Middle ear barotrauma in a tourist-oriented, condensed open-water diver certification course: incidence and effect of language of instruction.

INTRODUCTION: In Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) Open Water Diver certification courses that cater to tourists, instruction is often condensed and potentially delivered in a language that is not the candidate's native language.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the incidence of middle ear barotrauma (MEBt) in open-water diver candidates during a condensed four-day certification course, and to determine if language of instruction affects the incidence of MEBt in these divers.

METHOD: The ears of participating diving candidates were assessed prior to commencing any in-water compression. Tympanic membranes (TM) were assessed and graded for MEBt after the confined and open-water training sessions. Tympanometry was performed if the candidate had no movement of their TM during Valsalva. Photographs were taken with a digital otoscope.

RESULTS: Sixty-seven candidates participated in the study. Forty-eight had MEBt at some time during their course. MEBt was not associated with instruction in non-native language (adjusted odds ratio = 0.82; 95% confidence intervals 0.21-3.91). There was also no significant association between the severity of MEBt and language of instruction.

CONCLUSION: Open-water diver candidates have a high incidence of MEBt. Education in non-native language does not affect the overall incidence of MEBt.