gets better. I also notice it gets worse when I lie down, so I tend to notice it most in the morning.

I've been tested for hearing loss and have been told both that I have some higher frequency loss as well as "oh you're normal for your age" (34). Meanwhile I can't hear much in noisy situations. Doh!

[Haydn]

It seems that tinitus is a real and serious matter. Certainly freediving has made mine far worse, not debilitating, but I wonder how I would feel if my next dive caused my tinitus to get even 20% worse. For those who do not suffer, try to imagine a constant high pitch whistle in one ear and a slightly different but louder pitch in the other. Never ending. And when your surroundings are quiet at bedtime or when you feel ill, the noises increase in volume and you can listen to them. Then you can pick out different frequencies and even bells and tunes. The only 'cure' is to pay no attention, pretend the noises dont matter, so that your brain learns to pretend they dont exist. A bit like a mother and a baby, the baby makes a noise and the mother is immediatly alert. The trick is not to become alert when the baby cries. As I said, it seems tinitus is something forgotten about when we talk about the dangers of diving. We give more attention to lmc avoidance for instance. Thats like teaching you to avoid the ant but not telling you theres a wasp about.