Diving and Tinnitus/Pulsatile Tinnitus — Have Had Some Improvement

Hi,

I have posted here a few times about my Tinnitus and Pulsatile Tinnitus.

Recently I went diving, the first time since the onset of the tinnitus/pulsatile tinnitus, my pulsatile tinnitus was absolutely nuts in the water. Could hear the high pitched noise pulsing away with my heartbeat. Extremely frustrating and really ruined my dive. Previously I used to love diving.

I must have equalized (for those who don't dive, it's when you hold your nose and apply air pressure, same as you do when you fly) my ear 30 times in the dive in an attempt to somehow clear the noise. This is way more than is required. After the dive my right ear was very painful, no doubt the eardrum had stretched from the constant equalization.

I decided no more diving that day and probably forever.

For a number of days my ear was quite sore and I noticed something a bit off. I noticed the tinnitus and the somatic high pitch pulsatile tinnitus seemed to be less intense. I thought it must be my imagination. But over the last week I have noticed quite a reduction in the noise.

I have noticed that my head/neck/jaw movements have a lot less effect on the tinnitus and the general high pitched pulsatile tinnitus is less frequent.

I thought this was interesting, it is as if by re-damaging my ear my body gone about repairing the damaged eardrum and perhaps (I am just guessing) also repaired some of the damage to the nerves or maybe even the cochlear?.

There are numerous examples of where you apply irritation to get your immune system to respond. For example a wart can resolve by applying liquid nitrogen or other chemical irritants which you then get an immune response and resolution of the wart.

I have not recovered from the tinnitus/pulsatile tinnitus but post diving has absolutely done something. It is not coincidence 'your body was going to heal' it is absolutely linked with the irritation from the dive.

Just my thoughts and observations!

 

There's one case history of only a few words, where tinnitus improved from diving - Aug 11, 2004. ENT found it was due to an opening the of an immature eustachian tube increasing blood supply.