Barotrauma... Or what?

[mihari]

Hi all! This is my first time posting here. I hope I don't break any rules!
I am a newbie diver wannabe... I did my first 3 "confined waters" dives. So I guess I don't even qualify as a diver yet... Well, anyway, I have a question about a dizziness feeling I had after the last 2 dives.
The dives lasted for 30-45 minutes each. The depth was 2-4 meters. After surfacing and trying to stand up at waist level water, I felt dizzy. No other sensations at that time. Just very difficult to stay standing and even more difficult to walk on a sandy beach with all the scuba gear... My ears both felt clogged with water.
The dizziness receded within 10-15 minutes. Ears cleared within the next few hours.
My instructor was unable to explain my symptoms.

I am generally having difficulty equalizing. I believe that this is mostly lack of experience. Or, maybe not...
Also, my wetsuit feels very tight. I have to breath out for the zipper to close. Could that be a cause of dizziness?
Any guesses to what might be wrong?
Do I get on with the lessons?
How do I go about checking what's wrong? General ENT, or any other specific doctor?

Any guidance is welcome. Thank you in advance for your time!

mihari

 

[Seaweed Doc]

I'm not a MD (though if your kelp is sick, feel free to PM me), but a couple of thoughts come to mind.

Is your wetsuit tight around your neck? Could you be cutting off blood flow? Or so tight that you can't inhale reasonable comfortably when it's zipped?

I'm not sure what the cause is, but long ago when nursing a stress fracture but in shape to run a marathon, I swam. Long distance. Like a couple hours without stopping in a cool lake with a wetsuit. I never figured out why, but whenever I first got out of the water (climbing on to a rock) I had no equilibrium. I wasn't dizzy per se, just couldn't stay standing up. Once I was more or less vertical for a bit, the feeling passed. Is this kind of the sensation you're having? I always figured it was from swimming prone for so long and standing up quickly.

 

[Nick Steele]

I could see it being a standing too quickly thing aswell.

Have you ever experienced when waking up in the morning you stand up too quickly and get dizzy? Is it like that?

Other than that if you breathed regularly I think there’s nothing to be worried about. Again not an MD so maybe talk to the instructor and see what he thinks aswell

 

[Rred]

You have just learned why DAN is such a great asset to divers. Call them and get an opinion from one of the medical staff. Free.

I would think the extra tight suit can't help. If it is that tight you won't be breathing normally, that could lead to CO2 buildup or some other issue that's not normal perhaps?

Or it could be that there's something going on in your ears, and all the time "horizontal" left your system out of kilter for a while.

But the folks at DAN will probably have better answers and advice for you to follow. Diving generally doesn't make people dizzy. In fact, it clears up any seasickness that you may feel on the boat on the way out. (Just don't do a backroll off the boat if you are queasy, trust me on that.(G)

 

[mihari]

I'm not a MD (though if your kelp is sick, feel free to PM me), but a couple of thoughts come to mind.

Is your wetsuit tight around your neck? Could you be cutting off blood flow? Or so tight that you can't inhale reasonable comfortably when it's zipped?

I'm not sure what the cause is, but long ago when nursing a stress fracture but in shape to run a marathon, I swam. Long distance. Like a couple hours without stopping in a cool lake with a wetsuit. I never figured out why, but whenever I first got out of the water (climbing on to a rock) I had no equilibrium. I wasn't dizzy per se, just couldn't stay standing up. Once I was more or less vertical for a bit, the feeling passed. Is this kind of the sensation you're having? I always figured it was from swimming prone for so long and standing up quickly.

Thanks for the reply! It didn't feel tight around the neck. I was thinking that the suit might be causing low blood flow. But wouldn't it have made me dizzy even when in the water?

 

[mihari]

I could see it being a standing too quickly thing aswell.

Have you ever experienced when waking up in the morning you stand up too quickly and get dizzy? Is it like that?

Other than that if you breathed regularly I think there’s nothing to be worried about. Again not an MD so maybe talk to the instructor and see what he thinks aswell

"standing up too quickly" does not last that long. Not for me anyway. I have had it in the past. But not in recent years.

 

[mihari]

You have just learned why DAN is such a great asset to divers. Call them and get an opinion from one of the medical staff. Free.

I would think the extra tight suit can't help. If it is that tight you won't be breathing normally, that could lead to CO2 buildup or some other issue that's not normal perhaps?

Or it could be that there's something going on in your ears, and all the time "horizontal" left your system out of kilter for a while.

But the folks at DAN will probably have better answers and advice for you to follow. Diving generally doesn't make people dizzy. In fact, it clears up any seasickness that you may feel on the boat on the way out. (Just don't do a backroll off the boat if you are queasy, trust me on that.(G)

Thank you for your suggestion! I will try to get in touch with them. If I get any answers, I will post them here.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

"standing up too quickly" does not last that long. Not for me anyway. I have had it in the past. But not in recent years.

FWIW, the thing I noted when swimming long distance was different than the blood pressure drop in the brain that can make you pass out when you stand up quickly. That DOES pass quickly. Whatever was affecting me when I swam for a long time took a few minutes to resolve. I suspect it was some inner ear fluid getting back to where it belonged kind of thing, not just my cardiovascular system catching up to my movement. The stand up too quickly feeling I'd call being "light-headed." What I got was more of a lack of balance. I wasn't going to pass out, but I'd fail a field-sobriety test....

You also mentioned the wetsuit: If the neck wasn't at all tight, I wouldn't worry about blood flow to the brain being an issue.

Can you elaborate on the "dizziness?" Did you feel "woozy" like you might pass out? Dizzy like you'd spun around too fast on a merry-go-round? Or just unable to keep your balance? We should get DAN or a real doc to answer, but I suspect the latter two are more likely a "getting the fluid in your ear where it needs to be" issue. See How Does the Ear Help to Maintain Balance and Equilibrium of the Body? for details.

 

[mihari]

FWIW, the thing I noted when swimming long distance was different than the blood pressure drop in the brain that can make you pass out when you stand up quickly. That DOES pass quickly. Whatever was affecting me when I swam for a long time took a few minutes to resolve. I suspect it was some inner ear fluid getting back to where it belonged kind of thing, not just my cardiovascular system catching up to my movement. The stand up too quickly feeling I'd call being "light-headed." What I got was more of a lack of balance. I wasn't going to pass out, but I'd fail a field-sobriety test....

You also mentioned the wetsuit: If the neck wasn't at all tight, I wouldn't worry about blood flow to the brain being an issue.

Can you elaborate on the "dizziness?" Did you feel "woozy" like you might pass out? Dizzy like you'd spun around too fast on a merry-go-round? Or just unable to keep your balance? We should get DAN or a real doc to answer, but I suspect the latter two are more likely a "getting the fluid in your ear where it needs to be" issue. See How Does the Ear Help to Maintain Balance and Equilibrium of the Body? for details.

Like I said, no other sensations... not like being drunk... Well, like being drunk but without the fuzziness... Just pure imbalance. I don't know how to elaborate...
I had found an old thread, from 2001, to which I was lead by a google search. dizzyness after diving?
It seems that barotrauma is not what I have... but something wrong with the labyrinth... I am not a doctor either, so just speculating...

 

[Jonny Wishbone]

Are you equalizing before you even dunk your head underwater? You should be. Always stay ahead of the need to equalize....you may be experiencing unequal equalization from tight or inexperienced eustachian tubes. again, not a Dr but i have stayed at a Holiday inn before.