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Biomedical subjects

Abel-Jan Tasman

Publications and source records attributed to Abel-Jan Tasman.

2 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Hearing threshold in sport divers: is diving really a hazard for inner ear function?

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of scuba diving on the hearing threshold of sport divers who have no history of excessive noise exposure or of diving-related inner ear damage. DESIGN: Cross-sectional controlled comparison study. SETTING: General sports diving community. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty sport divers with an average of 650 dives each and at least 4 years of diving experience (mean, 10 years) were compared with a control group of 63 nondivers from our hospital staff or patients referred for rhinologic problems or benign tumors of the salivary gland. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: After microscopic otoscopy and tympanometry, we used pure-tone audiometry to measure the hearing threshold for air and bone conduction. The participants were divided into 3 age groups, and the hearing test results for both ears combined were statistically compared. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in the hearing thresholds between sport divers and nondivers. CONCLUSIONS: The reduced hearing levels of professional divers found in other studies are probably due to the high noise levels that they have to deal with or may be a result of inner ear accidents.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Recurrent inner ear decompression sickness associated with a patent foramen ovale.

Isolated inner ear injuries occurring during shallow scuba dives are an uncommon manifestation of decompression sickness in recreational divers. We describe a patient who presented with the typical symptoms of inner ear involvement after 2 independent dives within the decompression limits. The diver reported symptoms of unilateral (right-sided) hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo after dives to 35 and 50 m. After treatment with hyperbaric oxygen, his symptoms completely resolved. To confirm the hypothesis of inner ear decompression sickness (IEDCS), we examined the patient for a right-to-left shunt by cranial Doppler ultrasound and found a patent foramen ovale. The existence of a patent foramen ovale is suspected to be a risk factor for developing neurological symptoms of decompression sickness. There was no evidence of any other risk factors, so we suggest that the relevant right-to-left shunt in our patient may have been the predisposing factor that caused the inner ear symptoms during his scuba dive.

Adult↗