mask hurts my nose

[tracydr]

I'm leaving for a 14 day dive trip to Hawaii. The last time I dove more than one dive in a row the bottom of my nose (the septum) was very sore from my mask. Otherwise the mask seems to fit pretty well, although sometimes it leaks a little, probably because I try to loosen it since my nose hurts. Please help!

 

[Iguana Don]

Tracydr,

Try loosening the strap on your mask, it doesn't have to be tight to seal, the water pressure will seal it against your face.

As to it leaking sometimes, try adjusting the strap posisition on the back of your head, either raise or lower, this usually stops any leaks on mine.

Hope this helps.

ID

 

[Mario S Caner]

Lucky for you, masks aren't very expensive. Try what Don has recommended, but be prepared to pick up another mask. Manufacturers have different idea's of what is ideal for their customers, you may be better off with a different brand.

 

[Don Murray]

The mask strap is probably to high on the back of your head and pulling up on the mask. This causes the mask to press against the bottom part of the nose. Pull the strap down to where it is around the ears. Also the strap needs to be just tight enough to hold the mask in position. Do not attempt to cause a seal with strap tension. A good mask seal can be achieved by keeping a slight suction/vacuum. This small vacuum pressure can be set or reset by pressing the bridge of the mask toward your face. This expells a little air and causes a little suction when the mask springs back. Just like a suction cup pressed on the fridg door. As you change depth, use some air from you nose and this finger press to keep just enough vacuum to make a water tight seal. Not very much vacuum, or red eyes, nose bleeds, etc. can occur. After a little practice you'll make complete dives and hardly know the mask is there.

 

[tracydr]

Thank you. I tried some non-self purging masks and found the nose part much more comfortable. I think the extra thickness to support the valve was the problem. So I bought a new mask today, old fashioned style. Also, I think the surgery that I had last year (brow lift) made my mask fit different, the guy at the shop thought that may be a big part of the problem.

 

[Mario S Caner]

Ah! the culprit was a purge heh, I really dislike those masks with purge valves. They seem to fail an awful lot. It's just too easy to either get sand or something else in it that allows water to trickle in.

 

[tracydr]

That's what the guy at the shop said, he won't even let his students use them.

 

[Mario S Caner]

I rest my case!

I've worked the floor of a dive shop before, and basically refused to sell those to anyone unless they insisted on it. The one's that do buy them, wind up not using them, or returning them.

 

[tracydr]

Hi Mario. Back from Hawaii. Everything was awesome except our first boat dive. (we did a check out shore dive that was great) My first boat dive was a wreck dive in Oahu with heavy current. I used my old purge mask because the day before I had used my new mask and ended up with a big bruise above my eyebrow. So I thought I would go back to my old trusted mask. Well, the valve broke shortly after we hit 90 feet and I had a major flood. It started slowly and I could still enjoy the first part of the dive. But than my husband was running low on air and we swam to where we thought the ascent line. It was actually on the opposite end of the wreck, against a strong current. So he books off the other way. At this point we had ascended to about 40 feet to save his air. My mask by this time was completely flooded, I mean water up to the top. I had dealt with it OK until I started to fatigue, than my decreased vision and that old "hard breathing but safe" regulator started making me anxious. I was able to control myself by telling myself that being blind was no big deal and that I was getting air, just breathing too fast. I finally found the ascent line, did a quick safety stop and came up. I did fine on the next dive even though I'd been a little shaken up. I switched regulators to my other old one which seemed to breathe easier. I finally broke down and bought a new regulator after my last day of diving because it seemed like a pretty good deal. I haven't even tried it yet. Don't ask me what kind, I'd have to look, but it has a diaphragm on the first stage and adjustments on the second stage. Seemed pretty good to me but I'm not much into equipment. Anyway, the rest of the week I used the Mares mask that I bought before the trip. I didn't have any more trouble with a bruise on my forehead (I guess that was a fluke) but I had a lot of trouble getting a decent seal. It seals fine on land when I check it according to the article I just read but when I dive if I break the seal to rinse it or clear it than it leaks bad the rest of the dive. I only had one dive where I didn't have to keep clearing it. Also, the right eye seems to have a distorted part right in the middle. I think I need to return the mask and wonder if you could suggest a different mask. Am I just that hard to fit? I don't think I'll ever find a mask that is totally comfortable and doesn't leak!!

 

[Mario S Caner]

Tracy,
Welcome back! I'm happy you were able to manage a difficult situation so efficiently. As for the mask, try a dive shop that has plenty to choose from. Don't make a big effort to try to make a seal on the mask, let it happen. When you find a good mask you'll know it. Stick with name brand and make sure they don't penalize you for returning it.