Permanently damaged balance nerve due to vestibular neuritis

[OMANDIVER]

It's very important to distinguish between vertigo whilst diving, which is just caused by unequal ear pressures which arise when ascending and clears fairly quickly and is benign and damage or disease
(Eg Meunière's) to the inner ear and which occurs on land(feels like intoxication)which if aggravated can cause permanent damage. My advice as before is to see a specialist dive doctor. But if you are just fishing for the answers you want to hear then carry on.

 

[UnexpectedDreamer]

OMANDIVER: You're absolutely right. There is a permanent damage to the balance nerve, but my specialist doctor said there is no medical reason for me not to dive, it wouldn't get any worse apparently. I don't have menieres, I had vestibular neuritis (a virus on the balance nerve) that caused damage, but I don't have the virus anymore.

It's a good description of feeling intoxicated, it's exactly how it is. Either drunk or hung over! My worry is how it would affect me under water, but if I had a bad day (feeling drunk), I wouldn't try it at all.
Maybe it's just a bit difficult to accept that my diving carreer will forever consist of one Discover Scuba where I saw neither turtles nor Nemo! I suppose it's a small comfort that I did see great whites in South Africa....

 

[Max Speed]

I have it. One ear. I just practiced balance with eyes closed or in the dark. After a while I returned to racing motorcycles. Diving (or boat rides) is not a problem today. Continue to practice visual and non-visual balance. I avoid twisting my head around while moving.

 

[UnexpectedDreamer]

Hi Max Speed! Great that you're back doing all those things! My physios are very strickt and tell me I have to twist my head when I move because that's how I get used to dealing with it, instead of concealing the problem or something...they also make me bounce on a trampoline..it's awful....

Do you think I could try to dive? Or should I wait? My holiday is this June-August, and after that I don't know when I'll have the opportunity again. I've only ever done a discover scuba before (2 years ago), so I'm not at all used to being under water... I've had this since Nov 2013, so I don't see it improving much in the near future....

 

[TSandM]

I will just reiterate: No, you won't likely make your problem worse. But if your attacks of vertigo are severe and unpredictable, you are at risk for extreme disorientation in the water, which can result in buoyancy losses that put you at risk for injury.

A lot depends on your temperament. If you have very low trait anxiety (you don't get nervous or anxious easily, and cope well with stress) you may be able to handle severe vertigo underwater. If you are NOT that kind of person, you might be at risk for panic, which is a big cause of diving accidents.

As I said before, I dealt with severe vertigo when I learned to dive. It isn't because of an underlying medical condition, just my personal problem with being dependent on visual input for orientation. I would not recommend anybody else go through what I did. I had any number of uncontrolled ascents when a novice, many of them precipitated by this issue. One of my instructors learned that I could not cope with not having a mask on in midwater, so when he wanted to end a training dive, he'd just take my mask off, and fairly predictably, I'd end up on the surface.

I did learn to cope with the problem, and how to avoid the worst of it, but mine, I'll emphasize, is NOT due to my ear suddenly sending a whole bunch of spurious messages to my brain due to a malfunction in the ear itself. In other words, I do not have any problems with vertigo on land at all -- the visual input and the proprioceptive information that comes from gravity is more than enough to counterbalance anything my ears might be saying. ONLY in the setting of reduced viz and lack of proprioceptive orientation cues do I get into trouble. You get into trouble on land, with all the other things working for you. I can't imagine how bad the problem would be in an underwater setting.

If you choose to dive, please be very, very conservative until you have experienced a couple of vertigo episodes underwater, and know how you will react to them.

 

[UnexpectedDreamer]

TSandM: I suppose it's best to stick to snorkeling for this holiday. There's not enough time (or money) to keep training, so I would rather spend my time in the ocean.

Thanks again for the replies =)

 

[toby43]

OMANDIVER: You're absolutely right. There is a permanent damage to the balance nerve, but my specialist doctor said there is no medical reason for me not to dive, it wouldn't get any worse apparently. I don't have menieres, I had vestibular neuritis (a virus on the balance nerve) that caused damage, but I don't have the virus anymore.

It's a good description of feeling intoxicated, it's exactly how it is. Either drunk or hung over! My worry is how it would affect me under water, but if I had a bad day (feeling drunk), I wouldn't try it at all.
Maybe it's just a bit difficult to accept that my diving carreer will forever consist of one Discover Scuba where I saw neither turtles nor Nemo! I suppose it's a small comfort that I did see great whites in South Africa....

If a specialist dive doctor will sign the medical certificate for you to do Open Water then you could do it. If no further damage is possible then from that point of view it would be OK. I do agree with TSand M that you need to experience in water vertigo in a controlled environment to see how you respond to it. It's possible that you may never get it, but you owe it to your buddy to find out. BTW does abstaining from alcohol and /or caffeine improve your condition?

 

[UnexpectedDreamer]

I haven't spoken to a specialist dive doctor, as I have no clue on how to contact one. Don't think there are anyone where I live.

The damage was caused by a virus, which is probably one latent in the body that just decides to do damage when your immune system isn't 100%.

I haven't had any alcohol since 7 months before I got the virus, so I'm guessing no to that. Also don't drink much caffeine, but never seen any difference in my condition if I drink it.

 

[Max Speed]

I think only you can make that decision. When I was first affected I couldn't even walk for several days. I approached things very slowly initially. It continues to improve years later but I NEVER look back in a turn on a motorcycle for fear of disorientation. If I were diving after a short recovery I would initially restrict myself to a quarry or similar protected shore entry before I would ever consider jumping off a boat into waves or current. I'd also make sure I had a solid buddy. Today I can function pretty normally and even skydive. I have never had a problem in zero visibility or mask off dives. And I've done a lot of those conditions while practicing.