Shipyard Dive Locker Uses Chamber to Treat Hearing Loss

Photo By Justice Vannatta | Navy Diver 1st Class Paul Orbegoso, the hyperbaric oxygen chamber supervisor at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Facility’s Dive Locker, monitors patient Allyssa Bernhardt as she is treated in the chamber for sudden hearing loss. PHNSY & IMF’s Dive Locker performed 30 hours of treatment on Bernhardt, resulting in an improvement in her hearing that allowed for her to receive a hearing aid. The hyperbaric oxygen treatment chamber uses state-of-the-art technology to aid patients who are in need of therapy for a multitude of diagnosed illnesses. PHNSY & IMF is the largest, most comprehensive U.S. Navy fleet repair and maintenance facility between the U.S. West Coast and the Far East and provides a capable, ready and "Fit to Fight" fleet. U.S. Navy photo by Justice Vannatta  

HI, UNITED STATES

02.14.2024

Story by Trice Denny 

Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility

Shipyard Dive Locker Uses Chamber to Treat Hearing Loss
From Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Facility Public Affairs

Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY & IMF) Divers recently used hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) to treat a Navy spouse who had experienced sudden hearing loss.

“One second I was enjoying my morning coffee and the next I had unbearable tinnitus and profound deafness in my left ear. It was as if someone just flipped a switch,” said Allyssa Bernhardt, spouse of Lt. Dave Bernhardt, explosive ordnance disposal officer, Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 1.

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL) is described as an unexplained rapid loss of hearing, in either one or both ears that can happen instantaneously or take a few days, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. People are advised to consider any sudden deafness symptoms as a medical emergency and to visit a doctor immediately.

Which is what the Bernhardts did.

Their medical journey took them through urgent care, the emergency room, and the Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) clinic with Defense Health Agency (DHA) Hawaii Market. While at the ENT clinic, Allyssa received the diagnosis of SSHL. She received treatment but the deafness, tinnitus and lack of sensation in her ear remained the same, she said.

As a Navy diver, her husband knew that hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) had been used to treat similar conditions. He reached out to MDSU-1 Undersea Medical Officer (UMO) Lt. Derek Scott and asked about the possibility of using the treatment on his spouse.

Scott evaluated Allyssa, contacted the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery UMO for authorization, and then called the Dive Locker where the Shipyard hyperbaric chamber team could administer treatment.

Within 12 hours she was able to begin HBOT.

The first session showed immediate signs of improvement, according to Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Robert Reynolds, PHNSY & IMF deep sea diving medical technician. He described her face as filled with joy as she experienced a bit of reprieve from the constant tinnitus.

She went on to complete 30 sessions, each one hour and 45 minutes at an average depth of 45 feet, and breathing 100 percent oxygen – five days at a time.

“I have regained what the audiologist calls a significant amount of hearing,” said Allyssa.

While Allyssa still experiences tinnitus, she considers the treatment a success.

“I went from being 100% deaf in my left ear to now having just enough hearing as to make me eligible to be fitted for a hearing aid,” she said.

Allyssa expressed her appreciation for the help she got along the way.

“The treatment from the divers and UMOs was top notch,” she said. “I felt as though every diver at the PHNSY Dive Locker genuinely wanted to see me recover my hearing and experience a reduction in my tinnitus. They were all very professional and caring individuals; they exceeded every expectation I had when I began my HBOT.

• Date Taken: 02.14.2024
• Date Posted: 02.14.2024 13:55
• Story ID: 463881
• Location: HI, US