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Profile: Klaus Mees—a hungry man

2005; Elsevier BV; Volume: 366; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0140-6736(05)67839-7

1474-547X

Ned Stafford,

The moment of truth for Klaus Mees and his fellow mountain climbers came at sunrise on May 22, 2005. The 8850 m summit of Mount Everest loomed majestic, eternal, and enticing. When the team had left camp at 7950 m the evening before, weather conditions had been favourable. But now, at 8600 m, the temperature had dipped to nearly −40°C and winds of 50–60 km per hour meant it felt much colder. Mees, an inner-ear specialist at the University of Munich Medical School, explains that this was the point when he and the other climbers no longer felt the cold-induced pain in their hands and feet: "When the pain goes, it's not a good sign … That means frostbite is starting." Last year Mees made it to 8300 m on the north approach to Mount Everest before bad weather forced him back. And now, bad weather—or bad luck—again. Retreat is not an easy option for a determined man who dreams of conquering the world's tallest mountain. "It was a difficult decision", he says. "But if you want to save your fingers and your toes you have to turn back and we turned back." Mees began mountain climbing at university. He met his wife in the Alps and, after 36 years, she is still his favourite climbing partner. "I love the mountains, the scenery, the landsape. And I like climbing. You have to think, solve problems." And, he adds: "It reduces stress hormones." Mees also runs, but calls that monotone exercise compared with climbing. Mees specialises in surgery of the middle ear and in hearing improvement. He provides advice to high-altitude climbers and deep-sea divers about how best to avoid inner-ear problems. His research focuses on trying to unravel the secrets of hearing problems at high altitudes. "Even though hearing disorders at high altitude have been reported since 1938, their reasons have been unknown so far", Mees says. For the past 5 years he has led research expeditions in the mountains. Mees originally tried to simulate high-altitude conditions in animals in a laboratory, but was not satisfied with the artificial conditions. He decided to take his equipment to high altitudes and do his research on people. "I can combine my hobby with my medical investigations", he says. His first research expedition was to Mount Huascaran in Peru in 2001, his second to Mount Cho Oyu in Tibet in 2002, and his third to Mount Gasherbru II in Pakistan in 2003. At high altitudes, Mees places a probe into the outer ear of fellow mountain climbers. The probe includes a device that emits different frequencies and volumes of sound, and also a microphone for measuring otoacoustic emissions. "These sound emissions are generated by the outer hair cells in the inner ear", Mees explains. "The inner ear not only can transform an acoustic stimulus into an electrical signal but also can actively emit sound." During the Cho Oyu expedition, the team measured otoacoustic emissions to 7050 m, allowing them to assess the risk to cochlear sensory cells at high altitude. Otoacoustic emissions declined with increasing altitude. During the Gasherbrum II expedition, measurements showed that impairment of hearing is not only caused by thin air at high altitudes, but also by an increase of fluid in the inner ear, which impairs motility and sound production of the outer hair cells. Mees suggests that: "The limitation of hearing thus is a direct consequence of raised intracranial pressure and not [of] an impaired blood flow in the inner ear, as thought so far." Mees notes that "Non-invasive measurement of intracranial pressure enables us now to predict a life-threatening high-altitude cerebral oedema at a very early stage and thus helps to save lives", he says. "But it also is important in emergency medical aid and particularly in neurological and neurosurgical routine diagnostic." For his attempts at Mount Everest, Mees signed up with Asian Trekking, a Nepalese company that provides expertise and support for mountain climbers. When introduced at base camp to his fellow climbers he asked whether they would mind if he took their inner-ear measurements at various altitudes. "Usually, people are very happy to have a doctor on the team", he said. Mohan Singh of Asian Trekking, says that 59 years, which is how old Mees will be next year, is not too old to reach the top of the world. The secret for success, he claims, is not being "old with your head". Adding, "Dr Mees is hungry and has the desire to have another try." Mees agrees.