OWS disoriented, losing balance

41F?! I use earplugs in any temp. 41 degrees......man.

If I waited for the water temp to be ideal for an OWS, then the tri season would be half over, haha.

When you used the ear plugs, does that help you with the disorientation/balance ?

I always wear earplugs, and the times I've tried not wearing them, I've gotten dizzy. I can't say this is why you got that way, but I know that it affects me. It's worth a shot, I'd say.

Earplugs.

^ Agree. I have the Mack's AquaBlock earplugs. $5 for 2 pair. The pressure from the swimcap was too much until I cut the tips a little.

I just went through this at a HIM on the 19th in 60 degree water. It's really unsettling! I felt like I was rolling all over, like I imagine motion sickness would feel.

I'm going to try the earplugs, too. Good luck.

What lake did you swim in? We just had all that cold rain. Find when Taliman is set up for long course (50m) & swim there for the next month, I'm tough and can still swim very fast at 10-11 C but listen to me... 5 C is a waste of your training time.

Why risk your health and safety ? Wait for it to get to 12 C and swim to your hearts content. Please say this was not Ghost Lake.

Sounds to me like the disorientation happened before the decision to swim in 5C water...  

love this......I hestitate when its under 18c

Don't stand up, just keep swimming. Problem solved

Just kidding, I know for me, choppy waters sure me me dizzy and cold water does compound it.

Anything that stops cold water getting into your inner ears will really help with dizziness and disorientation, and the colder the water the worse the effect. Therefore, ear plugs are really great for this.

All the women in my family have a birth defect with our inner ear balance canals, so we get this horrible dizzy spells every now and again. I was extensively tested when I was in my 20's, where they first squirted warm water in each of my ears individually and monitored my eye movement. Then they moved to cold water into my ears, and "oh boy"!!!!! My eye movement went off-the-charts, I turned very very green, and lets just say that a bucket was required.

I always wear ear plugs when the water is below 60°F, they really help. But I know that I have an inner ear problem, plus I've turned into a real cold-wimp living in Arizona for the last 6 years.

41°F/5°C - wow that's sooooooo cold!!!!

I 100% agree with this person. I had same issue in doing OWS practice this spring with water temp below 65 F (and only when water was below 65F). I asked an experienced swim coach about it. She stated in layman's terms that cold water can affect eardrums, and to go buy some silicone plugs. I came home and researched it, found all the medical reasons supporting both my experience and what coach said. Bought plugs, put them in and issue when away. Over 65F I don't need them. But under 65F, I'm feel like I am "three sheets to the wind" punch drunk. Good wishes.

I was at Lake Sundance. Yeah, 5 C was cold. My body felt fine, but my hands, feet, and head were cold. I may wait a few weeks before the next one.
I have been to Ghost many times, I know not to swim in that lake at anytime ! Clean, but cold !

so the 2 things I have learned from this post is get the h*ll out of the water if it is less than 12 C, and buy earplugs.
haha.
On a side note, I loved swimming in the wetsuit, thet buoyancy that comes with wearing the suit was amazing.

now off to try and track down some radians silicone plugs.

I did my first OWS in the Savannah River yesterday and experienced horrible motion sickness as well. I have a history of nausea and water...when I used to SCUBA dive, the only time I wasn't throwing up was when I was more than 10 feet under the water. The moment I came near the surface and felt the ocean swells, I was a goner. Living on a boat for 3 days wasn't a fun experience.

I was pretty saddened yesterday when I experienced that same nausea with just the current and wake of a few jetskis during 30 minutes in the water.

The water was chilly (67F), but not horribly cold. I'll try the earplugs, but if it's truly motion sickness, what really does help? I'd prefer not to have to take dramamine (it never really helped on a boat while diving in the past).

I can't imagine riding a bike for 50+ miles feeling the way I did after getting out of the water yesterday.

5C is pretty cold and if something happens and you are alone CFD and CPS are fishing your blue body out. It will warm up in the next 3 weeks or so and you should be good to go.

We have to swim below 18C... some lakes never go over that ever here. Banff Tri is 10-14C depending on the year. We are close to the mountains and many of our water bodies are glacier fed.

Just thought I would give an update here...I ended up buying the radians ear plugs, and they have worked great.
You mold them into your ear and then they set like that. So you can use them over and over without having to re-mold the plugs.

My last OWS during the summer I had these in and had no issues at all, no disorientation, dizziness or anything. Now I use them everytime I go swimming.