Use Nose plugs or is there a bigger issue?

[Tournesol2000]

Hi. I noticed for shallow dives (snorkeling and less than 30 feet) I seem to struggle keeping my nose plugged and air escapes into my mask or something and I get water in my mask. This does not seem to be an issue at deeper depths. It is distracting and annoying. I was thinking of using nose plugs but thought I would get opinions first.
Thanks

 

[tursiops]

You do NOT want to use a nose plug. You NEED to be able to let air into your mask from your nose so as to equalize the in-mask pressure to the ambient pressure.
Water in your mask is not caused by air from your nose.

 

[Tournesol2000]

Thanks @tursiops
I can feel my nose letting in air and my struggle to keep the pressure in the mask. I tried different masks. Same thing.
Is this something I need to check with ENT specialist or just live with it and try focus on controlling it?

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Do you have a properly fitted mask?

Have you tried taking a snorkel but no mask and putting your face in the water enough to cover your nose and practice breathing in and out of your mouth?

 

[grf88]

You need to equalize the pressure in your mask so don't even try it even at 30 ft.

 

[arew+4]

Exhaling thru your nose should not cause leaks, when I have issues with my mask flooding due to moustache, I exhale thru my nose so the water level is kept at a minimum. The excess air pushes the water out at the low point.

As far as inhaling thru your nose, once the pressure inside the mask goes negative that will pretty much end on it's own. Otherwise you would be sucking in a ton of water from all around the mask skirt.

 

[Aaron Harmon]

I agree with those above who said breathing out through your nose does not cause your mask to flood. Do you have facial hair? Is your mask properly fitted? Are you wearing it properly? The two biggest issues I see are leaks around facial hair and poorly fitted masks. Both are easily solved.

 

[grf88]

Check how tight your mask strap is, having it too tight can cause problems. That might be counter intuitive but is often the cause of leaking masks. You only need it tight enough to hold it in place. I have completed several dives only to find that my strap had pulled over my head when I jumped in and only discovered it when I returned to the surface where it promptly fell off.

 

[Tournesol2000]

Thank you all for your comments and thoughts on this. Mask fits properly, not tight at all. No facial hair either.
I feel like I can’t keep the suction of the mask with my nose while shallow. I would swear that my nose is leaking air or some weird thing going on. I will practice.
@grf88 hopefully the Thornlea pool will be open for the club and I can go work on my mask issue.

 

[tursiops]

I feel like I can’t keep the suction of the mask with my nose while shallow.

You do not use your nose to maintain suction of the mask against your face. It the mask fits, that is all that is needed.
you may THINK it fits and that it is the right tightness, but clearly it is not. Sometimes putting reg in your mouth deforms the mouth and thus the mask at its lower edge and causes a leak. the problem is the mask, not the nose.