Is Scuba Diving Hard? Don’t Scuba Dive Before Reading


Is Scuba Diving Hard? Don't Scuba Dive Before Reading

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As much as it’s a thrilling experience, scuba diving is also vague for many people. So as a first-time diver, you need to know: is scuba diving hard?

In fact, scuba diving isn’t harder than any other water sport. In case you enjoy swimming and similar exercises, you’ll find it a piece of cake.

Even if you’re not skillful at most aquatics, you can still be a good scuba diver after a few days of training.

In this guide, we’ll dive deep into how hard scuba diving is. Most importantly, what to do to be a good diver.

How Hard Is It to Scuba Dive?

As we briefly mentioned above, whether or not you’ll find scuba diving challenging depends on you. You’ll probably find scuba diving easy if you’re into swimming and similar water activities.

Conversely, if you aren’t a fan of aquatics, you’ll find this sport challenging.

However, regardless of its level of hardness at first, you can become a good scuba diver if you get the proper training and sufficient time to practice. This is exactly what you’ll have at any accredited diving course.

Is It Hard to Understand Scuba Diving?

If you tried to study diving theory on your own, you’d be exposed to many complex physics and physiology terminologies.

As a result, you may feel incredibly confused. Still, the diving theory isn’t as complicated as it seems at first glance.

Professional instructors can explain these theories in a simple and digestible way. So you can comprehend them quickly. After all, a 10-year-old kid can learn scuba diving!

Why Is Scuba Diving Hard?

Any kind of sport includes a certain degree of risk. Scuba diving isn’t an exception. While diving, you might get injured because of an accident or improper application of safety procedures.

However, getting a good training program and following the recommended safety requirements will make scuba diving much safer than driving your car!

Here are some potential risks of diving and how to avoid them:

1. Drowning

The number one risk for divers is drowning. It may happen for two main reasons.

The first reason is the poor health condition of the diver. A diver with chronic health problems should check his eligibility for diving beforehand.

Otherwise, a sudden symptom while diving might cause him to drown. You can check your diving health readiness with your diving instructor and doctor.

The other cause for drowning is getting panic attacks and losing consciousness. This usually happens when the diver sees a giant sea creature they’ve never come across before.

Although the problem is deadly, the solution is simple. Having a diving partner or guide will secure you from the two causes of drowning.

2. Pain in Your Ears

While descending underwater, your eardrums encounter increasing pressure, causing sharp pain in your ears. If not well handled, it could develop into an injury.

You need to equally distribute the pressure to the left and right eardrums to eliminate that pain.

To do so, lift your chin and gently blow out through your nose. Alternatively, you can move your tongue and jaw.

Plus, descend slowly to give your ears a chance to cope with the pressure.

3. Losing Your Mind!

If you dive deeper than 60 feet, you might lose most of your consciousness and act like a drunk person. In other words, you enter a state called Nitrogen Narcosis.

As a result of being in a Nitrogen Narcosis, you partially lose your rational thinking. So, you might act dangerously, causing harm to yourself.

To avoid this case, don’t dive deeper than 60 feet without getting the essential training on how to dive into that extreme depth.

4. Problems in Your Lungs

The more you dive deeper, the denser the gas you breathe gets. So, when you ascend to the surface again, a lot of bubbles can flow into your veins. Then into your lungs.

As a result, your lungs might over-expand, affecting your entire body’s respiratory system.

To avoid that, try as much as possible to breathe naturally. In addition, ascend slowly, and don’t hurry.

5. An Unreasonable Fear of Sharks

Almost everything you know from movies about sharks’ aggressiveness toward humans is untrue.

Although there are over 400 various species of sharks out there, only a rare few of them are aggressive to humans. The probability of encountering an aggressive shark while diving is quite close to zero.

Further, most shark attacks on humans happen to wave surfers. The reason behind this may be because of their seals-like appearance. As seals are the primary food source for some sharks.

Regarding divers, sharks usually disregard their existence underwater. So, next diving, think more about safety procedures and forget about sharks.

What Factors Impact the Difficulty of Scuba Diving?

The environment you’ll dive in affects your diving experience to a great extent. Here are the two most influential environmental factors on your diving:

1. Water Temperature

Diving in warm water gives you more freedom to wear lightweight clothes, such as a swimsuit or rash guard.

On the other hand, diving in cold water entails wearing a cumbersome suit that isn’t comfortable for most people.

2. Currents Condition

The intensity of currents significantly impacts how hard your diving is. When diving into a powerful current, you’ll find yourself struggling to keep moving. Additionally, you’ll encounter breathing difficulties.

On the contrary, diving is peaceful and much more manageable in calm currents. Further, strong currents and waves may impact you when still on the surface. For instance, you may get seasick as a result.

So, always ensure that the sea condition is suitable for your favorite diving conditions.

How Hard Is It to Get Scuba-Certified?

It’s important to know that to be allowed to practice this sport, you must be a certified scuba diver first.

To become scuba-certified, you need to complete one of the courses provided by multiple scuba training agencies around North America.

For an entry-level diver, almost any training agency will teach you the same basic skills. However, some agencies provide more customized training based on local differences in diving.

The most popular certification for scuba diving beginners is Open Water Diver. It mainly consists of three primary learning outcomes:

The Academic Part

In this part, you’ll study the fundamental diving rules and principles. This way you’ll be able to properly practice the upcoming levels.

The Confined Water Part

Following the previous part, you’ll learn how to apply various diving techniques and movements. Additionally, how to master using the equipment. You get trained on this part in a pool to directly apply all you learn.

The Open Water Part

In the final part, you’ll go on actual dives under your instructor’s supervision. As a result, you test what you’re good at and what needs more practice.

Simply put, getting certified means you can dive in almost any water condition. Plus, it means you have total control over your underwater movement.

How Much Does It Take to Get Certified?

Based on a myriad of factors, the actual certificate completion time will vary incredibly. It can take as little as three days up to as long as one year!

Still, the one-year period is an extreme case. Plus, the three-day period is for an intensive course. On average, it takes around 14 days.

Should You Be a Good Swimmer to Learn Scuba Diving?

If you want to try scuba only once, you won’t need to be a swimmer. Your instructor will only teach you some diving and safety basics to use.

However, in this case, you must dive under your coach’s direct supervision. He’ll be beside you to guide you or even take you underwater by hand.

On the other hand, if you want to be scuba diving certified and dive on your own, you’ll need to meet some swimming requirements.

Each scuba diving training has its own criteria. For example, to acquire your license from PADI, you may need to pass a 200-meter swimming test. Plus, you should be able to float, at least for ten minutes, with no aid.

That’s to say, you need a basic level of handling water. Still, you don’t have to be Michael Phelps!

Should You Be Super Fit to Dive?

Scuba diving requires some agility and a bit of coordination, so you should have a decent fitness level. In addition, you should be able to perform specific physical tasks to get your diving license.

For instance, you should know how to replace the diving equipment underwater and sometimes on the surface.

Simply put, you don’t need to be super fit to scuba dive. In fact, as a diver, you can be in any shape or size. The most important thing is that you can control your movement while underwater.

What Skills Must You Acquire to Be Able to Scuba Dive?

The ultimate goal of a diving course is to equip you with the set of skills needed to scuba dive.

Your instructor will show you how to perform all the tasks you’ll need underwater. Your role, then, is to copy them exactly as he performs.

The following is a list of the most essential skills for a scuba diver:

  • Communication underwater
  • Properly assembling dive gear
  • Mastering buoyancy
  • Clearing the regulator and recovering it
  • Clearing your mask when flooded
  • Properly breathing underwater

Is There a Minimum Age for Scuba Diving?

Yes, there is a minimum age for learning this type of diving, and it’s ten years. The reason for setting this age is to ensure the learner can comprehend the multiple diving aspects. In addition, they should be aware of its potential risks.

Nevertheless, there is no maximum age for scuba diving as long as the diver is in good health.

Further, only the instructor has the definitive decision of whether a person has the required abilities to start learning scuba diving or not.

For example, some 10-year-old kids can easily understand scuba diving and successfully complete their diving courses. Thus, they can scuba dive freely after getting certified.

On the contrary, a 12-year-old teenager may face difficulties and lack the physical ability to complete the courses. So they can only dive under an instructor’s supervision until they can complete diving training.

Is Scuba Diving Expensive?

Honestly, scuba diving isn’t a cheap activity. It requires intensive training and renting or purchasing of diving pieces of equipment throughout the practical training. All these things are costly.

However, scuba diving costs dramatically decrease once you get certified and purchase diving equipment.

Practicing diving will cost you around $80 a time. That is the expense of renting a scuba tank and traveling to a diving destination. The actual cost varies depending on the destination.

Nevertheless, scuba diving is more affordable compared to other luxurious entertaining activities, like skiing and golf.

How to Minimize Costs?

To minimize your cost, if you aren’t a frequent diver, instead of purchasing diving gear, lease them. In addition, pick a budget-friendly destination for your diving.

How to Stay Safe While Scuba Diving

Here are some general tips to stay safe while diving:

  • Keep your eyes on your dive computer to know how deep you are and other essential info
  • Stay watching your available air to avoid suddenly running out of air
  • Don’t fly for at least 24 hours after going in a dive
  • Remain breathing naturally, and never hold your breath underwater
  • Don’t lose your guide. Keep continuous communication with him.
  • Distribute the pressure to both the left and right eardrums as you descend

Final Say

Is scuba diving hard? This entirely depends on you. If you like swimming, you’ll likely find it easy. On the other hand, if you aren’t a water person, you’ll have some challenges.

In both cases, you’ll need to complete a scuba diving training course to master diving skills. That way, you’ll be able to dive smoothly and, more importantly, dive safely.

Regarding risks, this type of diving has a bunch of potential risks. Nevertheless, they’re simple to avoid with good training and the right safety procedures.

Jack Thompson

Jack Thompson, a scuba diving enthusiast from San Diego, has spent over a decade exploring the underwater world across the globe. Sharing his passion through captivating stories and informative articles, Jack aims to inspire others to embark on their own scuba diving adventures and uncover the ocean's hidden treasures. Follow Jack on Twitter, Pinterest, Reddit, and Facebook or email him at Jack@diving-info.com

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