Is Scuba just not meant for me?

[Jersey1971]

I'll second (or third) the recommendation for freedive. I used to have trouble clearing my right ear, and for a while I wondered if I were anatomically unsuited for SCUBA. I took freediving and learned (and practiced a lot) clearing techniques (like Frenzel), and now have zero issues with clearing.

I know that's not your issue, but freediving gets you comfortable with having your face in the water (static apnea) and just going without air for long periods of time. The natural human instinct is to panic within seconds of having your air cut off, or the prospect of having it replaced with water. In free diving, you learn to suppress this natural reflex, which translates into a much higher threshold for panic when something goes amiss in SCUBA.

 

[60plus]

If you have been medically diagnosed with anxiety continuing scuba is questionable, you could kill yourself and / or your buddy. I dived with a diver who had logged over 100 dives yet on one occasion on the first dive of a holiday she could not breathe as soon as she put her head under water, it took about a quarter of an hour to overcome this. The rest of the week she was fine. Practice breathing and mask clearing with a snorkel. If I have not dived for a while I like to do a bit of snorkeling first, just to get used to breathing underwater again.

 

[gordonscuba]

Without a doubt, several of the skills you do in OW feel uncomfortable and unnatural at first -- cold water filling your mask, for example. It's normal to feel that way. Apologies if other posters have highlighted this, but one should avoid having nontrivial quantities of water coming up into one's nose under any circumstances. Remember that, if air is actively exiting your nose, it implies that water cannot be coming in at the same time. If you feel water entering a nostril, exhale a small amount of air. Bigger picture, though, panic (and its consequences) are the greatest enemy of any scuba diver. Sooner or later you will have some equipment problem underwater, but so much redundancy is built into the equipment (and your buddy's equipment), that when Murphy's law decides it is your day, there is almost always a logical solution that will get you safely to the surface. Panic is the opposite of logic, and panic is what will prevent you from solving the problem. For example: once you have practiced it and get the hang of it, breathing from a free flowing regulator is easy if you are calm; take the same practiced diver and make them panic, then it can lead to aspiration of water.

 

[billgraham]

I think what's going on is a general lack of comfort in the water, and that always starts with swimming. Forget the dive gear and work on swimming for a bit. People take it for granted and if you're not comfortable with no gear on, adding any is going to be a problem. You can totally do this but you have to build up that skill set first!

 

[lowwall]

Without a doubt, several of the skills you do in OW feel uncomfortable and unnatural at first -- cold water filling your mask, for example. It's normal to feel that way. Apologies if other posters have highlighted this, but one should avoid having nontrivial quantities of water coming up into one's nose under any circumstances. Remember that, if air is actively exiting your nose, it implies that water cannot be coming in at the same time. If you feel water entering a nostril, exhale a small amount of air. Bigger picture, though, panic (and its consequences) are the greatest enemy of any scuba diver. Sooner or later you will have some equipment problem underwater, but so much redundancy is built into the equipment (and your buddy's equipment), that when Murphy's law decides it is your day, there is almost always a logical solution that will get you safely to the surface. Panic is the opposite of logic, and panic is what will prevent you from solving the problem. For example: once you have practiced it and get the hang of it, breathing from a free flowing regulator is easy if you are calm; take the same practiced diver and make them panic, then it can lead to aspiration of water.

Why would you jump in on a thread that's been dormant for 2 months and reply without even reading the previous responses?

I'm not giving you crap. This happens fairly often and I'm genuinely curious why. I suspect it's a user interface issue.

 

[Subcooled]

Apparently, we are not building a searchable resource but replying to a single individual?

As a reply to the previous post:
1) we want to contribute (disallow that and there won't be a Scubaboard)
2) replies are not bound to time - others search these forums, too

 

[lowwall]

Apparently, we are not building a searchable resource but replying to a single individual?

As a reply to the previous post:
1) we want to contribute (disallow that and there won't be a Scubaboard)
2) replies are not bound to time - others search these forums, too

I have nothing against building a searchable resource. A Google search on "guide to Mares regulators" should establish my bona fides here. But if you look at my question, it had two parts.

"Why would you jump in on a thread that's been dormant for 2 months and reply without even reading the previous responses?"

The poster's point had already been fully addressed in the thread. I really don't see the point in dredging up an old thread if you aren't going to take the time to make sure what you are adding will be of potential value to someone. Or maybe asking a closely related question that hasn't been addressed.

 

[Hawaiianbrian]

So no. Diving is NOT for everyone. But if you want it to be for you there are some things you can do.
I have found that some students just need a different instructor. Sometimes, going more slowly, with less stress works wonders. It can also help to switch to a far more experienced instructor. Someone who is a Course Director/Instructor Trainer usually has more experience in helping new divers overcome these issues.
For example, I have a couple of pool "tricks" i teach my instructors to use with students to avoid panic and make these initial skills less stressful.

Hello,

I feel for you! It is not natural to breath under water. The mask and snorkel idea is a good way to get comfortable as the others have mentioned. You may also want to think about getting individual training from a reputable dive instructor and allow your self to take as much time as needed.

 

[Subcooled]

I have nothing against building a searchable resource. A Google search on "guide to Mares regulators" should establish my bona fides here. But if you look at my question, it had two parts.

"Why would you jump in on a thread that's been dormant for 2 months and reply without even reading the previous responses?"

The poster's point had already been fully addressed in the thread. I really don't see the point in dredging up an old thread if you aren't going to take the time to make sure what you are adding will be of potential value to someone. Or maybe asking a closely related question that hasn't been addressed.

If the answer was superfluous, it was unnecessary for the original poster. It gave the replyer a sense of usefullness however, and that is what keeps many of us here (sounds pathetic, doesn't it?). This forum is not just for those who ask but also for those who want to share their knowledge or experiences.

Hence, giving all respect to your point of view, I have to disagree.

 

[lowwall]

If the answer was superfluous, it was unnecessary for the original poster. It gave the replyer a sense of usefullness however, and that is what keeps many of us here (sounds pathetic, doesn't it?). This forum is not just for those who ask but also for those who want to share their knowledge or experiences.

Hence, giving all respect to your point of view, I have to disagree.

My issue is that doing what the poster did here, i.e. restarting an old thread without adding new info or even reading the previous replies, seems very selfish. It wastes the time of every reader and causes confusion among many.

If someone wants to chime in just to be heard, then do it on a current thread. There will be no possibility of confusion and the additional time it costs readers is minimal.

I don't believe that people want to be selfish. I suspect that most people resurrecting threads like this don't even realize what they are doing. That's why I asked the question. As I stated in my original post I think there's a UI issue here. If we can identify it maybe we can fix it.