Glasses, Ears, Asthma, Age — The Questions People Ask Before Booking

Every dive centre gets the same short list of questions, usually asked slightly nervously, usually by someone who has already decided they want to dive and is hoping the answer is yes.

Some of these have a clear, encouraging answer. Some genuinely need a doctor. The most useful thing we can do is tell you which is which.

Glasses and contact lenses

Short answer: yes, easily. This is the most common question and the least problematic.

Three options:

Contact lenses. Widely used by divers. Soft lenses are generally preferred over hard ones. Practise the mask-clearing skill with eyes closed, and be aware a lens can be lost if the mask floods badly.

A prescription mask. Lenses ground to your prescription, fitted into a dive mask. The best solution for anyone who dives regularly. Off-the-shelf corrective lenses are available in common strengths; custom lenses can be ordered. Mention this when you book — it may need arranging in advance.

Nothing at all. Water magnifies objects by roughly a third when viewed through a mask, which partially compensates for mild short-sightedness. Divers with a mild prescription often manage without correction, though they will not read their gauges comfortably.

One practical note: if you cannot read your depth gauge or computer, that is not a comfort issue, it is a safety issue. Sort out the correction.

Ears

Ears are where most first-time divers have a genuine problem, and almost all of it is mechanical rather than medical.

Normal difficulty equalising is extremely common and usually a technique issue. Equalise early and often — before you feel pressure, not after. Descend slowly. Descend feet first. If it will not clear, ascend slightly and try again. Never force it.

A cold or blocked sinuses means you do not dive. This is not caution, it is the correct call. Congestion blocks equalisation, and pressure differences across a blocked ear or sinus cause barotrauma.

Perforated eardrum is generally a contraindication while the perforation is present. After healing, whether you can dive is an ENT question.

Grommets or tubes need specialist assessment.

History of ear surgery needs specialist assessment.

Asthma

This is the question we get asked most anxiously, and it is the one where the honest answer is genuinely "it depends, and you need a specialist."

Medical thinking about asthma and diving has changed considerably over the past few decades. It moved from a blanket exclusion towards individual assessment, and current guidance generally considers factors such as the type of asthma, its severity, what triggers it, how well controlled it currently is, and lung function testing.

What that means practically: a diagnosis of asthma on your history is not automatically the end of the conversation, and it is also not something to wave through. It means an assessment by a physician trained in diving medicine, likely including lung function testing.

What it does not mean: that you should tick "no" on the questionnaire to avoid the conversation.

The underlying concern is air trapping — gas in a part of the lung that cannot escape on ascent, expanding as pressure drops. That is a serious event, and it is why the assessment focuses on airway function rather than on how you feel day to day.

Age

Minimum ages are set by the training agency, not by the country or the dive centre. Both junior and full certifications exist, with junior programmes carrying reduced depth limits and additional supervision requirements. These thresholds are revised periodically, so ask your centre for the current figure for the specific course rather than relying on a number in an article.

Maximum age: there isn't one. Fitness matters, not the number. Older divers are assessed on cardiovascular fitness and general health rather than on age itself — and given that cardiovascular events are a significant contributor to diving fatalities, that assessment is worth taking seriously at any age above about 45.

More on younger divers in diving with kids in Lebanon.

Heart conditions

This is the category that most warrants care, because cardiovascular disease is repeatedly identified in diving fatality analyses as a substantial contributing factor — some analyses attribute around 15% of scuba fatalities to it.

Any history of heart disease, arrhythmia, high blood pressure requiring treatment, or cardiac surgery requires assessment by a physician who understands diving. Immersion itself produces cardiovascular changes — cold, pressure and exertion all load the system — and these interact with existing conditions in ways that are not obvious.

This is not a category to work around.

Diabetes

Assessment required, and the answer is frequently yes with conditions. Diving with diabetes is well established but involves specific protocols around glucose management before and during the dive, and requires the condition to be stable and well controlled. Speak to a diving physician familiar with the current guidance.

Pregnancy

The standard guidance is not to dive while pregnant. This is a precautionary position — the effects of hyperbaric exposure on a developing fetus are not well enough understood to establish safety — and it is one that essentially all diving medical bodies and training agencies share.

Medication

Tell someone. The relevant questions are whether the medication has effects that change underwater — drowsiness, altered judgement, effects on the heart rate — and what happens if you miss a dose.

Decongestants deserve a specific warning: taking one to dive with a blocked nose is a bad idea, because it can wear off at depth and leave you unable to equalise on the way back up. That is a genuinely dangerous sequence.

Recent surgery, back and joint problems

Recent surgery needs clearance, and the timeframe depends on the procedure.

Back and joint problems are usually about the surface rather than the water — the equipment is heavy on land and the boat may involve steps and ladders. Underwater you are weightless. Tell the centre and they can plan the entry and exit differently.

Getting the assessment in Lebanon

Ask your dive centre where local divers go. Diving medicine is a specialty and the number of physicians with the relevant training in any small market is limited, so a centre that has been operating for a while will know.

If you are visiting Lebanon and something on the questionnaire applies to you, get assessed before you travel. Arriving with an unresolved medical question and a fixed departure date is the worst version of this problem.

The honest summary

If your question is not on this list, it is still worth asking. The questionnaire exists to catch exactly these things, and a delayed dive is a far better outcome than a rushed one.

For the wider safety picture, see is diving safe?.