Diplomats’ ears damaged, report says
MIAMI — American diplomats affected by mysterious health incidents in Cuba showed damage in their inner ears shortly after they complained of weird noises and sensations, according to their earliest medical exams, which were detailed in a medical journal published Wednesday.
However, the findings, made public nearly two years after what the U.S. calls “health attacks” began, shed no new light on a possible culprit.
“What caused it, who did it, why it was done — we don’t know any of those things,” said Dr. Michael Hoffer of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, who led the exams.
The U.S. says since late 2016, 26 people associated with the embassy in Havana suffered problems that include dizziness, ear pain and ringing, and cognitive problems such as difficulty thinking — a health mystery that has damaged U.S.-Cuba relations. Cuba has adamantly denied any involvement.
The Miami researchers examined 25 of those people who reported hearing a piercing noise or experiencing a sensation of pressure before their symptoms began. The patients failed a variety of tests that detect inner-ear problems associated with balance, what’s called the vestibular system.
Testing of 10 other people who were in the same building found they were fine, Hoffer reported in the journal Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology.