Saudi-Diver
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NW Grateful diver in his last post hit the nail on the head
Many years ago I was a BSAC assistant instructor and it's very common for people to have problems with mask clear exercises and mask doff and don exercises and I spent many a happy time standing in the shallow end of the pool conducting the exercise described above.
Mask clear is a skill that has to be instinctive.
Now, to the scary mishap you experienced in your class. It's related to those instincts I was just talking about. It's called a "mammalian reflex" and it occurs commonly with new divers when they do the mask flood and clear exercise. What happens is that, because we humans are typically nose-breathers, when you get water on your nostrils it triggers a response in your brain that says you're breathing water ... and so your brain tells you that your regulator is malfunctioning. But of course, it's not ... it's just your brain messing with you.
When I have a student who has this problem, the solution is to spend some time breathing through the regulator while standing chest deep in water ... face in the water with no mask on. What you're doing is "re-wiring" your instincts to recognize this condition and associate it with safety rather than danger. Sometimes it takes minutes ... sometimes longer than that. Work with it first in a pool ... then in open water ... because colder water temperatures do make the feeling stronger. Start with just a couple of breaths, and work your way up to where you an do it for 15 or 20 breaths without discomfort. If at any time the stress level gets to you, simply stand up, get your stress level under control, and try again. Eventually the feeling that you're breathing water will go away. And when it does, the stress you're feeling about your equipment will also go away ... because that's really just a rational manifestation of the instinctive reaction
Many years ago I was a BSAC assistant instructor and it's very common for people to have problems with mask clear exercises and mask doff and don exercises and I spent many a happy time standing in the shallow end of the pool conducting the exercise described above.
Mask clear is a skill that has to be instinctive.