Am I too old to get certified?

[tkdgodess]

Age is in your mind. Use it or lose it! Joints in motion stay in motion. I might need a u/w scooter when I'm really old lol!

 

[Ron Parker]

I urge your to move forward with your desire to get scuba certified. Get clearance through your ENT Doc. Have fun and dive safe.

 

[TMHeimer]

I'm 56 and hope to finish DM in a week or two. But I did just sell that steel 120 tank--too old to lug that monster on my back walking a distance to a dive.

 

[dkktsunami]

I started at 57, am now 66, over 1500 dives and loving it. Never to old.

 

[DizzyDallasDi]

Thank you all so much for your words of encouragement!! I know that diving without proper instruction wasn't the brightest thing I've ever done, but I had always wanted to do it and was thrilled to have the opportunity.

I agree that my ear issues were more than likely due to a too-fast descent and no knowledge of how to clear them.

Gotta keep crossing things off my bucket list so I'm off to the internist and dive-savvy ENT to get checked out.

Thanks again!

 

[DRsharky]

As many said you are never too old to start diving. You can be 75 and in good health and get certified (so far this is the oldest I've heard), and you can be 26 (or any younger age) and have some problems that won't allow you to dive. So it's not your age, it's your the health.

 

[rongoodman]

I'm 63 and just had a great time with Cavern/Intro to Cave. Full Cave and Trimix coming next year.

 

[olphart]

I started when I was 62, 5 years ago. I'm almost done my divemaster course. In case you think I'm some kind of overaged jock, I'm 30 lb overweight, have a hip joint replacement, and I think running a mile would kill me.
Oh yes, I had a bitch of a time with my ears at first. I could equalize ok, but I'd be clogged for days. I found that equalizing before descending saved a lot of trouble.
Your life, your choice. I wish i was as young as you!

 

[Puffer Fish]

I have done 2 dives without ever taking a real class. The first one was in the late 80s in Puerto Vallarta. Did approx. 15 minutes in a 4 ft. pool at the hotel property with their DM evaluating whether I could breath with a regulator and use fins properly. It all came very naturally to me. Then, I did a 60 ft dive and was hooked. The other couple on our boat were shocked that was my first dive...they thought I acted like I'd been diving for years. :blinking: Ego boost deluxe but my ears bothered me for a couple of days after.

The next dive was in Maui in the late 90s. I had a "refresher course" at a picnic table in the dive shop reviewing the basics. During the descent I started experiencing a great deal of pain in my ear so I headed back up. The DM saw me and grabbed my ankle motioning that we were going down. I responded with, no, I'm going up and pointed to my ears. The idiot DM grabbed my ankle again and was trying to force me to continue descending. I kicked him off and continued my ascent. That dive resulted in a perferated ear drum. The Maui doc had a pre-packaged med pack for people with this affliction...he "sees it all the time."

I've never gotten over my desire to scuba dive but now I'm 58 and want to take classes so I can learn the proper way to dive. Am I too old to start and do I have any hope of ever being able to get my ears to cooperate? I've got very sensitive ears and even know when a plane is beginning its initial descent 15 minutes before it's announced. I swore off scuba diving after the Maui incident because I thought I had weird ears but I've been reading posts that have renewed my hope that I can overcome.

Is 58 too old to start and can I master the ear equalization techniques?

Thank you!

You youngsters . I'll bet I can tell 20 minutes before the plane starts down.

You are older... so that means you need to work a bit more at staying in shape (ok, a lot more). You need to learn some new stuff. You need to learn equalization methods.

Go out there and have some fun.

You need a bumper sticker that says "worry less, do more!"

 

[JKPAO]

Too old? No, and a good class with a good instructor can teach you several ways to clear.
Once mastered (clearing) all I can imagine you saying to yourself is why did I wait so long!
See you topside! John