My wife suffered a perforated eardrum during her final descent from the surface to 16 feet on the second day of pool training for her PADI OW cert. I convinced her to consider getting certified so we could dive together. I know how much she would enjoy getting close to all of the amazing sea life we've been seeing while snorkeling. And, I was looking forward to great experiences we could share together. Getting hurt has dampened her enthusiasm. I don't think she will continue. She doesn't want to get hurt. I feel terrible about this and frustrated with the shop.
She is petit at 5'3" and 120 pounds. They had her stuffed into a 7mm wetsuit with a steel tank and 28 pounds of lead in the pockets of a Scubapro Hydros BCD. They struggled to get her neutrally buoyant and trimmed out. They had been adding and removing lead all weekend. That caused her to descend faster than she could clear her ears. She had about dozen descents that day and it was only on the last one she couldn't get ahead of clearing her ears. So close, and yet so far.
By contrast, I got re-certified in Tahiti a few months ago after a long break from diving. I had a great experience with the shop and the instructor team there (highly recommended). I wrongly assumed it would be as good or better for my wife back up here in the SF Bay Area. I was wrong. She would have been far better off not doing this referral course and instead doing all the dives in Tahiti.
Is this the state of dive training? Maybe the best course is to opt for 1:1 training and avoid the 4:1 student:instructor ratio?
It reminds me a little of flight training in the US. Most pilots earn their private pilot certificate in spite of their training not because of it.
Thanks for letting me rant to a sympathetic audience.
