Mask Clearing

[SubMariner]

Niki,

It is ironic that it was not until I asked a lot of very specific questions that the instructor suggest exercises similar to the ones mentioned here. This instructor teaches in more of a monky see monky do kind of way which I think works for most men and does not work for most women.

In order for a person to learn a new skill, it has to be DEMONSTRATED. How else would you know how to do it? Frankly, I have never found this to be a gender-specific method... it works equally well with both men and women.

However, if I am reading your statement correctly, your Instructor may not giving a thorough enough EXPLANATION of how to do a skill or a VALUE to the skill. For example partial mask flood & clear should go something like this.

Instructor: We're now going to do partial mask flood & clear. This skill can be useful [valuable] if your mask fogs up underwater & you want to clear the fog. Or if you laugh and a little water leaks into your mask. This is how we'll do the skill...

At this point the Instructor would explain & show how h/s will be demonstrating the skill. And how h/s would like YOU to perform the skill. (There may be a time element or a distance element involved in the performance requirement.)

A good Instructor will also give you information about conduct, signals, etc.

Then everyone submerges. After the Instructor makes sure everyone is safe, comfortable & paying attention, h/s will perform a demonstration of the skill. A good demo is done SLOWLY, to CLEARLY show all the key components of the skill.

After the demo, the Instructor will come to each student & signal them to perform the skill. If they have not done the skill according to performance standards (or if the student has problems) they will have to repeat the skill.

Other than direct observation, there is no way for an Instructor to tell whether or not a student is having a problem.. unless you TELL us! People can be uncomfortable with a particular skill, but still perform it properly. In this latter case we won't know if you are having a problem unless we hear it from you. Then we can suggest ways to practice the skill to enhance your comfort/confidence.

P.S. if anyone has ever had to go to a diving instruction and been completely pissd off at the instructor and had to get through the session with extream skill and confidence eventhough you want to scream,, please tell me how you did it because I have to do it in less than 3 hours.

This is probably a little late in coming, but can you be a little more specific about what is bothering you? What is the Instructor doing that is causing you to be "pissed off"?

Please feel free to email me to discuss this further. This should be a positive learning experience... not a chore!

Take care, eh?!

~SubMariner~

 

[mosherm]

I am new to scuba and I sure am relieved to find this site. I had the class and pool sessions last weekend and the most difficult task was removing the mask, swimming across the pool without the mask and then replacing and clearing my mask underwater. In fact, I choked the first time and shot to the top (only 5'). After that I panicked and I refused to try it again. One of the instructors was very patient with me and took me aside. He stayed under water with me until I was ready to try it again at my own pace. It took me about 30 minutes, but I finally did succeed. I must admit that I did hold my nose while swimming, but at least I did it. Next weekend I am going for the OW dives and I am scared to death of doing this skill. Believe me I will be in the bathtub every night this week practicing with a snorkel until I am pruny and blue.

While reading other posts regarding classes I feel kind of cheated with my instruction. It felt rushed. We crammed all the classroom work and 4 pool dives (2 sessions) into one weekend. Our class had 16 students and the instructors would demonstrate it once and then expect us to perform it right away. After my mask clearing problems I had a difficult time doing some of the other skills just because I became panicked. One of the instructors seemed upset because I wasn't perfect. I mean, hey, they do these skills every weekend. I am looking forward to becoming certified just so that I can go practice at my own pace without 15 other sets of eyes watching me make a fool of myself.
ut:

 

[Walter]

If you had to hold your nose, while swimming without a mask you aren't ready to go on your check out dives and you have not completed the pool requirements of the standards. Don't let them short change you. I'd demand proper training.

DSSW,

WWW™

 

[SubMariner]

Mosherm, it sounds like you are not very comfortable with your skills. I would suggest spending more time in the pool practising.

If you can't schedule extra time with an Instructor, you may want to consider a Divemaster or Assistant Instructor. While they cannot EVALUATE your skills for the purpose of granting you certification, they can guide your practice so that you can perform the skill more competently and with more confidence. This will increase your comfort level.

Most importatly, do not let anyone pressure you into going to your OW dives if you do not feel ready. You can always re-schedule your dives! A good diver knows their limitations and will not hesitate to "call the dive" if they don't feel comfortable about it.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Bon chance!

~SubMariner~

 

[Polpessa]

I also had horrible, panicky reactions to mask flooding/ removal and eventually found that when you have the mask completely off, it helps to tilt your head slightly to one side. This is because if you don't, the bubbles you exhale from your regulator go up your nose and tend to increase the feeling that water's going to go up there. When you tilt your head, the bubbles go to the side of your nose. Also, doing things SLOWLY really helped me. When my instructor told me to take off the mask to do the required swim, I had to wait about 20 seconds before beginning to calm myself and visualise doing it successfully, but it worked!
Have confidence in yourself, you CAN do it, I was terrified too!

 

[Ian Wigg]

Hi

Re the mask clearing problem - have you tried with a variety of different masks? When I had my first try dive I just couldn't clear the mask so the instructor got me to swap masks (ironically to a high volume one) and problem was solved. Since then, during my training, I've borrowed various masks as well as using my own (one high volume and one low) and found extremely marked variations in ease of clearing which do not seem to have much correlation with the volume. In fact the easiest one I came across was a high volume mask which cleared with almost no effort whatsoever.

The other trick I was taught was, if necessary, to push my tongue right into the reg when breathing out through my nose forcing you to exhale through the nose.

 

[jepuskar]

Ok, I am a guy on the womens board. I try and educate myself on the opposite sex as much as possible, but it seems to be getting me nowhere...

Ok, anyways..on to mask clearing as this is a problem that plagues both sexes and doesn't have anything to do with chest size, menstruation, testosterone, etc etc..

I had a problem with water going up my nose..which we all know is not fun. My problem was I was tilting my head back and then exhaling...not a smart thing to do. Also, whenever I did have a successful mask clearing, I would find my mask filling up with water immediately. Here is what I did.

I use my left hand and I push down and in on my mask right in the center of the mask above my eyes a little..on the frame. Dont push to hard, just enough to keep it stable. Now I start exhaling out my nose and then I tilt my head back. Concentrate on the exhaling part. No need to do it real hard!

Try it.

 

[ygthad]

Walter that was great ! That is the best post I have seen on how to clear your mask.

 

[Wasabi1264]

I had the mask flood panic a few days ago in my pool training. I think it was the freaky sight of water filling the mask. What I did to get through each of the skills...a small amount of water, a full mask, and removal, was simply close my eyes, so I could concentrate on only breathing with my regulator. Then I only had the sensation of having my face getting wet, instead of seeing a mask filling up. This time, I'm going to try to momentarily close my eyes, and then open them after the fact, once I get my breathing established properly. I know that I should be able to do this skill with my eyes open at some point, because, while not required, it seems if you get your mask kicked or something happens like that, your eyes will already be open.

 

[eliassaj]

When i think,,, that i need to remove my mask underwater , i start breathing so quickly and panic .... i tried all the above but nothing is working , I passed the open Water in 2005 but recently during an advanced nitrox course , this Fobia came back and the instructor will disqualify me as this in his opinion is a life threatening situation especially at high depth ( 40m+).. if the strap is broken or ,, or ,,or... I am taking a tank every weekend and am going to practice,,, Cant find a solution..
Scuba is my life , it is everything for me and with this problem now i have to stop diving....

please help me,,,I even though of goind to a doctor to do a surgery to overcome this issue....