Diving medical examinations
SCUBA diving is an enjoyable recreational activity, but does involve substantial risk. The risk of death during a dive for the ‘average' diver is 1 in 100,000. This makes diving a high risk sport, although it is safer than some extreme sports such as hang gliding and parachuting. Some medical conditions can make the risk of death much higher than average.
It is a matter of opinion as to how much the individual should take responsibility for his or her own risk, and how much society should regulate to prevent people from exposing themselves to unnecessary risk. The attitude in Australia is that all divers should have a medical examination to assess whether they are at increased risk for medical problems during diving. In some countries of the world, individuals are allowed to dive without a medical examination.
The most common condition that will cause people to be declared medically unfit to dive is asthma. Studies have shown that asthma increases the risk of death during diving by 10-20 times, making the risk of death approximately 1 in 5000. In Australia, it is standard practice to exclude asthmatics from diving even though some people may wish to voluntarily take this risk.
Other common conditions that can affect fitness to dive are problems with hearing, sinus infections and ear infections. These can be temporary and do not place the diver at increased risk of death, so the approach will usually be to warn the potential diver of risks, which may include permanent hearing loss, after which he or she can make the final decision on whether to dive on a particular occasion.
A diver who is medically excluded or wants to discuss specific risks is welcome to seek a second opinion, but should appreciate that standard practice in Australia will be to exclude certain conditions.
The price of a scuba medical is not refundable at all by Medicare . Medical treatment for conditions that arise out of swimming or diving (such as eardrum damage or infections) are usually eligible for Medicare benefits for Australian citizens.
A hearing assessment is recommended for all divers, particularly for those people wishing to dive on a regular basis.
Before your SCUBA medical, please fill in a medical history form. If you have not done this in advance, come to your appointment 15 minutes early. Also, please be prepared to provide a urine specimen as part of the examination (i.e. do not go to the bathroom immediately before the examination)
