No visible up/down reference and being dizzy?

[Ladyvalea]

Clear Water ....and seeing other people or stuff ...I'm fine....But When I'm in a cloudy pool or maybe a dark green lake with out any reference points...why do I feel dizzy? or is it motion sickness... floating up and down a couple inches trying to get neutral? I also think the fact I'm wearing the low profile black freediving type goggles do not help....any suggestions? " should I pratice floating around neutral with my eye closed? thanks

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Remember, when you are neutrally buoyant, you will rise and fall as you breath in and out, and your bubbles will go up. Those are your reference points. I suggest practicing in the environment that spooks you, but with a shallow bottom and close to shore.

 

[TSandM]

I can't answer your question as to WHY it happens, but it's not uncommon. Even my PADI manual discussed blue water vertigo (dizziness that occurs in midwater, when you can't see the bottom or the surface). I'm extremely susceptible to it, and it has been a battle to overcome the problem.

A few ideas: First off, watch your gauge. If you are doing an ascent, it doesn't MATTER what position you are in, as long as you are at your depth. I used to be convinced I was doing somersaults in midwater, when I wasn't, but I used the "it doesn't matter" strategy fairly well.

Second, acquire a visual reference of any kind if you can. That can be your buddy, or in poor viz, watch the crud in the water. It generally isn't moving, and you can orient yourself to it.

Memorize the way the gear feels on your back. And notice where your bubbles go when you are in a good horizontal position. If you start to get dizzy or disoriented, check your bubbles! If mine are running up each side of my face, I know I'm flat and not extremely head down. If they're running up the front of my body, I have a problem.

Finally, if you are doing ascents or something where you need to spend significant time in midwater, learn to shoot a bag and use the line as a vertical reference. It helps a LOT.

Good luck with it. You aren't alone.

 

[Puffer Fish]

Well, I lost the sensory part of one of my inner ears from an infection at around 12, and get that every time I don't have a visual reference. Very unpleasent feeling, but I have learned to not be bothered so much by it.

I find using any visual reference that is not moving works.. a rope, the bottom...even the surface (but looking up is not always fun).

Please don't tell anyone, but one of the reasons I carry a reel and an smb is just in case I am in mid water and cannot see anything...I send it up and then look at the line.

I have learned to use bubbles to go to the surface and can even move around in zero vis.. just don't feel so good doing it.

P.S. I'm not good at standing in complete darkness though.

 

[irishsquid]

...First off, watch your gauge. If you are doing an ascent, it doesn't MATTER what position you are in, as long as you are at your depth...
Second, acquire a visual reference of any kind if you can. That can be your buddy, or in poor viz, watch the crud in the water. It generally isn't moving, and you can orient yourself to it...
....notice where your bubbles go when you are in a good horizontal position. If you start to get dizzy or disoriented, check your bubbles! ...Finally, if you are doing ascents or something where you need to spend significant time in midwater, learn to shoot a bag and use the line as a vertical reference. It helps a LOT.

Good luck with it. You aren't alone.

Very Good advice. All of these made a difference for me. Well, I'm still working on shooting the bag. Right now, I'd have to admit my efficiency pretty much sucks.
Think: Keystone Cops all rolled into one individual!

 

[TSandM]

I have learned to use bubbles to go to the surface and can even move around in zero vis.. just don't feel so good doing it.

Yeah, me too. Exits on the line in zero viz in cave class were, shall we say, interesting . . . Until I got the bubbles thing going. (Turns out, if you're upside down and don't know it, you make some rather unfortunate buoyancy corrections.) I've had a horrible time in my quasi-tech training, because when they take my mask off in midwater, my orientation goes to pot. I wish there were a solution, but I think all there really is is a bunch of more effective crutches.

 

[rawls]

I would simply discourage your being in midwater without some form of reference. I would encourage anyone to carry a surface marker with a spool attached if he or she should find themselves in such a situation, but IMHO I feel being in midwater without a reference is not a situation you should find yourself in, especially in a low visibility environment.

 

[TSandM]

I feel being in midwater without a reference is not a situation you should find yourself in, especially in a low visibility environment.

Virtually all of our descents, except when one is fortunate enough to dive off an anchored boat (rare in Puget Sound) are done through low viz (20 feet is GOOD for us). Most of the ascents when diving off charters are also green water ascents. One can shoot a bag to assist with an ascent, but it's not very practical on descent. Around here, one simply must learn to cope with the disorientation of midwater, if one wants to do anything but the simplest of shore diving.

 

[ucfdiver]

I hate to oversimplify here, but why not just exhale and see which way your body tends to drop?

 

[TSandM]

Well, how do you know you are neutral, if you don't know where you are or which way you are moving? For example, I get NO information from my ears when going up. I have to depend on gear and suit for that information. Sometimes I can't know if simply exhaling is enough to cause a descent. Although I'll admit that, during my lost line exercise in Intro, I sat on my rock and breathed in, and breathed out, and breathed IN, and breathed OUT, until I felt I had defined my y axis well enough to begin my search.

People who don't deal with this don't have much empathy for it, in my experience, and they have no advice on how to fix it.