[Health aspects of diving in ENT medicine. Part I: Diving associated diseases]

Abstract

There has been a steady increase in the number of recreational scuba divers in the last years, with a growing number of diving associated diseases involving ENT medicine. Disorders of the ears, sinuses and pharynx are those most common in divers. In particular, external otitis and barotrauma of the middle ear are commonly treated by every ENT specialist. They usually do not lead to any permanent complaints. Incidents involving the cochleovestibular system are less common, but can result in deafness, vertigo and tinnitus, and therefore have to be treated appropriately. To treat diving medical disorders, the physician has to have some basic understanding of the physical laws that lead to diving incidents. This article will inform the reader of the forces that are encountered by divers, and then give details of the treatment of acute ENT diseases which result from diving incidents.