Mask Clearing

[LowDrag]

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....

Wow...I am sorry you are going thru this. I am in my OW classes right now and find that if I am having any amount of anxiety about something that if I concentrate on the skill and try to breath as relaxed as possible then the skill becomes easier for me to attempt to perform. One thing to try would be to put your tongue on the roof of your mouth. I don't have to do this myself but I have heard of other people doing it and having it work. I hope you can overcome this issue, it would suck to you have to quit diving.

Good luck,
LowDrag

 

[Wolfie]

Wowzo, This is an old thread, revived by a new person. So eliasaj, for you I'd say spend some time in the pool. swimming, no mask, no tank, no gear, work up to a snorkel. then to the tank on the bottom. find it hang out have a seat Look around (or keep your eyes closed). You may need a little lead (Iknow I need a lot). Enjoy yourself, come up when your cold. If you get bored you can think about playing with some other gear. Don't think of it as diving. It all starts with swimming and you should keep it that simple in your mind......

 

[Doomnova]

Damn thread nerco's

The biggest thing is to relax. Fear is a good thing but control it don't let it control you. I would suggest seeing if you can get some pool time and just go down and sit on the bottom take your mask off and let the fear work itself out. The biggest thing about fear for most people is its either too much or too little. A bit of fear that is controlled keeps you inside of your bounds and makes sure you pay attention to what is going on around you. But too much inhibits a person from what they are capable of doing and too little people get reckless. Its about balance. Its a step into a much bigger world. A certain amount of fear will keep you safe by making sure you don't stupid things.

also wolfie is correct keep things simple. Right now I'm still a new diver so I have a lot of stuff to work on. The night before every dive I check over my gear and think what am I going to work on during the decent, on the bottom, and ascent (meanwhile enjoying the sights but that goes without saying). keep it simple and keep it balanced.

 

[mikey6879]

Hi Jennifer,
I had terrible trouble with my mask clearing when i first started scuba diving, an important thing to remember is to take it one step at a time, dont rush yourself, and only do what you are comfortable with. My instructor has me put my face in the water with no mask and try to stay under for as long as possible. I started with a couple of seconds and before i knew it i could live underwater without a mask if i wanted to. feel free to do what i did and remember that the worst thing you can do is rush.

Hope it helped,
mikey6879

 

[Scuba Skaughtie]

My girlfriend had this same problem with clearing her mask. After working on it for a while we figured out it was because she was not comfortable breathing while her nose was exposed to water. She spent some time at the local pool swimming laps with swim goggles and her snorkel. This way she got used to having her nose exposed to the water and breathing through her mouth.

 

[LowDrag]

Damn thread nerco's

The biggest thing is to relax. Fear is a good thing but control it don't let it control you. I would suggest seeing if you can get some pool time and just go down and sit on the bottom take your mask off and let the fear work itself out. The biggest thing about fear for most people is its either too much or too little. A bit of fear that is controlled keeps you inside of your bounds and makes sure you pay attention to what is going on around you. But too much inhibits a person from what they are capable of doing and too little people get reckless. Its about balance. Its a step into a much bigger world. A certain amount of fear will keep you safe by making sure you don't stupid things.

also wolfie is correct keep things simple. Right now I'm still a new diver so I have a lot of stuff to work on. The night before every dive I check over my gear and think what am I going to work on during the decent, on the bottom, and ascent (meanwhile enjoying the sights but that goes without saying). keep it simple and keep it balanced.

What the heck is a "Thread nerco"???

 

[Doomnova]

Thread Necromancers. They find threads that have been dead for a several months or more and post in them to bring it back to life. I was being playful.

 

[MX727]

Should actually give them supreme kudos for effectively using the search function. :cool3:

 

[eliassaj]

For all whom have taken time to reply to my post , and all the people whom sent me PM's.
Below is the answer... finaly it is done and I Overcame my Fear , all your techniques work and all your advises found their way.... thank you all...

Mask removal.flv - YouTube

 

[Mayor]

You should also be able to do this in blue water not using the bottom.