Drysuit maneuvers n vertigo

[charles brenner]

i ve been wanting to get into drysuit diving but have benign positional vertigo. I am certified PADI recreational diver but my season for diving is cut short due to cold water up north. I tried some of the maneuvers in a pool needed to correct bouncy issues with a drysuit (air trapped in legs n foot area) and felt like I was on a roller coaster ( I stay away from roller coasters on dry land) getting very dizzy. Recreational (no deeper than 60ft) diving has never bothered me. Any suggestions (other than Dramamine) would be appreciated.

 

[joe10540]

If you don't use the suit for buoyancy and keep the bubble to a minimum you shouldn't have any trouble keeping your feet from running away on you. You wear a BC for buoyancy and a suit for thermal protection.

 

[KevinNM]

Your first dozen or so dives might be a bit of a mess, at least mine were. But that advice to minimize the amount of air will help greatly. Eventually you start recognizing and dealing with potential issues before they are a problem. And take it slow, nobody should make their post-license first motorcycle ride on a 8 lane expressway at rush hour and you should do some dives in benign boring sports at first until you feel reasonably comfortable ascending and descending in control.

 

[dirkadirk]

There are also things called ankle weights - little 500g-1kg bracelets you put around your ankles - they help keep your feet down to minimise the risks of inversion. Lots of people use them, and lots of people would say its cheating and lazy, but if you have a particular concern, i.e. your vertigo, then to me that is a more than adequate justification for you to be using them.

Scubapro Ankle Eco Weights

There's a link to an example - they're usually pretty cheap unless they're filled with gold-pressed latinum ingots lol.

I started out wearing a drysuit with these, just as a confidence booster that my buoyancy was ok. I primarily dive in the UK, so a drysuit is pretty much a must all year round. Just start easy, perhaps a few pool practice sessions to just get used to the feeling of being in one underwater.

Hope it goes well

 

[PfcAJ]

Get a suit that fits. Big baggy legs and oversized boots give more space for air to get trapped.

Proper technique and a good fitting suit will ensure you don't need to add anything to your gear collection.

 

[KevinNM]

You can do a feet first out of control ascent with ankle weights. Ask me how I know. If you get air in your feet and ascend without an easy path to your DS exhaust valve your feet will get more and more buoyant. If you allow your your feet and calves to start inflating a pound or two of lead wont stop it. So the trick is to develop habits that minimize air-trapping on ascent and to learn to recognize when it starts occurring so you can fix it well before you start getting dragged up by you feet.

Ankle weights are typically used to correct trim issues, and they are almost never the right solution.

 

[Subcooled]

As you get used to drysuit diving, all balance issues diminish.
"maneuvers in a pool needed to correct bouncy issues" are only needed if you have issues.

If your feet feel heavy, you can divert some air into your shoes, while staying horizontal. If your feet do float, you can get the air out. All of this will become routine. Only small twists of the body... One can actually feel how the water supports one like a bed... In the beginning it may indeed feel like a roller coaster as you overdo everything.

 

[g1138]

I'm going to give a different answer; I think we should address the vertigo rather than ignore it. That signifies an imbalance of pressure between your middle ear fluids.
Yes you can do a lot to prevent going inverted in a dry suit, but it would be better to get rid of the problem than risk it occurring in the rare case you do go inverted and start stacking small problems that can put you as the topic of an accident and incident post.

Do you have trouble equalizing fully or equalizing equally for both ears? Having an imbalance between your ears can create vertigo. Going inverted puts a bit of pressure increase on the ears, especially when shallow.
If this is the case, I would practice your equalization techniques and you could solve the problem entirely.

Other than traditional valsalva, take a look into Frenzel and Voluntary Tubal Opening/Beance Tubaire Voluntaire (VTO/BTV equalizing).
Try again and start equalizing as soon as you even think of going head down. See if that prevents the vertigo.

 

[Taronmyheel]

Did you take a drysuit course or where you just experimenting on your own? I was just going to add that more experience may take care of the issue.

 

[Marie13]

Getting a suit with socks and then using separate boots can help with not letting air into the feet.