Nitrogen narcosis and time

[H2Andy]

i think there is no question you get used to the symptoms, but does that
mean you mitigate the impairment?

i would say no.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

i think there is no question you get used to the symptoms, but does that
mean you mitigate the impairment?

i would say no.

I think it's a matter of perspective. Vocationally, I counsel persons with injuries or disabilities in returning to work. By definition my clients have a disability that constitutes an impairment and in some situations could be considered analogous to a narced diver. In terms of a disabled individual, with the right accomodations and cognitive re-training I can get a person with even a traumatic brain injury through college and employed at 100% productivity. Whether the impairment is "mitigated" depends entirely on the impairment, the residual abilities and on the tasks required.

Same thing with nitrogen narcosis. I would not attempt a penetration of the andea doria on air as the imparment is too great, the residual skills too small and the tasks too demanding. But that does not automatically mean a diver could not function effectively on a soft overhead dive at 130-150 feet - it all depends on the individual diver on a given day, their training and experience, their residual abilities, their ability to adapt and accomodate and on the tasks at hand.

 

[H2Andy]

interesting perspective... gotta think about this some more.

rings true

 

[Scuba]

I think it's a matter of perspective. Vocationally, I counsel persons with injuries or disabilities in returning to work. By definition my clients have a disability that constitutes an impairment and in some situations could be considered analogous to a narced diver. In terms of a disabled individual, with the right accomodations and cognitive re-training I can get a person with even a traumatic brain injury through college and employed at 100% productivity. Whether the impairment is "mitigated" depends entirely on the impairment, the residual abilities and on the tasks required.

Same thing with nitrogen narcosis. I would not attempt a penetration of the andea doria on air as the imparment is too great, the residual skills too small and the tasks too demanding. But that does not automatically mean a diver could not function effectively on a soft overhead dive at 130-150 feet - it all depends on the individual diver on a given day, their training and experience, their residual abilities, their ability to adapt and accomodate and on the tasks at hand.

This is obviously true. Just consider that beyond 30, 50, 80, 100 fsw. (depending on claims/studies) everyone will suffer some degree of impairment.

The additional monkey wrench not present in your good analogy is the fact narcosis can creep in and intensify unnoticed. This accentuates the need to minimize it whenever possible because we just don't know what dive it's going to hit us with a bang. Hence the importance of my still un-answered question.