Recent Incident - What did I do wrong?

[Glitchrf]

Recently, yesturday, I went on one of my first dives down to 40ft in search of a lost object. When I started to come up I could tell something was going to be wrong, a little disoriented. When I reached the surface to turn to face the boat everything was spinning fast, really dizzy stuff. I swam to the boat and got out to find my dad telling me that my nose was bleeding (first time in my life) and to find out by asking that my right ear was bleeding a little bit. Took awhile for the dizzyness to go away, 15-30 mins. What did I do wrong? How can I prevent this in the future so it doesn't happen again? Should I be worried about any ear problems?

The only thing I can think about that I did wrong was maybe not equalize enough or may have descended to fast, I felt perfectly fine at the bottom. I came up slow enough letting the bubbles beat me. I was wearing a full wetsuit, this may have something to do with it also since when I released the hood from my head it made me feel a little bit better.

Thanks for any help it would be greatly appreciated so this will never happen to me again, it was a little bit scary and I still get some chills thinking about it.

P.S. I'm certified, the website just won't let me change it in my profile, at the moment.

 

[fishb0y]

Looks like you had the hood too tight. My guess is that you had some air trapped in your hood, causing you ear drum to rupture. Might want to have a Dr. look at it.

 

[TheRedHead]

Glitch, sounds as if you had a reverse block and a baurotrama. You need to see the doc immediately. This is generally caused by diving with congestion. I take 12 hour sudafed when I'm slightly congested because as a wise diving doc in Cozumel told me, "A little bit congested is like being a little bit pregnant."

Please see your doctor about the ear!

 

[speedhound]

Hi Glitch,
To be on the safe side, especially with the ear bleeding, please see a doctor to get it checked out.

Did you have any problems - cold, sniffles, sinus trouble before you went diving? I'm not a medic in any way, shape or form, but sometimes with a blocked sinus as you descend the air volume inside wants to reduce, being under pressure. Soft tissues in the sinuses are slightly drawn into the sinus cavity, causing bleeding. Some divers are prone to this, and after the first incident of the day, know they can continue diving happily. If you're not one of the minority get it checked out.

The dizziness sounds like you've caused injury to your middle ear - another reason to get checked out, especially if there was blood.

Coming up, watching your bubbles is not a good steady rule to follow. Watch your depth gauge/computer and aim for 30ft or less per minute, with a ideally a safety stop at 10-15ft for three minutes - or longer if you want to breath down your tank.

You don't mention your dive buddy. Did you have one? If not, then you should be scared...Especially as you appear to be a new diver, you need to be with a buddy. Imagine what would have happened if you'd gone dizzy at 40' instead of on the surface...your father could be paying for a funeral.

Stern talking over with. I'm glad you appear to have survived, but please go and get your ear checked out by a doctor. While you're in the waiting room, take your class notes with you and revisit the parts where they cover ascents, colds/sinus trouble, and buddies

Dive Safe and have fun!

Recently, yesturday, I went on one of my first dives down to 40ft in search of a lost object. When I started to come up I could tell something was going to be wrong, a little disoriented. When I reached the surface to turn to face the boat everything was spinning fast, really dizzy stuff. I swam to the boat and got out to find my dad telling me that my nose was bleeding and to find out by asking that my right ear was bleeding a little bit. Took awhile for the dizzyness to go away, 15-30 mins. What did I do wrong? How can I prevent this in the future so it doesn't happen again? Should I be worried about any ear problems?

The only thing I can think about that I did wrong was maybe not equalize enough or may have descended to fast, I felt perfectly fine at the bottom. I came up slow enough letting the bubbles beat me. I was wearing a full wetsuit, this may have something to do with it also since when I released the hood from my head it made me feel a little bit better.

Thanks for any help it would be greatly appreciated so this will never happen to me again, it was a little bit scary and I still get some chills thinking about it.

P.S. I'm certified, the website just won't let me change it in my profile, at the moment.

 

[TheRedHead]

What speedhound said. I had it happen at 100 feet winding my way up Punta Sur south in Cozumel and I drfited up 20 feet and thankfully, my buddy was right at my side to get me back down and serve as an anchor to reality. The spinning lasted about 5 minutes and was caused by vibrating cochlear from a forced valsava according to Dr. Piccolo. I also had blood in my mask, but no bleeding from the ear. I was a "little" congested. Learned my lesson.

 

[gangrel441]

One more possible cause. I have a 5mm hood I wear when I dive locally in the midwest. The hood has a smooth liner, similar to the liner on a Gold Core wetsuit. With the wetsuit, this liner does not allow water to seep all the way through the neoprene and to the diver's skin. Thus, the suit keeps warmer than a typical 7mm. The hood, likewise, tends to keep the head dry, not just warm. What I have noticed, however, is that it also traps air between the hood and the ears, making equalization difficult to impossible while leaving the hood in place. Therefore, when I dive this configuration, I frequently hook a finger inside the edge of the hood and pull it away from my cheeks on both sides to allow water to get to my ears for equalization. If you had a similar set of circumstances, and tried unsuccessfully to equalize, you may have ruptured the ear drum as stated above. While I have never had this injury, I have heard from first hand accounts that many times once the ear is injured, it doesn't really cause any pain. This may explain why you didn't notice anything until vertigo set in.

 

[fishb0y]

Coming up, watching your bubbles is not a good steady rule to follow. Watch your depth gauge/computer and aim for 30ft or less per minute, with a ideally a safety stop at 10-15ft for three minutes - or longer if you want to breath down your tank.

You don't mention your dive buddy. Did you have one? If not, then you should be scared...Especially as you appear to be a new diver, you need to be with a buddy. Imagine what would have happened if you'd gone dizzy at 40' instead of on the surface...your father could be paying for a funeral.

Wow... what a way to scare a person out of diving. They didn't mention they were diving air, nitrox or tri-mix either. Think you should go into gas laws also? Also, having your dive computer tell you when you should ascend is also a bad idea... go with your smallest bubbles. That's about 30ft/min. As long as your brain didn't leak out with the blood, it is always your best computer

Blown eardrums are never a good thing, but like everyone else said, see you doc. Even the pros could get a blockage, I strained mine once or twice.

 

[speedhound]

Wow... what a way to scare a person out of diving. .

...or into realising that he should be with a buddy, he should be careful with his ascents, into getting his ear checked out, into reviewing what he did good, and where he can improve.

Glitch, you posted looking for help which is a very good thing - there are no dumb questions. As I implied my comments were meant to be stern, but they were written to be helpful. If something I write helps someone to not injure themselves, or by whatever means, to become a better diver...then I'm happy with that. Other people can state their opinions, ideas, that's fine...the more ideas and discussions, the more information should be around. Glitch, you wouldn't know many people on SB if they walked up to you, we're strangers to you, just pixels on the screen. So listen to as many people as you choose, take as little or as much information as you need, then do what you are comfortable with.

They didn't mention they were diving air, nitrox or tri-mix either. Think you should go into gas laws also? .

Glitch didn't mention he had a problem with his gas. Boyles law does have more than a slight effect on squeezes and blocks though.

Also, having your dive computer tell you when you should ascend is also a bad idea.

I suggested (okay, told ) that he watch his depth gauge/computer to monitor his ascent rate...not when he could ascend.

... go with your smallest bubbles. That's about 30ft/min. ...

...bubbles don't stay small for very long.. how small a bubble "soda size", "BB" size.. For a new diver,it's easy enough to be overloaded or distracted without the new task of watching the (my word )"pretty" bubbles whizz by before glancing around to pick new ones to watch...

The moving needle on a depth gauge or number on a computer, tells me it's 30ft/min. If I have a failure with one or both of those devices, then I do have my bubbles to fall back on..

As long as your brain didn't leak out with the blood, it is always your best computer

..unlike a dive computer, brain computers can be used out of the water too..think about a buddy, as a new diver review class notes, post to and listen to SB, plan your dive, dive your plan, and most of all dive within your limits and comfort zone. With time, you'll gain experience and abilities.

Like most things in life, a little thought ahead of time can help to avoid problems further ahead..." a stitch in time, saves nine" is the old saying (or at least it is in the UK )

Blown eardrums are never a good thing, but like everyone else said, see you doc. Even the pros could get a blockage, I strained mine once or twice.

You been to the doc yet, Glitch?

 

[Walter]

sounds as if you had a reverse block and a baurotrama. You need to see the doc immediately.

Exactly. If it were a squeeze, you would've had vertigo on the bottom.

The dizziness sounds like you've caused injury to your middle ear - another reason to get checked out, especially if there was blood.

Not likely, although getting it checked is an excellent idea. The blood probably came from a ruptured ear drum and the vertigo was most likely caused by cold water touching the semicircular canals.

 

[CoyKoi]

What did I do wrong? How can I prevent this in the future so it doesn't happen again? Should I be worried about any ear problems?

Welcome to diving, Glitch. I think Walter's nailed the diagnosis: ruptured ear drum and resulting vertigo from water in the canals. Go see an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) doc. A general practitioner (GP) won't do. Contact DAN (www.diversalertnetwork.org) for a list of ENT's in your area. If there isn't one, call every ENT in the phone book and ask the receptionist if Dr. ________ is an active scuba diver. Make an appt with the first one who says 'yes'. In addition to DAN's articles on ear barotrauma, your diver-doc will be able to give you some good advice, too. Don't dive again until you're cleared by the doc.

Good luck! Dive safe!