Scuba diving is one of the most exciting sports on the planet for a number of reasons. The first big reason is that it gives you a sense of freedom that you don’t get from other sports experiences, after all, who is more amazing than the feeling of floating in beautiful blue water? Secondly, scuba diving allows you to see sights that are impossible to experience above the water. Yes, aquariums exist, but they are only a microcosm of what amazing landscapes exist under the water. Being able to see the hidden wonders of the water is an amazing privilege, but what if your eyesight isn’t up to the task?
Unfortunately, we are a generation of humans that are completely glued to our computer or phone screens, which means that a lot of us have fallen victim to a lot of eye damage. More people are wearing glasses and contacts more than ever before, which may be a problem in the world of diving. After all, what’s the point in spending so much time searching for the best dive watches for less than $1500 if you can’t even see the screen?
If you are someone that is eager to try out scuba diving but you are also visually impaired, you may be wondering if you can scuba dive with your glasses or whether or not you’ll have to experience another world in 360p. Well, worry not as we have the answers for you?
Can you wear glasses?
One of the main bits of equipment you will use during your scuba diving experience is a mask. Now, you can either use a half-face mask or a full face mask, depending on preference. Though both masks look different, they fit the face in pretty much the same way and depend on certain points of your face to be free in order to fit properly. If they don’t fit properly, water will leak into your mask and make the mask’s job completely redundant. If you are wearing a full face mask, this can also be extremely dangerous as it could affect the way in which you receive all of that lovely oxygen that keeps you alive when you are underwater.
If you are a glasses wearer, you may be sad to know that your mask’s key resting points that I was referring to are also key resting points for your glasses. Your mask needs to fit snugly to your nose, like your glasses. It also needs to be able to fit around your ears, like your glasses. There are some masks for glasses made especially to will help you to go scuba diving with glasses.
Eyesight
If you have eyesight that is poor but not detrimental to your ability to see, it is recommended that you jump into the water anyway and try to deal with the lack of glasses. If you have issues with seeing the details of things without your glasses, the water will help you out in its own way. When you are underwater, a lot of things are magnified. Because of this, if you are someone who only has acute visual issues, you should be absolutely fine in terms of safety, and you may still be able to get some great visuals of the creatures that lurk under the surface.
If you are someone who has very bad eyesight or is considered to be partially blind, you will struggle without being able to wear glasses. Even if you are someone who doesn’t necessarily care about seeing all the amazing features of the ocean in high quality, not being able to see is a huge safety risk. You may experience many dangers in the water, even with perfect eyesight, so if you are unable to see, you are only putting yourself at even more risk, especially when it comes to foreign objects or being able to see predators such as sharks. If you cannot see properly, then a lot of scuba diving companies will not even allow you to get into the water. So before you even start to think about what certification you should go for and PADI vs NAUI certifications, you first need to think of a way to see underwater.
Are there ways to see without glasses?
Though you may believe all is lost, there are actually a couple of alternatives for glasses that can be extremely useful for anyone wanting to pursue scuba diving as a sport. However, you can expect to spend a bit of money in order to find a good solution.
Diving glasses
There are specifically made diving glasses available on the market that can fit nicely under any face mask. These glasses ensure that your mask can fit correctly on your face and will prevent any sort of unwanted leakage. You can have lenses that specifically cater to your own prescription put into the lenses. However, diving glasses can be quite expensive to get. This is because divers with poor eyesight are such a niche market, and so not many places make glasses for divers with poor sight. However, if you are someone that is really passionate about diving, then we think it is a worthy investment. The glasses will also likely last you quite a long time, so you won’t have to rebuy them often, meaning it is likely only to be a one-time investment.
Contacts
Contact lenses are a great option for someone who wants to scuba dive and has poor eyesight. Contact lenses are often readily available at post opticians and won’t cost you too much. Unless you are someone who scuba dives almost daily, then you won’t need to buy many pairs, which your bank account will be super thankful for.
However, there are some risks that do come with wearing contact lenses when you are in the water. You should try to avoid getting your contact lenses wet, as seawater has many naturally occurring bacteria that could get caught in your contact lens and lead to some sort of infection. Contact lenses can also fall out quite easily, which is the last thing you want when you are trying to enjoy your scuba experience. Because of this, it is recommended that you have your eyes fully protected by your mask the entire time that you are in the water, as this can prevent your lenses from being knocked.
