This is again one of those activities that you wouldn't want to report in the life insurance application. High risk, according to the insurance companies. But all divers I have talked to are always so enthusiastic about it, so I thought I have to give it a try.
Sure, it was exciting to be able to breath under water. I did the pool training, but I had trouble equalizing my ears. I tried the usual tricks, but somehow the pressure didn't equalize fast enough. Maybe I didn't do it the right way, or maybe my sinuses were not completely open thanks to allergy and wall-to-wall carpets or whatnot, but in the end I got blood behind my eardrums and wasn't able to complete the course in the ocean.
Some time later I tried again, with similar results. I still had problems with ears, but not so much as last time. I opted to try to do the open water part anyway, but then I caught cold just the night before. Apparently it's not meant to happen, so I gave up. The funny part is that I still got the diving licence a couple of months later by mail. Instructor's mistake, or he just wanted to get me off his files. So now I have an open water diver licence even though I have never finished the course in the open water. Perhaps I'll try again some day.