Vertigo?

[Cobra8472]

Hey,

It's currently been over a year since I last dove (*sigh*..) - and my upcoming trip to Bonaire reminded me of an event on our last dive there last time we were there. I've been meaning to find out what was going on, but somehow forgot.

Anyhow, we were moving horizontally along the wall at Andrea II at around 11m depth, and then started moving slowly upwards along the wall. As we started moving along the wall I, gradually- and yet quickly found myself very disoriented- almost as if seasick, or very drunk. It cleared up after around ~10 seconds, and we continued the ascent as normal.

I'm not sure what was going on here? Reverse Block? Just Vertigo? (the walls in Bonaire, as you know, are very easy to navigate by, and I don't know how this could happen).



Thanks,
Nick

 

[seaducer]

Hej Nick,

Vertigo can be caused by alot of things. I suppose an air space shift in your inner ear could cause it, a doctor would know more about that sort of thing. Off the top of my head, having a logged a few dives at Andrea II myself, with all the sealife swimming around if you aren't carefull I bet your eyes could cross with all the motion, and that could maybe give you a dose of vertigo.
If your eyes are seeing something that your inner ear doesn't, feel you could get that feeling. I suppose also if you had been drinking on the trip or got a dose of funky air.

But if I were you I might be inclined to get a physical with a doctor who is familiar with diving before you go. Better to be safe than sorry, and that episode may have been innocent, or may be a sign of things to come. Be safe, enjoy Bonaire, I am landing in February myself, can't wait...

 

[Pinepig]

Google up "ear pop vertigo", more than likely that's what you experienced as you were ascending upwards. I've had this happen on dry land a couple of times with an ear infection, I've also had it happen when one of my students screws up the decent profile after a cross country and finds out he's still has 4000 feet to loose and he's sitting over the airport already. It sucks as the world twists around and is very disorientating. The upside is it usually goes away in 30 seconds or less ( but you'll still feel a bit queezy for a few minutes ). If you ever have it happen again, just stop and do you best to find a horizon line of any sort which is steady and do you best to focus on it until the spins subside.

There is also an infinitesimally small chance you have that you have meniere's disease, but you would notice the " spins " much more often than the one time on a dive in Bonaire.

 

[Cobra8472]

Thank you both for the very helpful replies!

I think Ear Pop Vertigo might definitely be the culprit here, as I was generally having some trouble equalising normally as well on that particular dive (to the best of my memory). I'll keep that in mind, and if any adverse effects are noted during my next dive I wont hesitate to seek help, hehe.

Thank you

 

[TSandM]

The formal name for "ear pop vertigo" is alternobaric vertigo. It is caused by a pressure differential between the two ears, which causes the brain to think you are in motion when you are not. It can sometimes be alleviated by descending a little bit, or by waiting until the two ears catch up with one another. During the vertigo episode, a visual or tactile reference is very helpful.

 

[Sintax604]

I have had this same problem on 6 of my 19 dives. It happened on my first 4 dives and then a couple times randomly later. In the beginning, I could predict it - every time I ascended through 40' it would happen, even if I passed 40' multiple times during the same dive, it would happen each time.

For me, the vertigo is accompanied by a lasting (4-7 days) feeling of water in one ear. I've been checked by an ENT doctor and was told that there was nothing visibly wrong.

It occurred to me this weekend that my hood may be too tight and is sealing air/water in one of my ears. I'm hoping to test this theory soon but until then, I look forward to following this thread.

Thanks TS&M for putting a name to this problem, I'm off to Google...

 

[MarKon]

Hi,
I'm not a md (but am RN) and also a new diver. I've gotten vertigo at some point during all of my dives. I've found there are two main causes for vertigo that lasts for a short duratoin (for me, usually clears within a minute). First is the ear pop pressure, which is caused by diffferent pressures in each ear, which I've been able to eliminate by working the jaw, etc. I think the direction of the felt rotation is dictated by which ear has greater pressure. The second reason is when cold water enters deeper into the ear canal and chills it; the vertigo leaves quickly after the ear warms again. Hope this is helpful, I'm usually asking the questions here, not answering