OW failure, advice?

[MyEarHurts]

Hi all,

I'm passionate about this and I want to try again, but my first day of OW (PADI) ended pretty badly and I can't complete the course.

First dive, a tour, went okay for the most part, except my weights were wrong and I fought pretty hard to stay down. We got that fixed after the dive, and then headed to a platform below 20' for skills.

I found that I was having a strange issue with equalizing. It was like the pressure came on more suddenly than it normally would. I would go from fine to really squeezed within a foot of depth (or at least this is what I perceived - I could be wrong here). I was able to work through it and complete the skills, but upon ascending during an out-of-air where I used the instructor's backup, I got dizzy on my way up. Then at the surface I had a rather violent decompression of my right ear.

I talked to the instructor and he felt it was "reverse blockage." After a few minutes I felt okay and went down again for another skill. I had the same difficulty going down but again worked through it. Then when I reached the platform, I got extreme vertigo. I've been dizzy but this was something else. I'd call it maximally disorienting.

I kept it together (I was proud of this), signaled another instructor and we ascended (slowly) and upon surfacing I knew my eardrum was toast. So, that was the end of OW.


I know I have to wait at least 6 weeks before trying again, if not longer, and the doctor will have to determine whether to patch my ear.

I have some reservations about the course and the instruction methods. I felt like the speed of the course was too fast, with too many things only done once or twice, and no time to practice. I believe this contributed to my failure, because I was not able to manage both my buoyancy and my ears at the same time. I didn't get to spend much time at all practicing neutral buoyancy, yet in my own noob analysis of what skills I felt like I needed, buoyancy seems like the most important thing, by far. Maybe I'm not a fast learner at SCUBA, and I hate to be that guy who holds up the class.

What should I do next time? Any advice is really appreciated. Sounds silly, but this was a heartbreaking experience for me, and ruined my vacation plans.

Cheers!

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Find a new instructor. You should not be in open water unless you are comfortable with all the skills in the pool. Done neutral and horizontal. The first time you surfaced with issues the training should have stopped. The instructor should not have allowed you to go back down. Period.
How many pool sessions did you have?
How many people in the class?
How long did each session last?
I have my students in the pool for a minimum of 6 sessions. Often it is more. Each pool session lasts 2 - 2 1/2 hours.
You may have a lot more than 6 weeks to wait.
Had you stopped as soon as you ascended the 1st time you might have avoided more damage.
Who controlled the rate of descent? It should have been the slowest person.
Did you effectively equalize? From the sounds of it, maybe not.
My students are advised to go very slow and equalize with every breath the first few times they descend until they get comfortable with it and learn what it takes for them to be ok. Often this is descending a foot at time and even pausing for a breath each foot or two to make sure their ears are ok.
The "It was like the pressure came on more suddenly than it normally would." line indicates to me that you were not equalizing enough or were descending too fast.
Then to top it off with this "I got dizzy on my way up. Then at the surface I had a rather violent decompression of my right ear.", it was not wise to continue the training.
No one here can tell you how long it will take or if you can go back any time soon. Only your ENT can advise you and then, again, either have a serious discussion with the instructor (in this case I'd be leery after the judgment they have already shown) or get another instructor (this is what I'd tell any of my loved ones to do right off the bat) who will demonstrate better care and concern.

 

[Esprise Me]

While I agree with all of the advice above, in practice it can be difficult to find an instructor like that. Your specific objectives might be served well enough by paying for a private course. That will give you more of the instructor's time and attention, and allow you to set the pace. There are regional subforums here where you can ask for recommendations in your area.

 

[boulderjohn]

I am not sure what you mean by struggling through the equalizing. If you cannot equalize well, do not descend. If you are ignoring pain or other similar ear discomfort when descending, you are making a mistake.

In the case you describe, I would bet you got a small perforation of your eardrum on your first dive. A perforation can absolutely lead to vertigo. Check with an ENT to see. If so, give it time to heal before trying again.

 

[Wibble]

Do have another go and don't let that experience put you off.

Sometimes it's worth throwing some money at it to have a one-on-one instructor for a day to get past those initial hours underwater. With a one-on-one you remove the pressure of having other people around.

Once over that, go back into the normal class.

It's worth it!

 

[MyEarHurts]

Find a new instructor. You should not be in open water unless you are comfortable with all the skills in the pool. Done neutral and horizontal. The first time you surfaced with issues the training should have stopped. The instructor should not have allowed you to go back down. Period.
How many pool sessions did you have?
How many people in the class?
How long did each session last?
I have my students in the pool for a minimum of 6 sessions. Often it is more. Each pool session lasts 2 - 2 1/2 hours.
You may have a lot more than 6 weeks to wait.
Had you stopped as soon as you ascended the 1st time you might have avoided more damage.
Who controlled the rate of descent? It should have been the slowest person.
Did you effectively equalize? From the sounds of it, maybe not.

1 pool session of about 3 hours in the water before OW
8:3 student/instructor

Yeah I think after the first problem would have been the time to stop, but the instructor didn't seem to think it was a big deal. At the very least, I think I should have been taken to a spot where I could practice going down to like 8-10 ft. I wanted to ask if I could do this, but I felt pressure to keep up with the group and didn't speak up.

The instructor controlled the descent rate, but with my lack of buoyancy control I was up and down a bit, and not steady & smooth. Again I wanted more practice with this. I told the instructors I was having trouble controlling my buoyancy, and they didn't make any suggestions.

I did not effectively equalize, and like I said my perception was that I was going down slowly enough (as in, relative to everyone else I was matching their descent rate). My perception could easily be wrong though, and maybe I have to go down slower than most.

Thanks for the advice all. I was already thinking that I should spend the extra money on private or smaller classes, and I will definitely have to sort things out with the ENT.

 

[Wibble]

For what it's worth, most divers have had problems equalising at some time or other. It's particularly the case when you're shallow and go to the surface a couple of times.

Like most things in diving, equalising is a skill you learn. Once mastered it just works. Main thing is to never push things; equalise as you go and don't ignore it.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

1 pool session of about 3 hours in the water before OW
8:3 student/instructor

Yeah I think after the first problem would have been the time to stop, but the instructor didn't seem to think it was a big deal. At the very least, I think I should have been taken to a spot where I could practice going down to like 8-10 ft. I wanted to ask if I could do this, but I felt pressure to keep up with the group and didn't speak up.

The instructor controlled the descent rate, but with my lack of buoyancy control I was up and down a bit, and not steady & smooth. Again I wanted more practice with this. I told the instructors I was having trouble controlling my buoyancy, and they didn't make any suggestions.

I did not effectively equalize, and like I said my perception was that I was going down slowly enough (as in, relative to everyone else I was matching their descent rate). My perception could easily be wrong though, and maybe I have to go down slower than most.

Thanks for the advice all. I was already thinking that I should spend the extra money on private or smaller classes, and I will definitely have to sort things out with the ENT.

One pool session? How did you get through all the skills in that time? You should have had a minimum of 5-7 separate segments of skill practice depending on the agency. With some kind of breaks between each one. I'm betting there were other standards violations here.
These sound like the kind of instructors we'll be seeing named in lawsuits in the future for hurting a diver or worse.
The instructor didn't seem to think it was a big deal? RUN AWAY FROM THEM and I'd also ask about a refund of some of your fees.
Not to mention contacting the agency they certify through and lodging a complaint.
You could have been injured much more seriously due to their judgment calls.
Do not let this go. You may save someone else's life by reporting them.

 

[boulderjohn]

1 pool session of about 3 hours in the water before OW
8:3 student/instructor

I could not possibly get through all the requirements for the confined water portion of the class with that many students in that length of time, even if every student were doing every skill well on the first attempt.

I did not effectively equalize, and like I said my perception was that I was going down slowly enough (as in, relative to everyone else I was matching their descent rate).

The rate at which you descend depends primarily upon your ability to equalize. If everyone in your group is equalizing well, then, yes, they should all descend at about the same rate. If anyone is having a problem equalizing, though, than that person's needs control the rate of descent.

When I was first diving, I had a lot of trouble equalizing, and I certainly felt the peer pressure to match the group. On my checkout dives for OW, every other student was successfully descended while I struggled to equalize. They were all looking up at me, waiting, and I was very aware of that. Fortunately, I did not let peer pressure lead me to ignore the equalization problems and descend to be with the group.

 

[janieb]

So sorry to hear of your experience....going forward, don't feel bad about taking your time to descend. I always (and I mean always) have to descend very slowly on the first couple of dives ....My ears are just stubborn to equalize and I make sure my group and divemaster know that before going in the water - my buddy/spouse has become accustomed to being last in the group and it works for us...if you don't have a full time dive buddy, make sure whoever you are paired with is OK with slow descends....I'm a little envious of people who can drop 50 feet easily with no apparent problem, but I will say that once I get past 30 feet or so, equalization comes easier to me...Take your time to get your ears straight and to find an instructor that will better meet your needs...and in the water...Relax..........good luck!