Starting Over After a Few Years and Terrible Experience

[durham64]

Hello everyone,

I am new to this site and was referred to it by some great folks at treasurenet.com. I am looking into diving again after a few years and hope you all can give me some much needed advice.

I will start with my previous attempt at OW certification. First, I live in North Georgia and took a PADI course through a certified and well known dive shop. I made it through all the classes, pool sessions, initial checkout dives, etc. with no problem at all. By the time I was ready for my final OW dive to obtain certification, I had purchased all my own equipment and was completely comfortable with all aspects of diving.

The final dive was in a rock quarry that has been used for a good number of years and was set up for the final dive. By this I mean they had platforms at predetermined depths and landmarks used for the different stages of the dives. The first platform was 25 ft deep. On this final dive, everyone in the class was suited up, everything was checked out and ready to go, except me.

On the buoyancy check, I found that I did not have enough weight on to sink and informed the instructor of the issue. I tried several times and I must be ultra buoyant, because it just wasn't happening. He basically brushed me off, telling me to go on and join the others and "just give it a try". There were 8 people in the class and guess he was anxious to move on.

I joined the others and of course on the first attempt, I couldn't sink. The rest of the class disappeared below me, including my own dive partner. The next thing I know, someone grabs my ankle and pulls me down. The only thing I remember after that is waking up, floating on the surface with blood coming out both ears.

I had burst both ear drums and someone from another dive group jumped in to help me. It took a very long time for my ear drums to heal and I think the fear that I felt has never completely gone away. This is not meant to cast a negative light on any particular organization...to this day, no one has ever admitted to being the one who pulled me down, although I have my own suspicions.

This being said, I really, really want to try diving again. The folks I talked to at treasurenet.com said that as long as I don't have problems clearing my ears when I fly, etc., it would probably be ok to try it again. What are your thoughts about this? Any suggestions, similar experiences, stories, medical knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for anyone who can shed some light on the subject and maybe provide suggestions.

Holley

 

[rmh84]

I would get a once over from a doc that specializes in divers very first of all.

If you check out clean, then start researching dive shops. For you, it might be best to organize private/semi-private classes rather then a big group to give you a very comfy and safe environment to learn.

Whoever pulled you down probably dosnt matter at this point, just don't dive with any of those people again IMO.

 

[TSandM]

It might not be a bad idea to get an ENT evaluation to make sure that your eardrums look thoroughly and solidly healed, before stressing them again.

You have had a bad experience, and you need to be careful to avoid having that happen again. I would do as much research as you possibly can to find an instructor or shop that really comes consistently highly recommended, and then consider booking a private class, so that the schedule can be as slow as you need it to be. You need to be quite honest with anyone you interview about what your prior experience was and what you need. Some instructors are clear and thorough but not empathetic; others are empathetic but not particularly good at teaching. You need both.

 

[lamarpaulski]

Maybe go somewhere like Grand Cayman after doing a referral refresher...let Instructor know past problems..get someone with patience....you could start with very easy shore dive very very gradually adjusting to depth over slightly sloping sand bottom. warm clear water..buoyancy usually pretty easy in this scenario...easier to clear ears and anxiety.... ease into it..if its a no go you still are in paradise and can snorkel.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

I am sorry for your bad experience. When I hear things like what happened to you, I feel anger toward whoever was so intent on "group think" and moving forward that those who should known better showed complete indifference to your safety and your feelings. Being "pulled down" did not likely hurt your ears, but I am guessing that a very rapid ascent, or a surprise descent without time to properly equalize, likely did cause the issue. Since you had no warning of the "pull down," it is not surprising you did not attend to equalizing. I think there should have been an incident report made by the instructor, or by you. PADI investigates such matters and takes each seriously. I am curious as to whether you reported the incident to the shop owner or training director. You certainly should have. Being on the last of your open water diver, I also think it was curious you had a weighting issue. Were your other dives in different conditions? Were you wearing a different kind of exposure suit, or using different equipment from that used in your previous dives? If so, then there should have been time taken for a proper weight check. If not, weighting should not have been an issue.

I hope you will dive again, after first seeing a competent ENT doctor and getting the OK. Then I would suggest perhaps doing a private class, at least as far as the open water dives go. A truly competent instructor will attend to every student, not just the majority. You can eliminate the risk of being lost in the crowded class by spending a little more and have the full attention of your instructor. I think it's worth it.
DivemasterDennis

 

[durham64]

Thanks so much everyone for all your suggestions.

rmh84, very good suggestion about seeing a doctor that is specializes in dive related issues. I will certainly check into that right away. And as for the people I was with before, no worries there either.

TSandM, most definitely ENT or dive specialist doctor. It truly was a traumatic experience, but l will take your advice and check into the various dive shops and try to find one that is willing to work with me specifically and meet my needs.

lamarpaulski, that sounds like a wonderful idea! My next vacation, whenever that may be, will take place where this is an option!

Thanks much to everyone for the helpful advice!

Holley

 

[herman]

Welcome to the board.
I really hate when I hear stories like these. There is simply no excuse for some of the things we hear. Get a good checkout by an ENT that is familiar with diving, one recommended by DAN would be a good idea, then find a good shop that does a lot of training and has adequate staff. I DM for one of the most active shops in the southeast and by shop policy we have a DM on any class with 3 or more divers. Even the best instructor can't be everywhere so it's our job to help out students like you. I would have been within arms reach of you and accompanied you down slow and easy regardless of how long it took.

 

[durham64]

I am sorry for your bad experience. When I hear things like what happened to you, I feel anger toward whoever was so intent on "group think" and moving forward that those who should known better showed complete indifference to your safety and your feelings. Being "pulled down" did not likely hurt your ears, but I am guessing that a very rapid ascent, or a surprise descent without time to properly equalize, likely did cause the issue. Since you had no warning of the "pull down," it is not surprising you did not attend to equalizing. I think there should have been an incident report made by the instructor, or by you. PADI investigates such matters and takes each seriously. I am curious as to whether you reported the incident to the shop owner or training director. You certainly should have. Being on the last of your open water diver, I also think it was curious you had a weighting issue. Were your other dives in different conditions? Were you wearing a different kind of exposure suit, or using different equipment from that used in your previous dives? If so, then there should have been time taken for a proper weight check. If not, weighting should not have been an issue.

I hope you will dive again, after first seeing a competent ENT doctor and getting the OK. Then I would suggest perhaps doing a private class, at least as far as the open water dives go. A truly competent instructor will attend to every student, not just the majority. You can eliminate the risk of being lost in the crowded class by spending a little more and have the full attention of your instructor. I think it's worth it.
DivemasterDennis

DivemasterDennis,

I think there was definitely a great deal of "group think" going on that day. I'm not sure if it was the descent or following rapid ascent that caused the ear drum ruptures, I just remember being pulled down then waking up floating on the surface.

I actually did talk to the owner of the shop, and he asked me to write down the sequence of events and everything that happened, which I did. He said he would address it and get back to me, while saying at the same time that there was basically no proof of "who" pulled me down. I know my dive partner would not have done such a thing, but that is what he alluded to. All in all, nothing was ever done about it.

The first dive we did was a river dive, where we made entry from the bank of the river, the second dive was a salt water dive, and the third and final was the quarry dive. I haven't thought of it previously, but would the weight requirements be different for salt water versus fresh water? Could that have been an issue with the weights?

Other than that, I had just bought all the equipment that I was using, from wetsuit to dive booties, which I used on the salt water dive and the quarry dive, but not the river dive. I had rental equipment at that point. This may have been an issue as well, what do you think?

I really do want to dive again, taking everyone's suggestions, I think a private class would be the best thing for me personally. I would feel more comfortable in a one on one situation where I could feel safe and secure. After a doctor's clearance of course.

Thanks for the help and suggestions. If you don't mind, let me know what you think about the salt water versus quarry water issue with regard to weight. The equipment was the same between those two dives.

Holley

---------- Post added March 24th, 2013 at 11:41 PM ----------

Welcome to the board.
I really hate when I hear stories like these. There is simply no excuse for some of the things we hear. Get a good checkout by an ENT that is familiar with diving, one recommended by DAN would be a good idea, then find a good shop that does a lot of training and has adequate staff. I DM for one of the most active shops in the southeast and by shop policy we have a DM on any class with 3 or more divers. Even the best instructor can't be everywhere so it's our job to help out students like you. I would have been within arms reach of you and accompanied you down slow and easy regardless of how long it took.

herman,

I will definitely get a good checkout first, and thanks for reminding me of DAN for a recommendation. Wow, it sounds like the shop you work with has the right idea, a DM on any class more than 3 people. Like I mentioned, there were 8 in my class and the instructor really did not pay much individual attention to each student. I guess it would be hard to with that many people in one group.

It makes me feel hopeful that there are people like you out there, who would be by my side, no matter how long it takes, as opposed to what I have experienced in the past.

I have a great friend that lives in Raleigh, although she doesn't dive. She is constantly trying to get me to move there so she will have someone to hang out with as she is not originally from there. I kid her and say "then I would be Holley Durham from Raleigh-Durham and that would look funny on a mailing address" just cutting up. But seriously, if I ever did move there, I would certainly look you up for some lessons. You are just the type of DM I need to jump back into this without the fear!

Thanks so much, I appreciate your post and advice!

Holley

 

[dmoore19]

You would need more weight in Salt Water.

You can contact Dan. I believe they will help you find an ENT, I don't believe there will be any charge for this.

https://www.diversalertnetwork.org/contact/

 

[261311]

I'm curious to this "pull down". I'm envisioning this as more of one singular motion of just pulling someone under, how deep did you end up going? I know you have no memory reportedly of it but do others you dove with know? Any pain on the way? Seems odd to me to be jerked under without any warning to say 10-15ft and blacking out and memory loss from a lack of equalization. Not saying it's not impossible, everything in your sinuses are so closely connected with your nervous system that I could see it happening (obviously since it did). I'd just imagine a very recognizable pain that would make me tell the "assisting diver" to stop first in a more controllable situation.

My own verbiage and pondering aside, that really sucks and I hope you're able to start your diving again but yes, consult a medical professional familiar with dive medicine first.