OW dive aborted due to dizziness

[Hillmorton Scubie]

I wanted to throw this open for ideas. A friend aborted his 1st open water certification dive complaining of extreme dizziness. I personally suspect he was hyperventilating due to a mild panic. However his instructor thinks it might be an ear problem. Whats your opinion.

 

[ACR]

I don't have an expert opinion, but on occasion I'll get a bit of vertigo while doing my ascent & safety stop the line. I suspect it's because there's no visible up/down reference. This probably isn't the same issue your friend was having though.

 

[Web Monkey]

I wanted to throw this open for ideas. A friend aborted his 1st open water certification dive complaining of extreme dizziness. I personally suspect he was hyperventilating due to a mild panic. However his instructor thinks it might be an ear problem. Whats your opinion.

Anybody can abandon any dive for any reason (or no reason) and doesn't have to justify it to anyone.

I've aborted dives because they "felt too creepy", because I didn't like the way the sky looked, and because one of my ears sounded weird, just to name a few.

It doesn't really matter why your friend didn't finish his first dive, that's really his business.

Terry

 

[sixgears]

I agree with the above statement. Anyone can abort a dive for any reason. Panic, vertigo, etc. Any reason is a good reason. Just support your friend and he should be coming along shortly.

 

[ScubaSteve]

Anybody can abandon any dive for any reason (or no reason) and doesn't have to justify it to anyone.

I've aborted dives because they "felt too creepy", because I didn't like the way the sky looked, and because one of my ears sounded weird, just to name a few.

It doesn't really matter why your friend didn't finish his first dive, that's really his business.

Terry

While I do agree with the fact that anybody can abort a dive for any reason and must not be made to feel bad in any way, I believe that it is also important to understand why the diver felt the need to abort. If there is a skill that needs worked on or a fear that must be overcome, this is all better done with the help and support of good dive buddies (and in this case instructors). In the end if they just felt "off", then you try again another time. Simple enough. Otherwise, work through the problem and see if it can be gotten past. Most importantly though, the diver that aborted MUST NOT be made to feel bad or guilty.

 

[don Francisco]

Anybody can abandon any dive for any reason (or no reason) and doesn't have to justify it to anyone.

I absoluty agree, but I don't think the diver was trying to rationalize or justify. I think he wanted to diagnose the cause of his dizzyness.

Besides the reasons offered, given your location, visibility or the lack of it might have been a factor. Some folks when they have no visual cues for reference begin to experience balance problems. This combined with a bit of motion in the water could have caused his problem. Also. if near shore, surge alone makes some folks dizzy.

Asssuming he wants to continue diving, he'll have to work through this, maybe trying clearer waters until he gets his sea fins. (legs) Good luck to him. dF

 

[mds1980]

during my ow cert, a friend had a similar issue on our first descent. she had to surface and start over. the second attempt she stayed focused on our instructor while descending, and she seemed fine. on my ascent the same dive, my right ear was equalizing faster than my left making me so dizzy that i literally couldn't see straight. i usually have to stop periodically to let my left ear catch up w/ the right during ascents.

 

[TSandM]

One thing that might help sort this out is to get a good description of the dizziness. People use the word to describe different kinds of sensations, which have quite different causes. If the "dizziness" was a feeling of tumbling, whirling, or spinning, that was vertigo. Causes of vertigo include barotrauma to the ear and loss of visual reference.

If the "dizziness" was a feeling of lightheadedness or near-fainting, that would be more likely to be associated with panic and hyperventilation, or a physical cause which could be significant.

 

[scubastaci]

hmm, only problem I have had with dizziness was when I turned around too fast to see what was tapping my leg. :11:

It was my fin strap. :11doh:

Sinus congestion can also contibute to dizziness. There are way too many factors to say what it was without talking with your friend. It may very well have been caused by panic.

The second time I went diving it was a shore dive, I got so exhausted just getting into the water, that when it was time to actually descend, I was too tired. I had to scrap it. While one buddy was like "oh, you'll be fine" the other was like "hey, it's cool. Relax and you can try again later."

I think a lot of newbies (had a few in my class) tend to stress about OW checkouts. I stressed during my first CW class. After that, it was all a breeze. It just takes some people a while to acclimate to being in an alien environment. It's a bit different when you're in the pool and can just stand up.

The important thing is to make your friend feel like they made the right decision at that time and that they should not feel bad. Some days are just better than others.

 

[TSW910]

was it dizzyness? or maybe motion sickness? cuz i had the same issue on my last OW dive .. it was a smaller boat and the waves wasn't helping .. so i just basically breathe calmer and look out to the further points so i dont see shake much .. and once the the pool is open, i was the first one in the water and went down 10ft to feel less of the waves and it definitely help alot ..