Underwater Observations — Tinnitus Reduced as I Went Deeper

I recently returned from a tropical island holiday. Was hoping for a nice, quiet and relaxing week, but it turned out to be noisier than expected. Ear plugs got quite a work out.

Anyway I noticed that when snorkelling my tinnitus reduced as I went deeper. It virtually disappeared at around a meter under the surface and returned progressively upon resurfacing. Mind you I didn't go very deep, due to ETD issues on one side (can't equalise properly via valsalva).

Has anyone else had this happen? I'm not sure how the increase in pressure reduces it.

 

Never experienced it but interesting theory!

 

Interesting!

Could you rule out other factors, such as underwater sounds masking the tinnitus?

 

Sorry for the slow reply. Haven't been on for sometime.
It definitely reduced the deeper I went. But due to my left ET not equalising / blockage I didn't dare go too deep and risk a ruptured ear drum.
Not masked due to sounds. Just below surface it seemed loud and almost disappeared at about 2m.

 

It could be related to pressure... I can't think of anything else.

Have you been able to reproduce the effect since then? For example, in a swimming pool?

 

No but I might go for a swim shortly and test it out. Hopefully I won't get an ear infection from the pool.
I have had a sudden spike in the past couple of hours thanks to some moron blasting his car horn because someone double parked and blocked him. I was eating outside about 10m away! Also then some other moron's car alarm went off! You can't block your ears instantly so I copped some of it.

 

Please don't get an infection, just to answer my question If your ears are sensitive to infections, ear wax or pressure issues, then it may be better not to go for a swim.

I went through something similar a couple of days ago. My sister used the car horn when I was standing right of front of the car. It was the loudest thing I've heard in years! I was so close that I could locate where exactly under the hood/bonnet the sound came from. That threw me back in my recovery, but I'm slowly getting to where I was now.
Usually, these type of incidents don't cause permanent increases, especially if you're ten meters away, but it sure isn't nice.

 

Haha I was planning to swim.

I hate setbacks though. The uncertainty of whether it's permanent or not really sucks.

 

Hi Gman, I also experience this when I go underwater (tested it in a swimming pool). I also couldnt really hear my tinnitus when the pressure changed in the airplane I was on. Weird huh. Dont know what to think of it.

 

Yes it's very odd. Somehow the increase in pressure changes it. On the flip side a decrease in pressure from driving in the mountains makes mine worse and causes a spike.

I didn't end up going for a swim but my spike has gone down. But my hyperacusis has come back a bit. My ears also fill with air when I am exposed to louder sounds such as shopping centres or city noises. I had recovered quite a bit from this in recent weeks.

 

I read at least 3 separate posts from different persons reporting the same effect - no T while diving
And that for people with chronic noise-related T

Even one had a permanent reduction