Extreme vertigo post diving

[alfstuff]

It's been 9 months now since I had a similar incident. The ENT told me the brain would learn to compensate for any permanent damage and that has turned out to be true. Every once in a while I "lose track" of where my head is in relation to my body for a split second, but I quickly recover. I dived (dove?) for the first time since the "incident" two weeks ago and no ill effects. I stayed around 40 feet and took it easy. It was great to be in the water again, but I was quite nervous and was hyper aware of every sensation once I got back on the boat. I would still like to know what the cause was. Knowing that, I could avoid the causative action and be able to relax.

 

[lragsac]

It's been 9 months now since I had a similar incident. The ENT told me the brain would learn to compensate for any permanent damage and that has turned out to be true. Every once in a while I "lose track" of where my head is in relation to my body for a split second, but I quickly recover. I dived (dove?) for the first time since the "incident" two weeks ago and no ill effects. I stayed around 40 feet and took it easy. It was great to be in the water again, but I was quite nervous and was hyper aware of every sensation once I got back on the boat. I would still like to know what the cause was. Knowing that, I could avoid the causative action and be able to relax.

to stay out of the water. But good for you for getting wet again. It's 3 weeks for me now and, for someone who dives every week, sometimes as much as 3x/week, this is a bummer. I have not yet seen an ENT...still waiting for an appointment. My neurologist is convinced I have BPPV (idiopathic) and I will just get better. My diving medicine doc at UCSD seems convinced the dive and my present condition are related. My theory: if it is BPPV, the dive clearly brought on the dislodging of the otoconia. Still, I want a more definitive diagnosis from an ENT vestibular specialist, and I also want to make sure there is no damage to my inner ear before I get back in the water. And to think some miniscule calcium carbonate crystals could make one's life so miserable...

 

[alfstuff]

to stay out of the water. But good for you for getting wet again. It's 3 weeks for me now and, for someone who dives every week, sometimes as much as 3x/week, this is a bummer. I have not yet seen an ENT...still waiting for an appointment. My neurologist is convinced I have BPPV (idiopathic) and I will just get better. My diving medicine doc at UCSD seems convinced the dive and my present condition are related. My theory: if it is BPPV, the dive clearly brought on the dislodging of the otoconia. Still, I want a more definitive diagnosis from an ENT vestibular specialist, and I also want to make sure there is no damage to my inner ear before I get back in the water. And to think some miniscule calcium carbonate crystals could make one's life so miserable...

Any new developments since June??? I have been diving with no ill effects so far.

 

[lragsac]

Any new developments since June??? I have been diving with no ill effects so far.

Hey there, and thanks for asking. So it's now 3 months since my vertigo incident occurred and I am doing well. I have seen two ENTs and had an ENG test (electronystagmography) done in late July, which determined that I had 80% weakness in my left inner ear due to a "peripheral lesion." My symptoms are what I would describe as residual and have little effect on my daily functioning, including my diving I credit my twice- weekly, aggressive yoga practice with having a very positive impact on my quick recovery.