DCS up close for the first time

[SelkieDVM]

A few weeks ago I went diving off NC with a group of friends. We did a dive on the Schurz, which has a max depth of around 115'. I showed a minimum water temp of around 62F, though I think my computer reads a bit low and it was actually mid 60s. Currents were mild, viz 30-40', and topside conditions were typical or even mild for offshore NC, maybe 2-4' waves but a longish period.

Within an hour of the dive, one of my friends became severely nauseated after trying to read something below deck. We all thought he was seasick, as did he. Everyone else made their second dive but he spent the rest of the trip huddled by the lifeline with the dry heaves.

After returning to shore, he could barely walk due to dizziness and was still severely nauseated. This persisted for several hours, and so a call was made to DAN. They recommended a visit to the local ER, and he was subsequently transported via ambulance to Duke, where he took two chamber rides. He was diagnosed with an inner ear hit, resulted in permanent damage to one ear. After treatment we was much improved but was still little wobbly on his feet. He can't dive for a while, of course, and then only after medical clearance and very conservatively.

This diver and his buddy are very experienced and did not violate recreational limits, though I don't the know the exact profile. There was some yo-yoing due to waves on the hang bar which perhaps resulted in a shortened safety stop and possible rapid ascent for the last few feet.

What did I learn from this experience?
1) It might not always be seasickness. If someone who is rarely seasick gets this seasick, would it hurt to put them on O2? Unfortunately it didn't occur to us, DMs and instructors and boat captains included.
2) Thank goodness for DAN. I shudder to think what this all would be costing my friend without their insurance, and advice for that matter. Call them sooner rather later if possible.
3) I don't want to take a middle-of-the-night ambulance ride from Morehead City to Durham via ambulance when I'm nauseated and dizzy, or so I'm told anyway.

 

[joystershell]

This situation sounds very similar to one of friend of mine experienced. Turns out, he wasn't equalizing early and often often enough, causing micro-tears to his coclia (inner ear). All is well now, but you can more about his experience here. http://www.cavediver.net/forum/showpost.php?p=98977&postcount=1

 

[robint]

wow, thanks for posting! i hope he is better soon.

robin

 

[openmindOW]

SelkieDVM, thank you for your post.

I've dove the Schurz several times. Great dive.

Just a couple of questions:
1) What kind of physical condition was the diver in and how old is he?

2) Were you all diving out of Morehead City or Beaufort, NC or somewhere else? How long is the drive from Morehead to Durham?

3) What kind of rig was the diver using? Doubles? Single? Stage bottles?

4) Since your post, have you learned anything new about the incident?

Again, thanks for posting.

 

[SelkieDVM]

SelkieDVM, thank you for your post.

I've dove the Schurz several times. Great dive.

Just a couple of questions:
1) What kind of physical condition was the diver in and how old is he? He is in his early 50s (I think) and significantly overweight but active and dives on a regular basis, including in some other challenging locations such as the Galapagos. I think he's logged around 700 dives.

2) Were you all diving out of Morehead City or Beaufort, NC or somewhere else? How long is the drive from Morehead to Durham? We were diving out of Morehead (Atlantic Beach actually) - the drive is about 3 hours - well, maybe 2.5 in the middle of the night in an ambulance.

3) What kind of rig was the diver using? Doubles? Single? Stage bottles? Single 120 with 30%, with his computer set for air. He may have violated the limit for air but was within the limit for 30%, according to his buddy.


He was also managing a large video rig, with which he's very experienced. He wore a new 7mm farmer john but I don't know about weighting. He had given it a test dive the weekend prior in a quarry.

4) Since your post, have you learned anything new about the incident? I did hear that he was knocked off the hang line by a another diver, which resulted in the uncontrolled ascent. He found himself close to the keel and decided to go for the trail line at that point rather than descend back down to finish the safety stop.

Again, thanks for posting.

As of a couple of weeks ago, I've heard he had been cleared to drive short distances but still had some dizziness when walking. DAN was quite interested to hear of his case apparently (my brother has colleagues there), since inner ear DCS is pretty uncommon I'm told.

 

[openmindOW]

Thank you, SelkieDVM. It sounds like the diver was experienced.

The diver's bady fat may have been a factor.

I'm a little surprised that he was transported by ambulance. A diver I know who got bent off the NC coast was transported to Durham by low-flying chopper. That is by no means a criticism of the transport; I jsut did not know that that was the protocol.

I'm guessing that the operation you went out with may have been a big operation that I won't name. Do they have a dock with an old WWII naval machine gun on it?

Thank you again for your post.

 

[DiveTheGalapagos]

Hope whomever was hit is feeling better now...sounds like KG from your description. I've never heard of inner ear DCS, but after reading this did a google search. Lots of info out there, but still don't know much. After 7 trips to specialists last year with no real results, hope this is not what happened and I didn't realize it.

 

[Stoo]

There was some yo-yoing due to waves on the hang bar which perhaps resulted in a shortened safety stop and possible rapid ascent for the last few feet.

That'll do it. If he was close to limits and ascended through the last few feet too quickly, that's more than enough to trigger a bend.

It would be interesting to know about his activities in the preceding day or so. was he tired, drinking the night before, dehydrated, ill recently? What sort of body type is he?

Just curious... any of these might have been contributing factors.

 

[SelkieDVM]

Well I don't know what all he did the day before, but assume the majority was spent driving down to the coast. He's not a hard partier or heavy drinker and he didn't mention not feeling well. He's a big framed man, and as I mentioned does carry some extra weight.