New divers: Gear and Instructors

[chillyinCanada]

Not in the least because it may very well vary from day to day. You descend only as fast as you can and your buddy has to live with that. If they can't, dump em. As for the deep dive and worrying about whether you have enough air, the advanced class should teach you how to calculate that based on your breathing rate and the size cylinder you are using. If it doesn't, the class is a waste of money and you are not getting what you are paying for. If you need more gas, a bigger cylinder or pony bottle should be used to ensure adequate reserves.
You may not be able to do the deep dive. That's the reality. If not, it's fine. Most of the life is above 60 ft. The good wrecks are deeper but many people never dive below 40ft and have a great time.

So, I wasn't the only one to have noticed that. I chose to read his explanation as that having been unsaid. Perhaps I shouldn't have done so, but surely his instructor taught him the very most basic and always emphasized lesson that if one's ears are hurting "stop", go up a bit and try to equalize again before descending further, and repeat as required.

 

[Natedive]

So, I wasn't the only one to have noice that. I chose to read his explanation as that having been unsaid. Perhaps I shouldn't have done so, but surely his instructor taught him the very most basic and always emphasized lesson that if one's ears are hurting "stop", go up a bit and try to equalize again before descending further, and repeat as required.

My instructor always reinforce the equalizing skills, he literally came to me and we went up bit together till we descent to the depth. In terms of how to reserve air, i did not know if this skill should be taught in the OW certification course or the Advanced one.

 

[Zef]

In terms of how to reserve air, i did not know if this skill should be taught in the OW certification course or the Advanced one.

What are you talking about? There is no skill to be taught how to reserve air. How much are you use during your dive is affected by many factors to include:
1. How deep you dive
2. How much time you spend at depth
3. How much effort you are applying (e.g., are you swimming into a current as opposed to drifting along with a current?)
4. Finning technique
5. Streamline effectiveness of your gear/body in the water
6. Temperature of the water
7. Level of fitness
8. Body morphology
9. Lung capacity and residual volume
10. All around level of comfort in the water
11. Emotional state
12. Whether or not you are having a good day or not relative to your diving
13. How much you move around underwater (e.g., using your arms for propulsion and stabilization)
14. Overall amount of experience
15. How much weight you are using
16. How effective you are at controlling your buoyancy

There is nothing on the above list that is specifically a part of an advanced OW certification course. Everything on the list is covered to one degree or another in every dive certification course including basic open water.

The reality is the only way to improve the factors listed to spend more time diving. It is rare for a new diver to have good air consumption rates.

You seem to put a lot emphasis on extrinsic factors such as equipment and training courses...the reality is that if you have your Open Water cert you have the skills and knowledge to face the challenges of diving....you just need to apply and exercise those skills and knowledge. Until you understand and embrace that, there is little that an advanced training course will be able to help you.

Thinking about your diving is very important, but you need to think about it rationally through the lens of your training, and then take things from the cognitive level to the physical level and go out and get some experience blowing bubbles under water.

-Z

 

[Damselfish]

In terms of how to reserve air, i did not know if this skill should be taught in the OW certification course or the Advanced one.

By “reserve air”, do you mean how to use less air, or how to calculate the air you need?

The long list of stuff @Zef mentions are things that will help you use less air. Using less air is not a single skill that is taught in a specific class, but affected by many things that are woven throughout diving. Some of it just comes with time and practice. But taking a good peak performance bouyancy class might help you with some of these things and be a more helpful thing for you to take than the advanced class at this point.

People often disagree on when the best time to take AOW is, whether right after OW or wait a bit and get some practice first. It sounds to me like you’re pretty stressed about the whole ear thing and air thing, and perhaps aren’t comfortable with some of the basics yet. I think you may not get what you could or should out of AOW and you should wait a bit. Take the PPB class or find a DM/Instructor/mentor to work with you for a couple dives.

You are probably just going through the learning curve that every new diver goes through, each in their own way. Don’t get ahead of yourself. And while gear is important, don’t focus on it as a way to fix basic new diver issues, as it won’t.

 

[Scuba Dont]

Hydrate, then hydrate, then hydrate again. if your thirsty on the way out it is already too late. Dehydration is the number one cause for not being able to eq. Being hydrated also decreases your risk factors for pressure sickness(margin of error), +1 on the same computers, at least the same make as the algorithm, should be the same between makes. My wife had to give it up ten years ago because of ear problems, hers is physiological, eustation tubes messed up. Finally after the third ruptured eardrum she called it quits, I still dive with friends.

 

[Trivan]

My daughter is a new diver and now my buddy. We are warm weather divers and always dive with a group. She has equilization issues, so we meet at the mourning line and take that down hand over hand. She stops when she has trouble equalizing and we either go up a little when she has trouble or continue if she is fine. We try to get in first the water so we reach the bottom before the rest of the group. Works for us and allows her to take her time.

 

[wnissen]

Hey, I had a similar problem equalizing. Like you, none of the common equalization techniques worked. (I have trouble in general, even on airplanes.) For me, pointing each ear toward the surface is necessary. This sucks from a speed standpoint, plus you are moving your head around so it makes seasickness worse, but I've gotten a lot better with practice. I'm not as fast at descending as most people, but it's not bad. I have had a couple of dives where I couldn't equalize well even this way, but going slow and making repeated minor ascents I did eventually equalize well. Keep at it.

 

[mike41799]

I recently got back in the water after years of trying to patch a perforated ear drum that doesn't want to be patched, so it remains wide open, I cant go underwater in a bathtub! I now dive with a combo of Docs pro plugs, IST pro ear mask and the fitted hood for it. I also shave my beard and sides of my head to help with the seal. I have been down to 85 feet and ears stay dry. Here is my youtube video with my last dive: