Perforated eardrum

[billsreef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15021206#post15021206 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tgreene
As painful as it was to give up climbing, I felt that I had to because I wasn't in a position where I could safely climb anymore due to the medical crap, so I stepped.

I hate to say it, but this might a consideration for diving as well. You should probably get a thorough medical check up from a doc, other than your drinking buddy. Being able to blow out ear drums so easily without pain is not normal, and not good. I've also done some cliff diving in the past, also been snorkeling and free diving to 30-40 feet since my teenage years, been SCUBA diving for over 25 years now, and never, not once, blown or torn an ear drum. IMO to be able to tear that membrane for little to no reason at all is a contraindication to diving. Get enough of a tear while diving in cold water, that cold water seeping through into the inner ear can seriously debilitate you while under the water. Not a good thing.

BTW as someone who does dive solo, water visibility isn't even a consideration...it can and does change during a dive at times. I've gone in with clear skys and no wind, and correspondingly good vis, to have a squall come by and stir up the muck to 0 vis and white caps and surf. If your going solo, it's not about being able to handle the best conditions, it's about being able to handle the worst conditions when things go wrong. I also wouldn't consider anyone with only a handful of dives as ready to make the decision to solo, fish tank and pool dives don't count here.

 

[snorvich]

I agree with everything Bill said. I have been diving solo for many years. BUT I am able to confidently handle the worst conditions in any area that I dive and I am quite able to handle equipment malfunctions, etc. Until you go down having a base of hundreds of dives and practice with equipment problems, diving solo is not a good thing. And I KNOW my equipment, how it feels, and when it does not feel right. You do not know that after just a few dives. Go back and analyze the dive fatalities that have been reported. It will open your eyes.

 

[tankdvr]

Not to jump all over you, but you're a new diver and diving solo? That's begging for something bad to happen. Do you carry a pony when you're diving, or any secondary supply of air with a separate regulator? What would you do if something happened to your air at 80 feet?

And you posted something about a bp/w set up for doubles? Man, just slow down and enjoy the water. BP/W is fine for a beginner, but don't even let the though of doubles enter your mind right now. I have a number of friends that cave dive, and dive the wrecks in the great lakes. I've expressed interest in learning both but won't even consider learning even the basics of technical diving until I have much more experience. All the instructors I know won't even teach someone until they've seen them in the water with bp/w and doubles and can demonstrate excellent buoyancy, turn their valves off and on, etc.

If you have your heart set on diving solo, then get the gear and experience that will allow you to do it safely. It's not my cup of tea, but many people do it. One key difference is that they are prepared for any possible problem they may encounter.

For you, this is the best time to be diving with a buddy. Make friends with people in your dive shop and have them introduce you to some of their instructors or even some of the tech divers (if they have any that use them). Most of the divers I've met are more than happy to dive with you and share their knowledge. You just have to show them that you're competent and willing to listen and learn. Get into the habit of practicing safety drills on all your dives.

You've got some dry time on your hands, so teach yourself how to use your tables. Your instructor is really doing you a disservice by only glossing over them. I use a computer on all my dives, but I also dive with a watch and depth gauge in case something happens. I'm comfortable enough with the tables that I won't have to the thumb the dive if my comp craps out on me. This is also the key reason (at least in my mind) for planning out a dive before hand and sticking to the plan.

I'm sorry if it seems like I'm coming down on you out of the blue. That definitely wasn't my intention. The post just caught my attention and I'm too nosy for my own good sometimes. If you're ever in Missouri and looking to dive, send me a message and I'd be happy to dive with you. I can hover above and behind you the entire time and you wouldn't even know I'm there