School of Infantry - West, Camp Pendleton, California, U.S.
Head & Neck Surgery Department, Kaiser Permanente San Diego Medical Center, San Diego, California, U.S.
Undersea Hyperb Med. 2024 Second Quarter;51(2):129-135.
Inner ear decompression sickness (IEDCS) is an uncommon diving-related injury affecting the vestibulocochlear system, with symptoms typically including vertigo, tinnitus, and hearing loss, either in isolation or combination. Classically associated with deep, mixed-gas diving, more recent case series have shown that IEDCS is indeed possible after seemingly innocuous recreational dives, and there has been one previous report of IEDCS following routine hyperbaric chamber operations. The presence of right-to-left shunt (RLS), dehydration, and increases in intrathoracic pressure have been identified as risk factors for IEDCS, and previous studies have shown a predominance of vestibular rather than cochlear symptoms, with a preference for lateralization to the right side. Most importantly, rapid identification and initiation of recompression treatment are critical to preventing long-term or permanent inner ear deficits. This case of a U.S. Navy (USN) diver with previously unidentified RLS reemphasizes the potential for IEDCS following uncomplicated diving and recompression chamber operations - only the second reported instance of the latter.
内耳减压病（IEDCS）是一种不常见的潜水相关损伤，影响前庭耳蜗系统，症状通常包括眩晕、耳鸣和听力损失，可单独或组合出现。经典地与深潜水、混合气体潜水有关，但最近的病例系列表明，在看似无害的休闲潜水后也确实有可能发生 IEDCS，并且之前有过一例在常规高压舱操作后发生 IEDCS 的报告。右向左分流（RLS）、脱水和胸腔内压力增加已被确定为 IEDCS 的危险因素，先前的研究表明前庭症状比耳蜗症状更为常见，并且偏向于右侧。最重要的是，快速识别和开始再压缩治疗对于预防长期或永久性内耳缺陷至关重要。本例美国海军（USN）潜水员以前未被识别的 RLS 再次强调了在简单潜水和再压缩舱操作后发生 IEDCS 的可能性——这是后者的第二个报道实例。
