Bozkurt Ömer, Güven Selis Gülseven, Taş Memduha, Yılmaz Şule, Köder Ahmet, Bulut Erdoğan
Department of Audiology Institute of Health Sciences, Trakya University Edirne Turkiye.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology Faculty of Medicine, Trakya University Edirne Turkiye.
Laryngoscope Investig Otolaryngol. 2025 Aug 20;10(4):e70241. doi: 10.1002/lio2.70241. eCollection 2025 Aug.
The aim of this study was to investigate changes that may occur in the peripheral vestibular system due to inner ear barotrauma in self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) divers exposed to hyperbaric environments.
This prospective study was conducted on 45 healthy volunteers. In this study, after otologic and audiological examinations were performed on two groups as control ( = 24) and SCUBA ( = 21), cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (c-VEMP) were evaluated for peripheral vestibular system functions. The SCUBA group comprised individuals who had completed a minimum of 75 dives and held a World Confederation of Underwater Activities 2 certificate. Statistical analysis was performed on immittance metric measurements, pure-tone hearing thresholds (0.5-18 kHz), and P1-N1 latencies and amplitudes from c-VEMP tests.
The SCUBA group demonstrated statistically significant differences in pure-tone low and high frequency thresholds within the normal hearing range compared to the control group ( = 0.001). The c-VEMP responses showed statistically significant prolongation of P1-N1 latencies in right ears and N1 latencies in left ears in the SCUBA group ( < 0.05), along with a statistically significant increase in amplitudes ( = 0.0001).
Based on our findings, the increased amplitudes in c-VEMP responses observed in SCUBA divers exposed to hyperbaric environments suggest enhanced saccular plasticity, likely resulting from barotrauma effects on otolith structures.
本研究旨在调查在高压环境下使用自给式水下呼吸器（SCUBA）潜水的潜水员内耳气压伤可能导致的外周前庭系统变化。
本前瞻性研究对45名健康志愿者进行。在本研究中，对两组（对照组=24人，SCUBA组=21人）进行耳科和听力学检查后，评估颈前庭诱发肌源性电位（c-VEMP）以了解外周前庭系统功能。SCUBA组由至少完成75次潜水并持有世界水下活动联合会2级证书的个体组成。对声导抗测量、纯音听力阈值（0.5-18kHz）以及c-VEMP测试的P1-N1潜伏期和振幅进行统计分析。
与对照组相比，SCUBA组在正常听力范围内的纯音低频和高频阈值存在统计学显著差异（P=0.001）。SCUBA组的c-VEMP反应显示，右耳P1-N1潜伏期和左耳N1潜伏期有统计学显著延长（P<0.05），同时振幅有统计学显著增加（P=0.0001）。
基于我们的研究结果，在暴露于高压环境的SCUBA潜水员中观察到的c-VEMP反应振幅增加表明球囊可塑性增强，这可能是气压伤对耳石结构影响的结果。
3级。
