Second pool session, thinking of quitting

[sully29]

Try practicing the following in your chair at home above water:

Step 1: Cup one hand over your mouth and breathe normally. You should feel your breath passing either through your hand from your mouth or over your hand from your nostrils or both. Do this for 2-5 breaths

Step 2: Using your other hand pinch your nose and continue breathing through your mouth. You should feel a change in our throat if you were breathing through your nose. Do this for 2-5 breaths

Step 3: Close your mouth. At this point you can't breathe because your nostrils are pinched closed and your mouth is closed. Do this for 2 seconds.

Step 4: Release the hand pinching your nose while keeping your mouth closed and begin to breath again.

Cycle back and forth from only breathing from your mouth and only breathing from your nose and notice the change in your throat. The muscle that allows cycling to change the passage of air between your mouth and nose is the one you need to learn to control to prevent inhaling water from your nose.

 

[Bob Vincent]

You're a nose breather....

On Thursday I'll be doing the 9th pool session with a nose breather. I heard much of what you posted from her at the start of class. There were 9 people in this class and I didn't have time to work through the issues, so we are working one on one to get over the issue. We made great progress on the last session and she should be ready for checkouts after Thursday.

Her last session consisted of her laying on the surface, wearing only swim goggles and a snorkel, just breathing. She would suck water up her nose, cough and sputter, then go back to it. By the end of the session, she could keep her face in the water indefinitely.

Like I told her, if you want to do this, you can. I've read posts by members who wanted it so bad, they used their kitchen sinks to get over nose breathing. You are not alone, of all the issues facing students, this is one of the most common. Do a search on this board for mask clearing and you will see you are in good company. The good news is you can overcome the issue.

Spend some time out of the water, breathing from the snorkel. If you need, pinch your nose closed when you inhale and release when you exhale.
Next, get into the water with just the snorkel and submerge to just below your nose. Once you are comfortable with this, submerge past you nostrils and continue breathing until you can do so without sucking water up your nose.

If you had a mask dislodged while diving, in your current state, you would likely panic and bolt for the surface. This is the greatest risk and the root cause needs to be resolved before you move to OW.

Keep us posted on how it goes.

If you want to do it you can ... if you stick with it you'll overcome! AND you'll be so glad you did.

Please listen to 24940 he knows what he's talking about!

 

[Scorch07]

It looks like everyone has been really helpful already, but I did see you mentioned trying to work on it with a snorkel in the pool. I will say that, in my experience, mask clearing is much more difficult with just a snorkel. I don't know why, I suppose it's a mental thing, but don't discount yourself just because you can't do it with a snorkel. You can do it. My dad was having the same issues at one point, but now he can do it fine.

It sounds like you are going straight to taking the mask completely off. Try just pulling it away just enough to let it fill up, and go from there. It helped me get a lot better at it to just sit there, breathe, and get used to it being off before I even started trying to put it back on. You're wanting to breathe in your nose, which is purely a mental thing. From the moment you take the mask off think about blowing out your nose. It is certainly a mental barrier, but it's certainly doable. Definitely don't quit so easily, I'm sure you can do it, and when you get to open water diving you will be so glad you didn't quit.

 

[Catt99]

Your problem can be solved. Of course it would be easier to solve if you lived next door, but you can do it.

My methods may sound unrelated to your problem at first, but they will work. Often, important skills are left out of OW classes. Take your time and practice each step until you are comfortable before moving to the next.

Leave your SCUBA gear in your bag. You only need 3 things at the pool at this point. 1. Mask 2. Snorkel 3. Weight belt with weight.

At no point will you leave the shallow end of the pool.

Take your snorkel off your mask and put on your weight belt. With your mask on the pool deck, your snorkel in your hand and your weight belt on, get into the shallow end of the pool. You should be where when you stand you are no deeper than chest deep, waist deep is even better. Put your snorkel in your mouth and breathe from it. Now, bend over and breathe through your snorkel while you dip your face into the water. If you are comfortable, stay awhile until you feel natural. If you have difficulty, think about drinking through a straw while you practice the excercise. Remember, you can always stand up straight to end the excercise at any time. If you need to, you can slowly build up your time until you feel comfortable.

Next, practice dropping underwater, allowing the snorkel to flood and coming up to blast it clear, leaving your face in the water. Continue until you are comfortable

At this point, you have accomplished three important things.

1. You lowered your anxiety level by working in a no risk (shallow) environment.
2. You became an expert in no mask breathing.
3. You know you can breathe with a flooded mask.

Now, put your snorkel down and pick up your mask. Put it on and drop down to your knees. Break the seal just enough to allow a small amount of water in. Clear the mask. Do not pull out on the bottom, merely push in on the top while looking up. The biggest mistake most people make is not looking up. The second most common mistake people make is not exhaling through their nose. Keep your mouth closed. Repeat this until you are comfortable. Don't forget to stand up and catch your breath between clearings. Now, increase the amount of water you allow into the mask to about ¼ flooded. When you are comfortable with that level, move to ½, then to a fully flooded mask. When you've reached the point you can clear it easily every time, see how many times you can clear it on one breath. After you are at this point, clearing your mask will be easy. You will have reached it in a step by step manner that was easy to accomplish.

Remember, you can always stand up if you feel uncomfortable.

Thanks for this great post! My son is just shy of 10, and I mentioned several weeks back that he might get the chance to do a "discover scuba" introduction to breathing underwater in a pool through a local LDS after he turns 10 -- he got pretty excited and has reminded me of that possibility as his birthday approaches. He's comfortable in a pool swimming for fun or doing laps in easy competition (and doing flip-turns) but he has zero experience with a mask and snorkel, is a very cautious little guy and is prone to easy frustration when things don't go his way -- getting him to the point of his current comfort level in the water took a fair bit of time, quite a few bad experiences overcome (water in the nose, swallowing water), and the patience of instructors that I might not always have on those times when we can get out to the pool together. I've been trying to figure out a method to allow him to grow comfortable with a mask and snorkel at his own pace in a low stress manner as a prerequisite to considering a "discover scuba" experience -- your advice here seems like a wonderful approach to overcoming the challenges that many face (of any age!) and I'll look forward to sharing the idea with my son to see if he's game. Thanks!

 

[Ladyvalea]

YouTube - Finis Swimmer's Snorkel LOOK!!! its kinda neat...
Oh....also get a super duper low volume mask!! Faster-that water is out the better I feel!!



OMG...I a water in the nose girl!! Look at this neat snorkel ...I don't know how you can do cardio workout without a nose plug... you swim with just goggles .... it attaches to the front of your head ...don't use a nose plug!! "even though the girl says you can" do your cardio work in a pool!! with your heart pumping! and trying to remember not to snort water up your nose when your doing laps...I'm going to practice with this snorkel ....if I can do laps in a pool with out a nose plug....maybe I can control the nose water thingy....
for some reason, I exhale from my nose....so my mask always has pressure in and out!!! I've got to learn.

 

[nebrunner]

Wow I can't believe it has been six weeks since our second pool dive! Our instructor was on a dive trip and then sick for quite a while so we didn't get to go back for weeks.

During this time I took all of your advice and practiced over and over, both at home and at area pools. We did the third pool trip yesterday and all I can say is you guys did it! Major breakthrough and it is all due to your help.

I took that mask off and put it back on and cleared it about 10 times. Shallow section, deep section, fast/slow, eyes open/eyes closed. No problems. I wouldn't say it is something I enjoy doing, but it is no longer the issue that is was six weeks ago.

I plan to keep practicing it every time we dive, I want it to become second nature.

Thanks everybody!

 

[SkipperJohn]

Isn't that amazing?
I will admit that on my OW dives I was uncomfortable. On my first I thought I would quit, then towards then end I decided to try at least 1 more dive. On my second dive I was checking my watch wishing the time would pass quickly. It was on this dive I decided to finish these 4 dives and never dive again. On my third dive, the deepest (60') I was beginning to have fun (somewhere I had gained some control over my buoyancy and even survived a coughing fit in my reg which was, to be honest, a complete non-event!). On my final dive I was sorry it was over and was sure that in the next month I'd be diving again. And every time I overcame one of the many many things I thought would get in my way, it made me stronger and more proud. And, as you said, you know you have a weakness here so plan on practicing... maybe these weaknesses or at least the knowledge of them makes us better than we would have otherwise been?
My best moment was when my GF's daughter bought me a lighter (I am an occasional cigar smoker) that said "I'm a Diver"... Enjoy your lighter!
Enjoy the successes!

 

[catra8104]

Great job nebrunner!!!

 

[Sas]

Wow I can't believe it has been six weeks since our second pool dive! Our instructor was on a dive trip and then sick for quite a while so we didn't get to go back for weeks.

During this time I took all of your advice and practiced over and over, both at home and at area pools. We did the third pool trip yesterday and all I can say is you guys did it! Major breakthrough and it is all due to your help.

I took that mask off and put it back on and cleared it about 10 times. Shallow section, deep section, fast/slow, eyes open/eyes closed. No problems. I wouldn't say it is something I enjoy doing, but it is no longer the issue that is was six weeks ago.

I plan to keep practicing it every time we dive, I want it to become second nature.

Thanks everybody!

Congrats!

Glad to hear you were able to overcome it and good luck with the rest of your course!

 

[Michael Folise]

I did not want to post a negative reply before you had an opportunity to confront this challenge. I am glad that you succeded in your pool sessions. Now that you know that you are capable of doing this safety task in controled conditions I ask you to honestly consider your abilities with respect to your spouse's safety. I can gaurantee you that the day will come when you or your spouse will loose your mask. However, it will not be in 10 ft. in a fresh water pool. It will be at 70 fsw, you will be at or near your no decompression limit, and it will be in salt water, not pool water. It will not be your fault. It will get knocked off by someone else's fin, a mask strap will break, or your hair will be too long, a strap fitting will loosen and off it will go. You will not be able to recover your mask because it will be on its way to Davy Jone's locker. Neither you nor your buddy (your wife?) will have a spare mask on you. It will be a few moments before your buddy even notices that you have a problem if you can't get her attention right away. It will be necessary for you to breath off your regulator for more than a few minutes without the mask. You will need to keep your eyes open at least sporadically and make a controled ascent with your buddy's assistance. You will need to spend at least three minutes at the safety stop without your mask and do so without panicking. Preferably you will be able to make it back to the ascent line or the entry before you ascend so you will not expose youself and your buddy to boat traffic at the surface. If you are confident you can do all that great! If you are not please consider the burden and the risks you are placing on your buddy.

I speak from some experience as my daughter was a "nose breather" and worse had problems keeping her eyes open in salt water. I would not let her start the certification process until she could take her mask off, open her eyes and tell me a sequence of finger numbers while snorkling in salt water. Anything short of that was too much of a risk to her and to me. She actually did loose her mask at a safety stop (hair band came out, strap was loose, mask floated up and off). Falling into an old habit she did not keep her eyes open, couldn't see her SPG and lost her bouyancy control. I held on to her and tried to keep her from going into an uncontroled assent. I did not entirely suceed and we did ascend slowly but prematurely. This could have been much more serious if this had happened at depth. We are going to have to do some more practice, particularly on non-visual communications. Without going on and on I can't tell you how many mistakes, partial equipment failures, etc. I have made/has happened to me or my buddy (mostly me) over just a few short years of diving. It has shown me that none of the OW safety skill we learned are superfluous. If there are any you are not completely comfortable with do not dive until you are confident you can: i) remember them, ii) not panic, and iii) perform them in real world conditions without loosing bouyancy control, etc.

OK, time for me to get off my high horse. Let the flaming begin!