Hi, I have recently been diagnosed with Meniere's disease, I wan to know if I will still be able to dive? My vertigo and tinnitus are controlled with medication...and my deafness only becomes profound if my husband is nagging me!! In all serious I will be devastated if it wills prevent me from diving..I have not attempted it since being diagnosed.
Ménière's disease is a rare disorder that affects the inner ear. It can cause vertigo, tinnitus, hearing loss, and a feeling of pressure deep inside the ear.
I have severe problems and incipient vertigo. Caused by an explosion in Vietnam. Both drums blown out and have a prosthesis in the left ear. Straight connection between the eardrum and oval window. 34 reconstructive surgeries and always have a pinhole in the left eardrum. I can mitigate the pinhole.
Depends on how you handle it. If you have trained yourself (or will have too) to believe your eyes rather than your ears, you will be fine. Don't forget that you may driving and get hit. I have had some bad rushes brought on by the inertia. The tinnitus is no big deal, just bothersome. If your eardrums are intact and you can equalize, there again no problem. Sometimes really clear water can give you an enhanced "giddy" feeling and the sensation of "flying is more pronounced. Just makes my dives more thrilling, especially drifting or in springs. I would not recommend next to zero visibility dives since you also run the chance of ramping up the fear factor if you get hit with the vertigo too. Night dives are fine, just shine your light around to orient yourself. Mid ocean drift dives can be tricky, but you still have the bubbles and the SMB line to reference.
By the way, if you are treating the vertigo with Valium, ask for something else because it will cause mood swings. You could be Superman one minute and Minnie mouse the next. It can also cause dependency.
Now after saying all that, I have been 40+ years diving with this issue and it has become second nature. This is new to you and I remember with great apprehension and care resuming diving and driving. Everyone of course handles things in their own way. It will take discipline and courage to resume... since even the boat ride can screw you up before you even get to the dive site. I'm not even going to address the medical aspect, that is best left to your doctor, but you should seek advice from a specialist in diving medicine.
My doctor used to dive (recreational) but he is a couple of years older than me and now thinks he is too old. He tells me to stay out of the water, I don't and when I have another issue, I show up, tell it is broke again and fix it. I guess there is an upside... there is nothing like a fast downhill ski with hard turns and a little airtime while getting that vertigo rush!!!
