Vertigo on the surface

[Madhu R]

Hi

Brand new diver here. In my first pool class, I was fine for the first hour. We started with the swim and treading water tests. Then we went to a depth of 10 feet, and while underwater, I was able to complete whatever basic skills I was asked to do. Buoyancy wasn't an issue either. I did find that if I took a deep breath, I'd start popping up to the surface, so I breathed shallowly.

After about 10 minutes at 10 feet, we went to the shallow end for about 15 minutes. As my instructor was explaining stuff to me, I started to feel less and less comfortable. I found it a relief when I was able to take my mask off (for a brief period while we switched masks). Eventually, we went back to a depth of 10 feet, at which point I was not 100% comfort. We spent about 10 minutes at that depth, doing regulator recovery drills and playing with pool toys. The whole time, I was a little dizzy, but did not want to call it off. We surfaced again, at which point I had a gradual but unrelenting onset of what I call vertigo. I was unable to sit up or stand up, and had to lie down for the next five or 10 minutes. We had to call the lesson an hour early. When I did stand up to wash the rental gear, and put my street clothes back on, I started feeling nauseous and lost what was left of my lunch. I was unable to drive, my instructor give me a ride to a friend’s house where I spent the night. I was basically fine the next morning.

So I have two classes of questions. First, what is going on with me? A similar if not quite so extreme thing happened when I went snorkeling. It was a daylong trip and we had three hours in the water, but I couldn't stay in the water more than 20-25 minutes at a time for the second and third hours. For the second half of the day on the trip, I was either lying down on a bench inside the boat or I was in the water. That day I had even taken a seasickness pill (ginger-based something or the other).

Second, what can I do about it? I’m seeing my primary care doctor tomorrow morning, so I hope to get some ideas there. I really want to be able to dive, but need a solution to this problem if I am to continue diving.

Thanks,
Madhu

 

[Diver0001]

I breathed shallowly.

I was a little dizzy

See where I'm going to go with this?

Your breathing needs to be more or less normal or your will start to build up an excess of carbon dioxide in your system. Your discomfort, the dizziness and the other symptoms you mentioned can all be explained by this.

Ultimately you want to get your buoyancy control so that it's in control with normal breathing. This will mean that every time you breathe in you go up a bit and every time you breathe out you go down a bit. On average, if your breathing is in a good cadence, you don't need to breathe shallowly. You will move up and down a bit as you go but on average your depth will remain within a bandwidth of about 1/2 meter. This effect is completely normal and all divers have that. Eventually your breathing will start to get automated and even just thinking, "down" will cause you to breathe out....

Next pool session, eat something light and have a drink of water before you go in the pool and BREATHE

R..

 

[clownfishsydney]

Ear wax (air gets behind and causes problems), not equalising and damaged ear/s, many possibilities.

 

[Madhu R]

I do keep my ears fairly clean, so I'm guessing probably not earwax. Although I did have a little ear pain. I will take a qtip to it the morning of the pool session though.

I'll try breathing deep and regular next time, hope that fixes it. If not, out come the seasickness meds. I did go to my doctor, who ran a bunch of blood tests. If something comes out of that, I'll post.

 

[Buliwyf]

I've never heard anyone say "I keep my ears clean." before. LOL.

Maybe that's the problem. It ain't hard to puch wax or soap where it ain't supposed to go. Or overcleaning can cause the ear to swell up a little. I've done that myself.

Could be that you were just dizzy from trying so hard to maintain good bouyancy. In shallow pool water, I still haven't mastered that. I stay 5' off the bottom when diving.

 

[Madhu R]

. Yes, poking around eardrums is a little scary sometimes.

 

[fmerkel]

I do keep my ears fairly clean, so I'm guessing probably not earwax. Although I did have a little ear pain. I will take a qtip to it the morning of the pool session though.

DO NOT take a Q-tip to your ears. Some wax is a NORMAL part of the ear's defense mechanism. Complete removal will eliminate that protective coating, possibly abrade the sensitive ear canal, and promote outer ear infection when diving. It is NOT UNCOMMON. We get questions all the time about it on ScubaBoard. Do a search on [ear beer].

Excess wax can be a problem if it builds up and you.....shove....a blob of it up against your eardrum. That does not keep you from diving since you can still clear. I've had that happen to be 2x. BUT it muffles hearing, feels weird, and you HAVE TO KNOW THAT'S THE PROBLEM and be OK with that. If you don't, you shouldn't dive until you get the problem diagnosed and dealt with.
I have never heard of a wax plug that is so large and stuck in the canal it creates a barrier with a bubble behind it, which would cause problems. Possible I suppose, but rare at best, and unlikely in your situation.

You mention "a little ear pain". Its possible your clearing is either inadequate or excessive. Either could transfer enough pressure to the vestibular apparatus to case vertigo. You should look over these vestibular disorders and see if anything pertains to your situation. I seriously doubt a visit to a general practitioner would be of much value for your problem unless the issue is pretty obvious, which I also doubt.

 

[TotDoc]

2 likely contributors here.
1) Breathing shallow - this prevents CO2 elimination, resulting in CO2 accumulation, which can cause the types of symptoms you experienced. Breathing slowly is OK, but you should be taking deeper breaths. Yes, this will affect your buoyancy, but this is a normal part of the process, and you will get better at managing those shifts in your buoyancy related to breathing as you continue to practice.
2) Many new divers have trouble with keeping the ears cleared, or with clearing too vigorously. When ascending and descending a lot, especially in shallow water, there are a lot of pressure changes in the inner ear. Your balance control comes from this area. Were you having discomfort in your ears? Were you congested during your dive? Were you allowing a little air to come out of your nose to equalize the pressure squeeze in your mask when you descended? All of these things can have an impact.

Where your doctor may be helpful:
Even if you clean your ears regularly, it's possible to have a wax plug that gets pushed down against your eardrum. If that allows cold water to contact one eardrum and not the other, this will cause vertigo. Likewise, if there is a perforation in your eardrum, this can cause similar symptoms. Also, barotrauma related to change in pressure can cause some fluid or blood to accumulate in the middle ear. A simple look in the ears by your doctor will sort this out.

If you have ongoing issues with your ears after a forceful clearing of your ears, which could include ringing, decreased hearing, or ongoing dizziness, you could have a more serious issue like a round/oval window rupture. These require attention from a doc.

Finally, do you have trouble with dizziness outside of diving? Do you get seasick, carsick, etc? If so, you could have a more important issue your doctor may be able to help you with.

Also, there is a resource called Divers Alert Network. They provide insurance for diving related injuries, but they also have great articles on their website regarding diving related medical issues. Here's one that is pertinent to you: Common Ear Injuries While Diving — DAN | Divers Alert Network — Medical Dive Article

Best of luck! I hope this is but a minor speed bump for you!

 

[TMHeimer]

I tend to get water in my ears, particularly the left one. That's why I always wear my hood, no matter how warm the water. This is not a "water in the ear" thread--ei., "swimmer's ear", and the painful result if this become more serious. I use ear drops after each dive now. Don't think this is relevant to vertigo at the surface, but what do I know. At age 62 I have used Q tips after each dive, each swim and each shower (I shower EVERY NIGHT) my whole life with no problems--not saying anyone else should, as the vast majority say you should not do this.

 

[candacebot]

Hi there Madhu,

I can't offer much of a medical suggestion or advice on this, but I wanted to let you know my experience with very similar symptoms.
When I did my first, second and third pool sessions during OW, I experienced nausea and dizziness, felt claustrophobic with my mask on, and even vomited at the end of one of the sessions. For me, I know it was panic and worry and I wasn't breathing properly. I had breathed in water the first time we did a mask fill and clear and it put me in a tailspin.

When it came to the open water checkout dives, I kept making sure to breathe slowly and normally. Diving in the real world with more than four feet to practice buoyancy and room to move, amazing things to see underwater, no vertigo!! Not even a little bit! I did have some anxiety to do the mask removal and replace and clear but even that was fine with the help of amazing supportive instructors.

And now? I am advanced certified and I didn't experience anything like the feelings I had in the pool sessions again. I encourage you to take it slow, take it easy, BREATHE.. also speak to your instructors because they are there to help you.

Good luck!
Candace