Eardrum pain from water slap?

[boulderjohn]

Truly handicapped people get trained through specially trained instructors, and they don't have standard certifications.

I don't see much value in swim instruction. I can find all the detailed stroke technique analysis I need on Youtube for free. I get the idea of the front crawl, but that whole trying to breathe with your head turned while water goes in your nose, makes it a bit difficult. Coordinating legs and arms is very hard, and most foot/leg positions seem either useless or minimally useful for propulsion, though II have learned how to kick and move backwards.

I suggest you rethink this. You will be amazed what a good swim instructor can do for you. A number of years ago I watched a student do the swimming requirement beautifully--she looked like a real expert swimmer. I then learned that only a few months before she had done a discover scuba class in Australia and almost drowned. She was a non-swimmer who had struggled to learn on her own in the past. She thought she was OK enough for scuba, though, so she tried the Discover Scuba class, and it almost killed her. She cried all the way back to the boat, but as she cried, she resolved not to be stopped by it. Immediately upon her return to the USA, she got into a swim class. A few months later she was the star of her scuba certification class.

You really do need to be able to swim well enough to pass the required swim test. It is not that hard--it should not take too many lessons to get you there.

 

[undrwater]

If you want to get certified as a disabled diver, then look into that. It will require that you buddy with a qualified, certified disabled diver buddy or DM.

If you want to certify as a typical diver, I believe it would behoove you to have someone watch you, film you, and critique your swimming style. I'd also recommend snorkeling and free diving before trying to certify as a diver.

Be patient, allow people to help you (I think you struggle with that too, yes?), and I'm near certain you can do it.

 

[kelemvor]

About a year ago, I sent some emails to a local (40 miles away) SCUBA instructor who doesn't have a shop, talking about these things. The local response has not been too enthusiastic:

I really don’t think you can pass the water skills part of the training and testing. The standards require that NO swimming aids can be used. Wet suits are considered a swim aid. I would hate to get your hopes up and say all kinds of good things and then pass you on the knowledge that you are a poor swimmer just to get your money and then have something bad go against you when you dive after the certification. I am somewhat flexible with the course but I do not cut or slack on the requirements period. This would also go on fudging on the medical statement that each student has to complete. If I am aware of a problem and something should happen then I am at full liability for that accident. Bottom line is if you are a poor swimmer and you drown while diving after I certify you I am responsible. The courts in a lawsuit would assume that I was in the business for just the money. Sorry I cannot help you at this time.​

Very odd, how do those handicapped people manage to get certified at all then?

There are many (I think around 150) "scuba certification agencies" - check wikipedia. These provide criteria for certification to the individual shops and/or instructors. Every one of those are likely to differ in some way. The handicapped people generally are going to dive-heart and/or Handicapped Scuba Association. Which... you guessed it.. has different criteria than the other 150.

Here's the Handicapped Scuba Association's website: HSA - Handicapped SCUBA Association

As others have mentioned, you've made some significant errors in your own compilation of the data. Try to go into your training with an open mind in order to be successful.

I grew up in Florida. Swimming is just somthing we do 3 seasons out of the year (or 4 if we've got a heated pool). I had to hire a swim instructor to get through naui's requirement of a 60' underwater swim on one breath. It took him about 10 minutes to get me there.

My daughter certified with a different scuba shop that uses SSI instead of NAUI. She had a much easier (physically) class than I and did not have to do the 60' underwater swim at all. I think I'm better off having had the tougher class, but in the end we're both certified divers so maybe it doesn't matter all that much.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

WOW, my advice would be to ditch the googles and wear a mask fins and snorkel in the pool (like I do). If you must wear a wetsuit, then fine. Practice, practice, practice kicking and snorkeling at the surface. I swim with a full freestyle stroke using mask fins and snorkel. I have a bad neck which would preclude me from doing any extensive, freestyle swimming with breathing from the side.

Practice a surface dive and swimming down 4-5 feet and then swimming submerged and come up. Don't push the breath hold stuff. If your hips and legs are strong enough to swim 500 yds or so like that, you are on a good start. It sounds like you need the exercise anyway (not meant as an insult). Based on the description of your physical limitations, swimming sounds like the very best (only practical ) method to improve and maintain cardiovascular health.

As for your hesitancy to do the valsalva method.. I never heard of eye problems with it, but for a vast majority of people it is the only way they are going to equalize. You can practice out of the water and do it, super, super gently. After you have that down, you can go to the deep end, hold onto a ladder and submerge your head to 3-4 ft depth and practice ear clearing. Trying to learn other more passive methods is going to make your progress more difficult and if you have physical problems with your ears, you might never get it. I myself, can clear one ear by moving my tongue and jaw - on most days when descending slowly.. but the other ear.. no way. I have to do the valsalva method. I think the physical differences in structure of the ears etc., have a big impact on the viability of performing hands free clearing. My teenage son can do it, I'm jealous..

I think the goal of diving may be an excellent motivator for you to get in shape via swimming. It sounds like you are spending a really long time in the pool. 45 minutes should be long enough, at least until you get in really good shape. It sounds like it took 40 years to get yourself into pretty bad shape... be patient with yourself and be happy with even very modest and slow progress. You are (hopefully) looking at a lifestyle change that will involve some degree of vigorous and strenuous activity for the rest of your life. Don't kid yourself, if you are as weak and sedentary and handicapped as you describe - then you will NEVER be a safe and competent diver if you are not hitting the pool 3-4 times per week FOREVER!

There should be no big rush or pushing yourself past a reasonable level of discomfort. It's a journey - not a race.. a slow and methodical progression that avoids injuries and set backs will probably result in a better and more productive outcome than pushing too hard or too fast.

 

[Javik]

Don't kid yourself, if you are as weak and sedentary and handicapped as you describe - then you will NEVER be a safe and competent diver if you are not hitting the pool 3-4 times per week FOREVER!

I know, it is so sad, I won't be able to win marathons or cycle championships either. But I can accept that.


As I may have mentioned, at this point I have no interest in going any deeper than about 12 feet with SCUBA gear, in a swimming pool with a lifeguard present. There is a huge difference between this and going 60 ft deep in an open lake with just you and a buddy.

If there's a problem, drop the weight belt, and it can be easily retrieved later from the pool floor. I am aware in open water, many divers resist dumping their expensive weight belt, and this sometimes ends up killing those who hesitate and try to struggle with it anyway when they are in trouble like having a punctured and useless BC or they run out of air. But this doesn't matter at all in a pool where losing it is impossible.

In fact, I can easily choose to instantly unbuckle and dump the whole works if there is a severe equipment failure, head for the surface, and retrieve it later. Dumping your tank, BC, and the whole works is another expensive pondering decision out in open water that leads to dawdling in emergencies and "c'mon c'mon I can make it, I can make it, I can, c'mon..... glub".

Risk factors for sedentary certified SCUBA only in a 12-15 ft swimming pool are very low, vs open water.

 

[Javik]

I have been trying to spend at least 2-4 hours in the pool about once or twice a week. If I go, I try to be there as long as possible, usually at least 2.5 hours or it's not worth the bother of even going.

It's about a 20 minute drive for me from my home to the nearest pool. It's about a 40 minute drive for me from work to the pool, so it's a hassle for me to go swimming daily after work. The main pool I use is a 25 yard six-lane indoor public school district / community pool that is only open to the public certain hours of the weekday and on Saturdays.

It takes time to use the bathroom, shower, dry off, crawl in through the tiny neck of my no-zip Billabong Furnace surf suit, go to the pool and dunk my toys in the pool to thaw them out after being frozen in the car, put on the booties, the fin keepers, the US Divers split fins, the Sharkfin webbed rubber gloves, the -10.0 swim goggles, the Finis swimmer's snorkel, get in the water and the suit wet inside so it isn't rubbing me the wrong way... and now we are ready to swim for two hours.


My fins are okay for about 45 minutes starting from bare dry feet, at which point my skin is softening up, and my toes start to hurt from rubbing the inside of the foot pocket. I have recently purchased some 2mm booties and fin keepers, to provide some chafing protection.

I don't do any other exercise. I talked with my doc about lifting weights vs swimming, and he recommended the swimming as it gets the heart rate up more.


I can do about 1 arm stroke per second with the front crawl, but after about 25-50 yards the heart rate goes up. I assume athletes expect that but I do not, so I stop and wait for 3-5 minutes for that to settle down and go back to the usual 55-60 bpm, and do it some more, maybe 10 or more times.

When the pool is busy, I do finning in place in the deep end, using just my ankles, knees, or hips, and then straight leg and bicycle leg motions, plus also moving arms forward and back, and to the sides up and down. The Sharkfin webbed gloves add lots of resistance to this.



Bobbing in place with the mask and fins is sometimes fun, propelling up from the water surface with the fins and my arms, and then sinking down feet first. But I can only do this about 20-30 times and then my ears start aching from the surface water slap when going under. (Wow, back on the original topic!)

I shall see how the Doc's ProPlugs work. And I just found another vented diving earplug on Amazon, bought those too.

JBL Hydro Seals Vented Preformed Protective Earplugs Aqua Ear Plugs For Scuba and Free Diving

 

[uncfnp]

As for your hesitancy to do the valsalva method.. I never heard of eye problems with it, but for a vast majority of people it is the only way they are going to equalize.

He is referring to an increased risk of retinal detachment for individuals with significant nearsightedness (myopia) because the eye is elongated and this can weaken the attachment between the layers of the retina. Among other things, activities that increase intraocular pressure add to that risk. Valsalva can also cause something called valsalva retinopathy.

I'm not sure if the increased risk is significant enough to limit the attempt but his ophthalomologist should be able to advise him. I think he said he is a 10 diopter. I am a 6.5 and have no hesitancy to gently valsalva if needed, and often do.

Its kinda the same as his concern for Acanthamoeba infection of the eye. There is an increased risk with contact use during water activites but diving with contact lenses is pretty common and how many divers do you know that has had this infection.

 

[lowviz]

He is referring to an increased risk of retinal detachment for individuals with significant nearsightedness (myopia) because the eye is elongated and this can weaken the attachment between the layers of the retina. Among other things, activities that increase intraocular pressure add to that risk. Valsalva can also cause something called valsalva retinopathy. ...

She is absolutely correct.

You can search on "perforated an eardrum" and read my story. Unreported until now, I also burst a small blood vessel in my right eye. I am myopic. Almost totally resolved, but still visible when I close my eyes. A small but well defined area of purplish swirling lights is all that remains. No longer affects my vision, so I suppose that the eye injections were worth it. Warned to take it easy.

I now equalize gently...

 

[chillyinCanada]

J avik, since you're so sure you're doing the right things and aren't going to be deeper than 12-15', I'm going to pretend that I assume you're aware that those first 15' are where the highest chance of ear/sinus damage occurring?

 

[uncfnp]

J avik, since you're so sure you're doing the right things and aren't going to be deeper than 12-15', I'm going to pretend that I assume you're aware that those first 15' are where the highest chance of ear/sinus damage occurring?

He reminds me of some people (men ) I know. They can do things the right way or their way, which takes twice as long and is three times harder.