Overheard a supervisor say warm water dives wreck your ears faster

Was sitting in the lunch van last week off the coast of Port Arthur, and a supervisor with 18 years in the Gulf said he avoids warm water jobs because the pressure changes mess with your eustachian tubes way more than cold. He said he had 3 guys in one season get ear barotrauma just from shallow 30 foot dives in 85 degree water. Has anyone else noticed worse ear equalization problems on warm water sites compared to cold?

3 comments

3 Comments

morgan.rose1mo ago

Switched to slower ascents in warm water and it helped a ton.

spencer_owens581mo ago

@morgan.rose slow ascents in warm water sound like the opposite of what my brain wants to do when I'm freezing my butt off. I swear every time I get in cold water I turn into a human speedboat trying to get out as fast as possible, which is probably why I get all dizzy afterwards. Actually tried the slow approach once and felt way better, but my fingers were too numb to even unzip my wetsuit so there's that tradeoff. Maybe I just need to find some warm water somewhere, or bring a thermos of coffee to sit in the shallows for an hour first.

paige3311mo ago

Oh man, that numb fingers struggle is real... I've been there way too many times fumbling with zippers and trying to get gloves off. The dizziness is no joke either, especially when you rush out of cold water, your body just rebels. Sitting in the shallows with a thermos actually sounds kind of genius though, like a pre-swim warmup ritual or something. Hope you find your warm water spot soon, it makes all the difference when you're not fighting the shivers the whole time.