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Background: Eustachian tube balloon dilation is a minimally invasive surgical procedure used to treat Eustachian tube dysfunction which is not responsive to conventional therapies. Methods: In this cohort intervention series we report the results of balloon dilation in treating refractory equalization problems in 20 freediving spearfishermen; in 19 cases the problem was unilateral and in one case bilateral. All the patients had already received medical and insufflation therapy and four patients had also had nasal surgery. None of these treatments or procedures had achieved improvement. We used a 20 mm x 3 mm disposable balloon catheter inserted through a 70-degree guide catheter and inflated up to 12 ATM three times at three different depths of insertion within the Eustachian tube. Every inflation lasted 120 seconds. Results: Fifteen out of 20 patients improved. Ten patients reported a complete resolution of equalization problems, five showed improvement with persistence of a slight equalization delay on the treated side. Five patients did not report any improvement. Two complications occurred: subcutaneous emphysema of the parotid region in one case; and a mild high frequency (4-8 KHz) sensorineural hearing loss in another patient. Conclusion: Balloon dilation of the Eustachian tube is an effective therapy in the treatment of equalization problems with a good success rate.

Objective: Scuba diving and freediving are popular activities around the world, and their growth has increased the frequency of related pathology. A good ability to equalize is of paramount importance for diving. This is especially true for freediving, during which dive time is limited to just one breath. Even though equalization disorders are quite common in divers, a scoring system does not exist to date. In this paper we propose a new scoring system for equalization problems of freedivers: the EP score – shorthand for “equalization problems.” Methods: We administered the EP score assessment to 40 Italian freediving spearfishermen who were divided in two groups: Group A comprised 20 freedivers complaining of equalization problems and multiple barotraumas but totally asymptomatic in their everyday lives. These individuals had already received medical treatment and nasal surgery without improvement and then had undergone Eustachian tube balloon dilation. Group B comprised 20 healthy freedivers without any history of equalization disorders. We performed a statistical analysis to evaluate the reliability of this scoring system and to evaluate its usefulness in diagnosis and follow-up. Results: Our data show substantial statistical differences between healthy freedivers and freedivers complaining of equalization disorders (Z-Score = -5.396 at p < 0.05); data do not show any statistical difference between healthy freedivers and patients successfully treated by Eustachian tube balloon dilation (U-value = 152.5 and Z-Score= -1.271 at p < 0.05). Conclusion: The EP score assessment seems to be a reliable tool to quantify equalization disorders during freediving and to evaluate how the difficulty varies over time and after treatment. Since equalization disorders could be present in different populations, the EP score assessment could be applicable to a wider group.

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