Auditory function among young occupational divers: a 3-year follow-up study.

Auditory function was measured in a 3-year follow-up study of 54 young occupational divers divided into high-exposure (n = 23) and low-exposure (n = 31) groups. The divers performed open-sea dives with a median number of 132 dives (range 44-766) during follow-up. At the start of follow-up, hearing in the high-exposure group was reduced compared with that in the low-exposure group. During the follow-up period, the total group experienced a significantly reduced hearing ability at 4 kHz in the left ear. No difference in change between the last and the first measurement for both ears combined was found when the two groups were compared. A regression analysis of measurements at the end of follow-up shows an association between the loss of hearing in the left ear at 6 and 8 kHz and the total number of years of diving. This indicates that diving may contribute to hearing impairment.