Mask off skill difficulty

[la_diver]

jenlaur, one thing that i did that helped me breath through my mouth and not inhale through my nose was to swim laps with mask and snorkle. at the time i really didn't realize that i was conditioning my breathing to inhale and exhale through my mouth only. it helped me hope it will help you. good luck

 

[violakat03]

I have to hold my nose when I have my mask off, but I've never tried tipping my head to the side - which I know will cause ear problems, I have very sensitive ears and the bubbles going across them actually hurts. I know it's the exhaust from the reg that cause me to get water up my nose as I only have problems with the reg and not with the snorkel. When I was getting it up my nose with the snorkel, I got in the habit of holding my nose, which forced me to remember to breathe only through my mouth! After awhile, I was able to do it without holding my nose, but I'm still working on the ability to do that with a reg...

My husband had to spend a lot of time doing laps with a snorkel to get the whole breathing through the mouth thing down. Don't get discouraged! He didn't and he's glad cause he loves diving.

 

[TSandM]

One thing at least to check . . . If you tilt your head back, water will run down the floor of your nose and into your throat. It's anatomic, and unavoidable. If you tuck your chin in a little bit, you will make the base of your nose run uphill, and water will have less of an opportunity to go there.

 

[jenlaur]

Wow! Thanks everyone for your responses. Obviously you all are very supportive of us newbies. Just a little more info: I am an accomplished snorkeler (if there is such a thing) so breathing through the snorkel for long periods of time is no big thing for me. Also, I can clear my mask. In my pool at home, with my weight belt on I have tried on my knees in the shallow end. I am able to put my head in the pool with the snorkel in my mouth and no mask but when I try it a foot down is when I have the problem (pressure?). I have tried without the mask, holding my nose and then letting go and same thing - sinus irrigation! I plan to get in the pool again today for another try. I will try all of your suggestions. Tonight I have to try again with the regulator. I am already stressing about it. I am working on an attitude adjustment! Thanks again.

 

[ScubaBeez]

I had the hardest time with this too! I had to actually go back for an extra pool session before I figured out how to just get the hell over it.
When my mask leaks or floods out in real life I can clear it no problem, but for some reason flooding it intentionally (or, god forbid, removing it) was a big deal!
The difficulty with this is that it is PURELY psychological (your entire being just screams panic/stop breathing when your face is underwater). It's just not a physical skill you can practice and strengthen.
Here's what did it for me.
Fully geared up, regulator in your mouth, no mask. Close your eyes, hold your nose and kneel in the shallow end of the pool. Just sit there and breathe. Just sit. Keep sitting. Eventually, oh so slowly start loosening your grip on your nose. Little by little. Once I got to the point that I could let go, it was like I never had a problem to begin with!
Granted that was about 2 years ago and if I had to demonstrate that skill on demand now I'd probably have to go through the whole process all over again!
Good Luck!

 

[Zoomer]

Just lower your chin toward your chest a bit.... keep your face downward more... it helps

 

[michwiggins]

Zoomer is right. I had real trouble with this and clearing my mask the first time I did it. We then did a drill where we had to swim without our mask and it was so easy I realized if I put my head down as if I were swimming it somehow helped water not to get in my nose, after this it was a breeze.

 

[Jim Kerr]

The biggest reason for failing this is students blow too much air out of their nose, usually it requires only a small light steady amount of air. Stop before you are forced to take a large breath. If any water is still in the mask, try one more, slow and easy exhale through your nose. Remember, you’re not blowing your nose, just putting a little air in the mask to displace the water.

I think jenlaur's problem is more about breathing thru the reg with the mask off skill rather than mask clearing. OTH, you are so right about gently blowing to clear your mask. I wish I had known that in the begining. I hope that instructors emphasize this to their students because it would eliminate alot of stress.

 

[Melicertes]

I am already stressing about it. I am working on an attitude adjustment!

I agree with what others have posted already. My 2 bubbles: don't sweat this. As you can see most everyone that's posted has run into this issue in the beginning, including me. With a little braintraining you'll get the hang of it and move on to the next thing. It just takes a little longer for some people to figure out where that sweet spot is (for them) of doing it just right. Do not let your instructor harass or rush you along - this is an important skill to do even though it might appear logically simple.

Also, just go out and do it - my wife and I have a philosophy in life that says expectations set you up for disappointments - we tend to cook up these scenarios in our minds in anticipation of something and then when the time comes nothing's the same as we thought it would be like. Don't waste your energy trying to predict the future - maybe tonight you'll just find it clicks in your mind and zzzzt off you go!

Like Cesar Milan always says - calm, assertive energy makes you the pack leader - don't worry about what you expect it to be like tonight - it will be just what it is - and if it is more water up the nose then fine, then it's more practice. That's all. Don't sweat this stuff, it will get better as you work at it.

 

[ClayJar]

I wonder if perhaps another piece of the puzzle could be breathing too "hard". When I have my mask off, as long as I'm breathing normally (with my head slightly forward and all that), I have no problems at all.

On the other hand, when I first started trying no-mask breathing, I had a tendency to "gasp" air. A sharp, hard inhalation was often enough to suck some water up my nose in addition to the air from the regulator through my mouth. By breathing more slowly (more "normally", perhaps?), I managed to kick my drinking habit.

(Of course, I'm much better now, and I actually found it fun to swim around the deep end for several minutes while wearing no mask and buddy breathing (one reg) with another diver in the divemaster course I recently completed. :biggrin