Dizzy spells and nausea mid dive

[Fourseventeen]

He gave me the RX for the sea sickness part of the problem I MAY be having. I know I am prone to sea sickness on smaller boats and the feeling I had before losing my lunch was a combination of feeling sea sick and then I started to slowly ascend and got dizzy and lost it. That is the only time I actually lost my lunch on a dive but on every dive so far (6 OW and 5 pool) I have got dizzy while ascending.

 

[JonKranhouse]

In this short thread from 2009, divers commented that they experience vertigo when looking up - which prompted my response (CLICK to the original thread to see pictures - this forum does not allow posting images):

Very probably some people are experiencing the "Ganzfeld Effect" when looking up.

A "Ganzfeld" is a featureless field-of-view.

The medical text, "Vertigo" references various studies that connect the Ganzfeld Effect with vertigo.

When some people experienced a Ganzfeld, they describe entering a heightened sense of awareness / altered state / euphoria. A Ganzfeld is going to impact everybody differently. But no doubt for some divers, the Ganzfeld Effect, combined with the meditative focus on our own breathing, is a subliminal reason we love diving.

BTW, there are some serious contraindications for diving related to "successful" inner ear surgeries, like profound vertigo that would forever prevent walking!
DAN Divers Alert Network : Vertigo: Why Diving After Ear Surgery is Not Recommended

Considering how many people have posted that they experience vertigo while ascending, this phenomenon should be explained to newbies to help them avoid a panic spiral.

Acclaimed artist James Turrell is famous for installations that exploit Ganzfelds. His largest project is sculpting out an entire volcano cinder cone in Arizona! Turrell installations at various museums around the world are worth experiencing:

All that said, DO NOT take this as rationale to ignore what could be a medical condition requiring consultation with an ENT specialist.

 

[Fourseventeen]

Played with a few ideas in the pool and my LDS tonight. Seemed that looking up and/or looking at bubbles while ascending would really throw me for a loop. If I focused on my dive buddy that seemed to help a lot!

 

[TSandM]

Interesting references, Jon!

It is apparently very well known that instrument pilots, who are looking at a blank windscreen, can develop vertigo. Some of us are clearly more prone to it than others. Establishing a visual reference seems, for me, to be critically important in controlling this, as is minimizing head movement when in a low visual input environment. Building a strong base of kinesthetic orientation information has helped a lot, too -- monitoring where my bubbles are going, and how my gear feels on my back. It takes a LOT of practice to learn to use those data in preference to visual information, though (at least it did for me).

To the OP -- if vertigo continues to be a problem while ascending, I highly recommend that you have someone teach you how to deploy a surface marker buoy at depth. The line from the buoy gives you a reference for vertical, and the physical contact with the spool and line gives great orientation information as well.

 

[Fourseventeen]

Thanks TSandM. If I do not learned to overcome it I will def work with one of the instructors at the LDS on that. Last night in the LDS pool I did numerous dives to 12' and only once did I get dizzy while ascending. The pool was nice, it allowed me to play with a lot of things including clearing my ears and being able to work on using my buddy as a focal point for me. Seemed to really help. I have a dive in Grand Turk on the 30th (leaving for vacation on the 24th and returning May 2nd) so we will see how that goes. Only doing a shallow dive (40')..dont really want to get much past that until I know I have everything under control.

 

[Dr Deco]

I cast my vote with alternobaric vertigo, and I noted that many others before me thought likewise.

 

[Fourseventeen]

yup pretty sure I have to agree.

 

[DocVikingo]

I cast my vote with alternobaric vertigo, and I noted that many others before me thought likewise.

Me, too.

The OP indicates "...but on every dive so far (6 OW and 5 pool) I have got dizzy while ascending" and "I tried to focus on the pool steps last week and that didnt work out for me." Given such statements, it seems hard to chalk up the dizziness to a Ganzfeld-like phenomenon.

Regards,

DocVikingo

 

[Kelvin@sea]

I came upon vertigo many years ago.

I saw my doctor specialized in diving and an ENT. Both of them said I have no problem with my ears. Filling an ear with cold water is also tested.

I couldn’t give up diving. Therefore, I did many tests and try to overcome my problem. The tests are rapid ascend. Of course, I will only do this when my nitrogen level in my blood is low. I’d like to classify the dizziness in 3 stages.

Firstly, I will feel dizzy. That dizzy is something like getting drunk but the mind is very clear. By ascending a little more, I will feel numb on my chin and head. A further ascend will end up with a vertigo. Everything will spin in front of me.

Overcome the problem is not difficult. I only need to descend a foot and swallow. The vertigo or dizziness will disappear within a few seconds. Holding something is helpful but looking at a reference point is useless. If you look at an object, your vision will tell you that object will spin and your eyes will follow. That will make your case worse. I will mind the depth with my eyes opened without looking anything. Descend and shallow always work.

BTW, I don’t understand why a slight equalization problem while ascending will cause a vertigo but descending doesn’t.

Happy diving.

 

[TSandM]

My guess would be that you have to perform some type of active equalization procedure on descent, so both ears clear pretty much at the same time. On ascent, you are dependent on passive processes which may not proceed symmetrically, which is why you get unequal input from the two ears and develop vertigo.