A Safe Treatment Concept for Divers With Acute Inner Ear Disorders

INTRODUCTION Sport diving is becoming more and more popular, with increasing numbers of people enjoying this sport. There are approximately six million sport divers in the United States with an increasing number of associated diving accidents. Between 1986 and 1994, the number of cases of decompression illness (DCI) reported within the United States more than doubled from 562 cases in 1986 to 1164 cases in 1994. Accordingly, the number of divingrelated inner ear incidents has increased as well. Inner ear decompression illness (IEDCI), which was thought to be a rare disease in sport divers, shows an increasing incidence, as does inner ear barotrauma (IEB). Both IEB and IEDCI can harm the inner ear function and lead to permanent inner ear dysfunction.

[1]  M. Knauth,et al.  Embolic Inner Ear Decompression Illness: Correlation With a Right‐to‐Left Shunt , 2003, The Laryngoscope.

[2]  Philip P. Foster,et al.  Right-to-left shunt and risk of decompression illness with cochleovestibular and cerebral symptoms in divers: Case control study in 101 consecutive dive accidents , 2003, Critical care medicine.

[3]  M. Bennett,et al.  Bennett and Elliott's physiology and medicine of diving , 2003 .

[4]  M. Knauth,et al.  Recurrent inner ear decompression sickness associated with a patent foramen ovale. , 2002, Archives of otolaryngology--head & neck surgery.

[5]  C. Gordon,et al.  Inner Ear Decompression Sickness in Sport Compressed‐Air Diving , 2001, The Laryngoscope.

[6]  R. Dieler,et al.  Tauchmedizinische Aspekte in der Hals-Nasen-Ohrenheilkunde - I. Barotrauma und Dekompressionskrankheit - , 2000 .

[7]  R. Dieler,et al.  [Medical aspects of diving in otorhinolaryngology. I. Barotrauma and decompression sickness]. , 2000, Laryngo- rhino- otologie.

[8]  J. Strutz.  [Otorhinolaryngologic aspects of diving sports]. , 1993, HNO.

[9]  F. Pullen.  Perilymphatic fistula induced by barotrauma. , 1992, The American journal of otology.

[10]  Y. Finkelstein,et al.  Barotrauma-induced hearing loss. , 1991, Scandinavian audiology.

[11]  G. Becker,et al.  Conservative Management of Inner Ear Barotrauma Resulting from Scuba Diving , 1985, Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

[12]  J. C. Farmer.  DIVING INJURIES TO THE INNER EAR , 1977, The Lancet.

[13]  J. C. Farmer.  Diving Injuries to the Inner Ear , 1977, Lancet.

[14]  L. Raymond.  The Physiology and Medicine of Diving. , 1970 .