Breathing without mask - problem

[scubadiver888]

Right, get comfortable. Breathe in your mouth, slowly breath out your nose. See how long you can breath slowly out your nose. Have a clock/watch with a second hand. Get comfortable with the fact that you REALLY have a long time that you can breath out your nose. Once you feel good about that you are ready to get in the water.

Get in the water and position yourself so you can easily stand up and be out of the water. Make sure you can do this with your mask in hand (because you will be busy holding your mask later). Practice visioning what you are going to do. Go underwater and get REALLY calm, breathe in the regulator, breath out the regulator. Breathe in the regulator, imagine breathing out your nose. Relax and let the air escape your body. When you feel calm and relaxed try breathing in the regulator and breath out your nose. Let the bubbles go out of your mask. Have fun with it. If you are still nervous try slowly standing up until you realize you can always stand up. The water cannot hurt you.

Now while you are breathing out your nose, take your mask off. At this point you keep breathing out your nose. Before you get close to running out of air, stand up. This will help you feel okay about the fact you can always stand up. If you need to, do this again until you can do it without effort and with no feeling of panic or anxiety.

Here is the first hard part. Take a breathe from the regulator, start blowing out your nose, take your mask off, put your mask back on, start clearing your mask. Resist the urge to breath in your nose. If you need more air, FOCUS, breathe in the regulator and start to breath out your nose. Don't actually breath out your nose but get to that feeling like you are just about to breath out your nose. If it does not go well, stay calm and stand up. SLOWLY take your mask off.

The most important thing is to stay calm and move slowly. If you can stay calm you will start to realize you actually have plenty of time. You can think through everything. The moment you let the panic or anxiety wash over you is when you stop learning.

The other thing is, can you think about preparation you can do to not panic? Do that as well. Everyone is going to be a little different but the trick is to always stay calm.

For me, when I have time in the pool I take my mask off and swim around. I will do a full circuit of the pool with no mask on just to feel comfortable with it. I didn't do this when I first started learning but after 10+ years I do it all the time now.

 

[icechip]

Try doing somersaults in the pool while lightly blowing air out your nose. While still somersaulting in the water, gradually lessen blowing air out your nose as you feel more comfortable. When you no longer need to blow air out to make the somersault, you're ready for the water-filled mask. I know, it sounds kind of silly, but the drill was of great help to me.

 

[prettorian]

Thank you very much to all of you. I see it's not just my problem i can Practice this also just with mask and snorchel in the pool or even in bath
i hope i will find a way how to keep calm. Everything uncomfortable makes me nervous immediately. But it's neccessary to practice.

 

[g1138]

maybe this help us guys

Water Up Your Nose - Scuba Diver Life

Well well, see the advice is spreading.
This is the exact technique I've used on divers with your problem. Read the article, it will tell you why this is happening.

The key is independent control between your soft palate and epiglottis. Not having them independent leads to sucking water down your nose when you're doing mask-off skills.

 

[TheRealScubaSteve]

I struggled a great deal with this skill. What I have found is that it is most difficult how many instructors test skills - kneeling in a fully vertical position, as this causes the bubbles during exhale to shoot directly up your nose. As others have suggested, leaning slightly forward (with your face only) will alleviate much of the bubbles up the nose and your body's reaction to take in water. Another option is to tilt your head to the side (preferably to the right so your regulator will not be pulled from your mouth). This will let the bubbles run up the side of your face, past your ear and avoid your nose/mouth altogether.

I have a tendency to breath with both nose and mouth without realizing it. When no mask breathing, try to pause slightly between inhales and exhales. I'm not sure why, but if I try to inhale immediately after exhale, I'll suck water like you described. With a slight pause (less than 1 second), I am able to completely control my breathing (and the flap that connects nose to mouth) to avoid water intake.

When you feel water trying to sneak its way into your nose and mouth, give a nice exhale through your nose, pause, and then finish the exhale with your mouth. This will keep an air pocket in your nose and help with the panicky sensation. If you need to, don't be afraid to start small. Get use to breathing without a mask with just your lips under water. When you feel comfortable, try submerging up to your nose, then move on when you're ready to your face fully submerged. A lot of this was a mental roadblock for me rather than a physical inability. Starting small can be a positive reinforcement to prove to you that it can be done.

I also found that it seems easier when you are moving rather than kneeling. Try to practice "snorkeling" on top of the water without a mask using your regulator. Once you are comfortable with that, it may come easier to practice removing and replacing a mask.

Have faith, you'll get it!

 

[TMHeimer]

Well well, see the advice is spreading.
This is the exact technique I've used on divers with your problem. Read the article, it will tell you why this is happening.

The key is independent control between your soft palate and epiglottis. Not having them independent leads to sucking water down your nose when you're doing mask-off skills.

Exactly. There have been many explanations on SB on how to do this. A couple that come to mind are making believe you are sipping hot soup and gently blowing out candles (not at the same time). No matter how you achieve it, you must be able to completely close off your nose and breathe with your mouth. Of course, water will still get into the nostrils, but this means nothing as it goes nowhere else--can't let that bother you. I'm not a fan of exhaling through the nose to solve the problem--seems more complicated than need be and I would think some water could get into the passages. Plus how long do you exhale? Then what? Keeping your head steady so some air in the nostrils keeps water out seems also a way around learning the needed "close off the nose" skill. I should note that I recently learned that even if you close off the nose completely but you tip your head WAY back, a bit of water will actually trickle through--but why would you tip your head that far back anyway?
You can make up drills while practising on land--breathing in through the mouth, out the nose, vice versa, etc.--mix & match--closing off completely the one you are not using. Then realize it's the same underwater.

 

[g1138]

Exactly. There have been many explanations on SB on how to do this. A couple that come to mind are making believe you are sipping hot soup and gently blowing out candles (not at the same time). No matter how you achieve it, you must be able to completely close off your nose and breathe with your mouth. Of course, water will still get into the nostrils, but this means nothing as it goes nowhere else--can't let that bother you. I'm not a fan of exhaling through the nose to solve the problem--seems more complicated than need be and I would think some water could get into the passages. Plus how long do you exhale? Then what? Keeping your head steady so some air in the nostrils keeps water out seems also a way around learning the needed "close off the nose" skill. I should note that I recently learned that even if you close off the nose completely but you tip your head WAY back, a bit of water will actually trickle through--but why would you tip your head that far back anyway?

If you want to be in the complete know anatomically. When you close off the soft palate, if you have an air bubble already in your nose then it displaces the water from entering the nostrils. Sort of like an air cavern.

Tilt your head back and the air leaves and is displaced with water. Your soft palate opens downward into your throat and isn't a a strong muscle, hence why you get water leakage in your experience.

If you tilt your head to the side, your exhaust tee should direct bubbles away from your nose. I find exhaling from the reg with no mask on annoying. It tickles my nose hairs, so I exhale from my nose and then seal my soft palate for an inhale.
My preference, is all. Of course that craps out my limited vision, so I'll eat it every now and then and crane my neck for a quick peek if I need to see blobs and blurs.

 

[TMHeimer]

I'll have to try a nose exhale then sealing the soft palate for inhale--perhaps I've unkowingly done this already.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba 2]

Lean forward, put your tongue on the roof of your mouth, relax and breathe. Welcome to the amazing world of diving!

 

[DukeAMO]

I had the hardest time with this skill, but I finally got it.

I actually found that breathing out through my nose made it more difficult to start breathing in again without getting water in my nose. Different people react differently, I guess.

What worked for me was snorkeling with no mask on, first in the sink or bathtub, and then in the neighborhood pool. The snorkel and the regulator work exactly the same way at the surface with your mask off and your face in the water, and since it's usually easier to find a sink or tub or pool than it is to borrow scuba gear, this gives you more time to practice on your own outside of class.

What I do is I tell myself that I have no nose to breathe through. Breathing in or out through my nose underwater is simply not an option. I might want to breathe in through my nose, but I pretend it's glued shut so I can't. This forces me to keep the soft palate closed.

I had the hang of it for a while, until I tried to look up to clear my mask. Then water ran into my throat again. If you're already vertical in the water, you should not need to look up any farther to clear your mask. If you're horizontal in the water, then you will need to look up, but only a little bit.

One other thing: when replacing your mask, keep breathing without using your nose until the mask is on completely, your hair is not caught in the skirt of the mask, and the mask strap in the back is straight and flat (not twisted). Then you can clear the mask.

Once you get it the first time, then repeat, repeat, repeat until it's not scary any more.