vertigo

[sotto]

Hi

I have a little story to tell and maybe get some input from you experienced divers.
I took my CMAS 1 and 2 in my teens during the late 80s in Sweden, had a number of dives until something happened that put me off diving for 20 years.

With the local divingclub we had an excursion to an island, Ven, on the westcoast in the south of Sweden. We went down a little outside this island where there are big excavations in the bottom
The sight was pretty bad, maybe 2 meters. We went down to a depth of 30 meters and touched ground with mud making the visibility even poorer.
Here, close to the bottom a terrible vertigo struck me, the world was completely spinning around and I lost orientation. I couldnt tell what was up and what was down.
I signaled to my diving buddy, asigned to me by the club, that I had problems and needed to go up.
Unfortunately, this "buddy" ignored my signals.
I then proceeded to follow my airbubbles to have the direction to the surface and managed ok.

This gave me a pretty bad scare though and I also felt that the club didnt take my complaints seriously enough.
All this made me quit diving there on the spot. I even left some equipment there which I never went back for.

Recently I had a trip to Egypt where I took a reviewcourse and had a few really nice dives again.
It all went very well and I felt comfortable. So back in the saddle after 20 odd years.

The thing is though, I never knew why I had this vertigo attack. My health otherwise is excellent and has always been that way.
I would be greatful for any suggestions, theories.

 

[DCBC]

I would be greatful for any suggestions, theories.

First, welcome to SB! As far as the vertigo is concerned, this most often occurs as a result of a ruptured ear drum. Cold water enters the inner ear (the balance mechanism of the body) and vertigo occurs. It may also occur if a temperature change occurs in the ear drum (although this is less likely).

There are other non-diving causes, such as inflammation within the inner ear, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) initiated by sudden head movements or moving the head in a certain direction, decreased blood flow to the base of the brain and other medical reasons.

 

[*dave*]

Vertigo happens when the brain can't figure out orientation from the input it is receiving. Many of the physical cues our brains use to determine orientation are absent when we are submerged. One cue we still have comes from our inner ear. If there is conflicting feedback from each ear, vertigo can result.

Cold water, undeveloped Eustachian tubes (how old were you?), congestion, temperature variations and air pockets in the hood are a few of the things which can trigger the condition. It's not such an issue on land, because you have numerous visual and physical references providing alternate cues to your orientation.

While you may never experience vertigo again, it would be a good idea to discuss the possibility and how to handle it with your buddies until you are convinced it was a one off event. I experienced vertigo several years and several hundred dives ago without recurrence.

 

[sotto]

Thanks for the replies.
I was 17 and I didnt have any earache nor signs of eardrum perforation.
This was an isolated incident.

 

[TSandM]

sotto, as someone who has battled vertigo while diving for five years, I empathize with your story.

As Dave says, our sense of where we are in space is a complex integration of visual information, proprioceptive feedback (position of limbs and body parts), and input from the inner ear. In the water, all the gravity-related data are weaker, and in poor viz, there is little or no visual information. If the input from the ears isn't enough or isn't accurate, you can become disoriented, and any movement of the head may worsen it.

It isn't unique to divers -- as I have learned, pilots learning to fly on instruments are subject to the same problem.

If I am in midwater (so I can't see the bottom or any structure) I have to be extremely careful to remain very quiet and not turn my head rapidly, or the world will break loose and begin to whirl, and I'll lose all sense of up and down. I'm actually enormously impressed that you had the presence of mind to follow your bubbles, because my early vertigo episodes were so severely disorienting that I couldn't even think that well.

The good news is that there are a lot of ways to avoid the problem, and diligent work can make it less severe. Avoiding situations in the water where you have no visual reference is a big deal. Descend along the anchor line or shot line, or along structure (and the same with ascents). Dive with a solid buddy who will remain in your line of sight. Learn to sense the pressure from your gear on your back, and track your bubbles. Over time, I've been able to make these events more and more infrequent, although an experience last week taught me that the problem is not by any means cured.

I hope your good experiences in Egypt have reassured you that diving can be fun, because that's true. Those of us with this particular propensity may need a little extra work if we want to dive in low viz water, though.

 

[sotto]

Both here and in the thread "Vertigo on deco" I found some valuable pointers.

At the time when I experienced it, I was merely a kid and didnt have any perspective on why it happened. Mixed with the panic of being disoriented was also the fear of death or a bad unknown health-hazard.

If it were to happen again I would see it in a different light. Im not too keen on getting back into waters with poor visibility yet though.

P.s. Nice pictures from your diving-trips at your homepage TSandM

 

[Jack Scuba]

Congrats on coming back to diving Sotto!

The only times I have suffered vertigo was in a similar situation. Very low vis and an inability to judge my movement due to lack of static objects. I dealt with it, but it wasn't that much fun at all.

The beauty of recreational diving is that you can choose where and when you dive.

 

[gcbryan]

In your case, I'm sure it was made worse with all the other things that you have to get used to as a new diver in an alien environment. Once the environment doesn't seem quite as alien anymore you may not have the problem and will probably find ways to cope if you do.

It's kind of like sea sickness. Don't move your head and try to find a fixed point to maintain orientation until the feeling goes away.

 

[alcadhrim]

I quite understand because I've been subject to that problem.

Exactly as previously said, mainly in poor vis conditions and in mid water.

In my case It is clearly a strong différence between the two middle ears that causes the symptom. If you equalize too strongly or if you ascent too quickly (but nobody do that , never) the problem may occur. Maybe during your descent you have had this kind of problem.

THere is a way to help sometimes: looking to something "static" (your buddy for example) and close your nose and after inhale strongly (this remove the air in excess). In my case it is very efficient. THe french term is "Alternobaric vertigo" (translated litteraly)

What your buddy has had in mind, indeed.

And sorry for my bad english.