Skydiving with motion vertigo

[Masone 0]

Hi. I suffer from motion vertigo and want to skydive. Can anyone relate? I take an anti motion sickness medication for plane rides but I am unsure how the fall would be? I REALLY don't want to ruin my experience or the instructors day. Looking for advice, experiences and tips. Thanks. 

[wmw999 2,116]

My sister-in-law gets motion sick very easily. Very easily. She's made two tandem jumps, and plans to continue, with a jump every couple of years or so. 

She premedicates/wears patch (not sure which). She said that freefall is no issue; the plane ride up is OK (it's always been an Otter so far -- not sure a Cessna would be as successful). Under canopy, the turns that the TM likes to do are off-limits (she said she nearly lost it when he tried that on her first jump). 

So it's possible at least for her, but YMMV.

Wendy P.

[BIGUN 1,049]

11 hours ago, Masone said:

I suffer from motion vertigo and want to skydive. Can anyone relate? I take an anti motion sickness medication

Good Morning, Masone. I'm not sure your going to get a lot of answers on here and those that do are all probably going to say, "You should check with your healthcare professional about this, not get information from an anonymous source on the Internet." 

[wolfriverjoe 1,340]

I'll try (but check with your care provider 'cuz I ain't no doc ).

Can you define 'motion vertigo' a bit better?

What sorts of environments trigger it the worst?

What meds do you take? Some of them have drowsieness as a side effect. While that would be a bad idea for a sport jumper or AFF student, it's not a 'deal killer' for going on a tandem. 

For 'normal' people, vertigo & motion sickness is usually brought on by the motion detected by the inner ear and seen by the eyes being in conflict (you are inside a plane, you don't see anything move, but the plane is moving up and down so your inner ear senses that). 

The thing about jumping is that you are outside. You can see what is going on, so what you see & what you feel are the same. Some folks get a bit queasy under canopy (after the parachute opens), but the instructor can 'take it easy' on you and give you a gentle, smooth ride. 

Make sure you discuss this with the DZ. You won't be the first to have this issue, and different places will address it differently. And if the instructor knows you are subject to these issues, then they can do things that will make 'ruining their day' less likely. Believe me, they don't want it to happen either.

[Masone 0]

Thank you all. This is very helpful believe it or not. A Doctor may not have an opinion on it only because it is an inner ear problem with no cure. If I have more questions I will ask my Doctor though. I am basically looking for someone with similar issues who has jumped and their experience. Thank you for the insight and information.