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. 2019 Mar 31;49(1):2-8.
doi: 10.28920/dhm49.1.2-8.

The impact of diving on hearing: a 10-25 year audit of New Zealand professional divers

Chris Sames  1   2 , Desmond F Gorman  1   3 , Simon J Mitchell  1   4 , Lifeng Zhou  5
Affiliations

The impact of diving on hearing: a 10-25 year audit of New Zealand professional divers

Chris Sames et al. Diving Hyperb Med. .

Abstract

Introduction: Surveillance of professional divers' hearing is routinely undertaken on an annual basis despite lack of evidence of benefit to the diver. The aim of this study was to determine the magnitude and significance of changes in auditory function over a 10-25 year period of occupational diving with the intention of informing future health surveillance policy for professional divers.

Methods: All divers with adequate audiological records spanning at least 10 years were identified from the New Zealand occupational diver database. Changes in auditory function over time were compared with internationally accepted normative values. Any significant changes were tested for correlation with diving exposure, smoking history and body mass index.

Results: The audiological records of 227 professional divers were analysed for periods ranging from 10 to 25 years. Initial hearing was poorer than population norms, and deterioration over the observation period was less than that predicted by normative data. Changes in hearing were not related to diving exposure, or smoking history.

Conclusion: Audiological changes over 10 to 25 years of occupational diving were not found to be significantly different from age-related changes. Routine annual audiological testing of professional divers does not appear to be justifiable.

Keywords: Audiology; Fitness to dive; Hearing loss; Medicals – diving; Occupational diving; Surveillance.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest

Simon Mitchell is the Editor of Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine, but had no involvement in the peer-review and decision-making processes for this paper.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Age-adjusted, initial observed and predicted hearing thresholds of 227 divers (medians and 95% confidence limits); predicted values were derived from ISO Standard 7029[26]
Figure 2
Figure 2
Age-adjusted, observed and predicted hearing thresholds of 227 divers after 10–25 years of diving (median and 95% confidence limits); predicted values were derived from ISO Standard 7029[26]
Figure 3
Figure 3
Degree of hearing loss at certain frequencies in 227 divers over 10–25 years
Figure 4
Figure 4
Change in observed and age-adjusted hearing thresholds over 10–25 years of diving compared with predicted change (medians and 95% confidence limits); predicted values were derived from ISO Standard 7029[26]
Figure 5
Figure 5
Ratio of age-adjusted and predicted* hearing thresholds of divers before and after 10–25 years of diving (medians and 95% confidence limits); * predicted values were derived from ISO Standard 7029[26]
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