Suseptability to Seasickness
I am a recently certified diver who has made nine dives. I’ve never had a problem with seasickness until recently. I’m fine on the boat ride to the dive site, but now after my first dive of the day I get extremely seasick every time, with terrible headaches, nausea and vomiting.
While you previously have not experienced seasickness on boat rides, diving could be providing the trigger for nausea and vomiting.
As you may recall from your open-water class, pressure doubles in the first 33 feet of a dive, challenging our ears, which are responsible for balance and spatial orientation. The inner ear houses the vestibular apparatus and the semicircular canals, which send information about balance, head position, motion and acceleration to the brain. These organs are sensitive to pressure changes, and the brain gets confused when there is conflicting information between the right and left ears. The slightest variation could lead to autonomic manifestations such as nausea and vomiting. Some people are more sensitive to these changes. Your vestibular system can typically accommodate the motion of the ocean through compensation from visual feedback, but your inner ears might be overwhelmed by the magnitude of the stimulus following a dive.
While you previously have not experienced seasickness on boat rides, diving could be providing the trigger for nausea and vomiting.
As you may recall from your open-water class, pressure doubles in the first 33 feet of a dive, challenging our ears, which are responsible for balance and spatial orientation. The inner ear houses the vestibular apparatus and the semicircular canals, which send information about balance, head position, motion and acceleration to the brain. These organs are sensitive to pressure changes, and the brain gets confused when there is conflicting information between the right and left ears. The slightest variation could lead to autonomic manifestations such as nausea and vomiting. Some people are more sensitive to these changes. Your vestibular system can typically accommodate the motion of the ocean through compensation from visual feedback, but your inner ears might be overwhelmed by the magnitude of the stimulus following a dive.
It is also possible that you are experiencing equalization issues that are causing a middle-ear barotrauma, which can lead to dizziness or vertigo. If you have muffled hearing or a feeling of fullness in your ears after a dive, consider working with a dive instructor to improve or learn new equalization techniques. If this problem persists, you may want to seek an evaluation from an ear, nose and throat specialist to ensure the proper function of your Eustachian tubes and tympanic membranes (eardrums).
A variety of situations can cause headaches, including tight-fitting mask straps, sinus barotrauma, dehydration or an elevated CO2 level resulting from skip breathing. Pain can cause nausea.
Your seasickness may also be a result of anxiety or nervousness due to being a new diver. Diving below the surface and relying completely on life-support equipment can be nerve-racking at first. These feelings can lead to a significant catecholamine release, which can manifest as nausea after the dive. This may or may not be your case, but it is worth considering.
The DAN website has more information and some recommendations to combat seasickness. Visit DAN.org/health-medicine/health-resources/diseases-conditions/motion-sickness.
— Brandi Nicholson, MS, EMT-P
A variety of situations can cause headaches, including tight-fitting mask straps, sinus barotrauma, dehydration or an elevated CO2 level resulting from skip breathing. Pain can cause nausea.
Your seasickness may also be a result of anxiety or nervousness due to being a new diver. Diving below the surface and relying completely on life-support equipment can be nerve-racking at first. These feelings can lead to a significant catecholamine release, which can manifest as nausea after the dive. This may or may not be your case, but it is worth considering.
The DAN website has more information and some recommendations to combat seasickness. Visit DAN.org/health-medicine/health-resources/diseases-conditions/motion-sickness.
— Brandi Nicholson, MS, EMT-P
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