Weird "dizzyness" while diving?

[WillyCham]

I'm a fairly new diver, and have had this strange dizzy spell hit me during two separate dives now. It's hard to describe, but basically my sight gets almost blurry and my view is contorted, for maybe 10 to 20 seconds (but it feels like much longer!) and is very unpleasant. It affects my vision so that things almost look like it would if you weren't wearing a mask..it's just odd and rather scary actually. My buddy (a seasoned diver) said it was probably something to do with my inner ear and blockage issues. I do have to clear my ears fairly regularly by plugging my nose and blowing against it. It wears off on its own, usually with me just remaining still and forcing myself to be calm. It typically happens mid/late-dive, and occurs in a split second. Any ideas what this is about? Have you had this happen yourself?

 

[al248005]

Are you "skip breathing"?

 

[Kryssa]

I get this too and from what I've been told, it's vertigo. When it happens, I swim to my husband, and make the vertigo sign we made up and he holds my hand until it passes. I've noticed it more often when I'm ascending, but it's not like I am going up very fast at all. I think it has to do with unequal pressure in the inner ear.

 

[Insta-Gator]

Vertigo would have been my first guess too.

 

[al248005]

I get this too and from what I've been told, it's vertigo. When it happens, I swim to my husband, and make the vertigo sign we made up and he holds my hand until it passes. I've noticed it more often when I'm ascending, but it's not like I am going up very fast at all. I think it has to do with unequal pressure in the inner ear.

A buddy of mine had vertigo and he would get it on the ascent about 10-15 ft away from the surface and he would even get it to the point he was getting sick in between dives. He would get dizzy and white as a ghost and then would see everything he ate for breakfast. He took some decongestants (i.e Sudafed) and that seemed to help.

 

[lindenbruce]

Seek out a medical professional preferably one knowledgeable in dive medicine. It could be a congestion/vertigo issue but you really need to get a diagnosis and treatment plan in place before something goes terribly wrong. To help with sinus issues I start using flonase a few days before I go on a trip and all during the trip too along with a non drowsy decongestant. It helps to keep things clear and dry to assist with clearing/equalizing. I also use Dimenhydrinate for motion sickness. Bruce

 

[chillyinCanada]

As others have said, while it's vertigo, probably caused by ears/equalizing/etc., but also consider how you are holding your neck. Are you clenched up in any way, with your head held back in a somewhat unnatural angle? Have you ever had neck and shoulder pain before (unrelated to diving)?

 

[skankpile]

Doc's pro plugs have helped me with this tremendously. I cant get in cold water with out them unless I'm wearing a hood. If I'm in a strong current/surge and cold water.. forget it.. vertigo and being bounced around is no fun.

 

[knotical]

Although I suppose this could be related to alternobaric vertigo, there are many other possible causes of blurry vision, including medication, issues with contact lenses, reaction to defog, and even some quite serious conditions.

 

[TMHeimer]

Although I suppose this could be related to alternobaric vertigo, there are many other possible causes of blurry vision, including medication, issues with contact lenses, reaction to defog, and even some quite serious conditions.

Yes. Though I probably have the least problems of anyone on the planet equalizing while descending, I once in a while do get vertigo on ascent--probably due to imbalance in equalizing. But nothing wrong at all with my vision. This would concern me.