Sign Language

My open water student giggled, guffawed, and finally burst into peals of laughter. She found it impossible to control her amusement as I explained the basic scuba diving hand signals. This was a bit unsettling since my student couldn't actually hear what I was saying. She had a hearing impairment, but could read lips proficiently and understand my explanation of the scuba diving hand signals. She held up a hand for me to pause and then signed something to her boyfriend. They both snickered. He apologized for the interruption and asked me to continue. I was embarrassed - explaining the hand signals to this couple felt as if I were trying to teach the alphabet to an English professor.

Many divers wonder if it is possible to dive with a hearing impairment. The answer depends upon the underlying cause of the hearing impairment, and whether the condition or injury causing the impairment prevents the person from equalizing the pressure in his ears. A doctor familiar with diving medicine should evaluate potential divers on a case by case basis. Once underwater, divers who know sign language will find they have a significant advantage over the rest of us - they can have full conversations during a dive.

This was the case with these two students. I have no doubt that they found my hand signals juvenile. Each time I waved my rudimentary "okay" at them, I felt as if I were grunting a neanderthal-like "GOOOD?????" at people who were perfectly capable of communicating back, "I am wonderful, thanks so much for asking. This dive is delightful and I particularly enjoy watching that parrotfish over there munch on coral." To which I would respond with a blank, uncomprehending stare and assert once again, "GOOOD!"

While we agreed that it was important for these divers to learn the basic scuba diving hand signals in order to communicate with other divers, they were, of course, much more adept at underwater communications than the rest of the class. Not only could they express ideas better during a dive, they were already accustomed to using visual cues to attract each other's attention. Unlike most student divers, who tend to stray too far away from their dive buddies at the beginning of the course, these two stayed right next to each other. They were not disoriented by the lack of sound, and had no trouble at all calling their buddy's attention with visual cues or touch contact. Although my students were naturally comfortable and controlled in the water, I believe that a familiarity with visual communications made them even stronger divers than they would have otherwise been.

It was fascinating to watch my students chat in sign language as they finned over the reef. I felt left out. I wished that I could communicate with my clients as easily as they could communicate with each other. In fact, I was downright jealous. After a few dives, I asked my student to teach me some basic sign language. I learned the signs for yes and no. She taught me how to communicate look over there and the signs for most of the common animals that we encounter during a dive. Soon, I could pick up bits of my student's conversation - not much, but at least I knew they were talking about the turtle.

As a scuba diving instructor, I am constantly amazed by how much I learn from my students. Sometimes, I learn a new way to explain a concept or a better method of organizing a part of the course. Other times, as in the case of my hearing-impaired student, I learn something more significant. I was introduced to a new method of communication, and was reminded that in diving, as in life, our differences and unique qualities frequently make us stronger.

_{More scuba stories:}

• Divers' Enthusiasm Protects the Underwater Enviroment
• My First Rebreather Experience
• Scuba Diving in the Rain

Speak Up! I am only 4 foot 11 inches tall -- it's a disadvantage on the surface, but I am so small that I use very little air underwater. What gives you a scuba diving advantage?

Image copyright istockphoto.com, Jman78