Mask on Forehead reliable distress signal?

[texdiveguy]

In calm waters and prior to entries I place my mask on my forehead.....I hate it around my neck and have never gotten used to wearing it backward as I use reg. mask straps and it does not slide as easy as the neo straps. I have had 1 person ask me from shore if I was Ok... I am guessing cause my mask was on my forehead....I signaled 'OK'.....o'h well.

 

[Tortuga68]

I sometimes take my mask COMPLETELY OFF underwater

Occasionally I even take my reg out too

Can someone take my pulse please, I'm starting to think I might have drowned years ago

 

[NadMat]

is that I like it there. It also makes room for my Ray-Bans on my face while floating on (calm,sunny) surface waiting to get on boat. If you want a beer from me, you'll have to think of a better reason than that. Sometimes it goes around my neck due to conditions. Neither placement indicates panic or 'rejection of equipment'. If y'all don't like your MOF, don't put it there. And quit pestering the rest of us about it.

Although if you're a hot female type diver you're welcome to come give me some mouth to mouth to relieve my perceived stress during SI

JMHO, YMMV

 

[I Dive]

I had a new diver ask about this yesterday and also asked the flipside, "If a person's mask is not on their forehead does that mean they are OK?". The answer I gave was basically, "Yes, that is the recognized signal, but no it is not a guarantee they are in distress and a mask not on the forehead is by no means a guarantee a person is doing OK." In fact, a good and experienced diver how is experiencing some distress may well be in control enough to make sure their mask stays on and reg stays in their mouth. I read a story about a tech diver who started feeling paralysis overtake his body when he surfaced. He was smart enough to keep his mask on and secure his reg in his mouth before he went totally paralyzed but after that he was helpless. think the most fail-safe method is communication. Communicate with the diver and you will likely find out rather quickly how they are doing. If you flash them the OK sign and get nothing, there may be a problem... If you flash them the OK sign and can't recognize the signal they give in return, there may be a problem... If you are close enough to speak with them, ask them if they are OK, and get nothing in return, there may be a problem...

 

[sweatfrog]

I'm not sure why it is such a bad habit. Contrary to some beliefs, mask on forehead does not lead to drowning, inability in the water leads to drowning. I WILL say with all certainty that if we placed as much emphasis on, as one example, proper kicking as we do on the dangerous and habitual nature of placing the mask on the forehead, we would start putting better more conscientious divers in the water.

Please read the thread before you post. As myself and others have said, your mask can get knocked off and lost.

Kicking is important, so is buoyancy. The list goes on, but that's not what this thread is about either.

 

[HomelessDiver]

I cant recall ever learning that in PADI OW, AOW or Rescue course.... but did hear it many times from instructors around the shop. Ironically, almost everyone on the boat does it anyway, including them. Personally, I cant do the neck thing since I dont have much of a neck; feels choking. The most common thing I see is to turn it backwards with the strap on the forehead---again, my melon doesnt savvy for that one either.

I prefer to just keep it on or sometimes clip it to the BCD chest-strap.

As far as emergencies go.... maybe its just me but I dont understand why people fling their masks off in a panic, even though I saw it once by a snorkeler in neck-deep water. I was in a near panic once as I had to suck air from the tank for each breath, but man--taking my mask off would be about the last thing I would do on the surface. I wear contacts and possibly have a greater phobia of going sightless rather than floating.

 

[Nemrod]

Please read the thread before you post. As myself and others have said, your mask can get knocked off and lost.

Kicking is important, so is buoyancy. The list goes on, but that's not what this thread is about either.

Nah, never lost a mask from my forehead and if I ever do I usually have a spare somewhere. It is my mask, if I lose it they make more. This is really just another load of poppycock, it is no more likely to get lost on the forehead than turned around backwards on the back of your head. Just because some instructor told you so does not make it true, they just repeat what they were told and most of them barely know what they are talking about anyways.

Why does it bother people so much ?

N

 

[Walter]

(anyone out there who is an instructor think there's a problem with how i'm arguing this point?)

This is what is called a 'preconceived notion'. I'm sure they help you organize your world, but you can't win an argument just by claiming that they're accurate. (I couldn't resist)

Details are important. The best instructors cover the really important aspects of diving as well as many of the minor points, like how masks can be lost.

What harm is done by keeping the mask on?

A mask decreases your field of vision.

What are the benefits of having the mask in a non-functional position?

A mask is already non-functional when you are not underwater, unless you have poor eyesight and the mask serves as your corrective lenses.

I made an assumption regarding why one would move the mask into a non-functional position - for increased comfort. Would you care to address the more correct reason in another post, as you failed to do in your previous response?

It is a matter of comfort, but it the exact opposite of your thought process. Divers progress through stages -

1. They are uncomfortable with all the strange gear, including masks and therefore want to remove it ASAP.

2. Comfortable with the mask, but uncomfortable with no mask breathing and being splashed in the face, so they have to keep the mask on their face in case they catch a stray wave.

3. Comfortable in the water with or without a mask. A stray wave is no big deal. It's OK to take off their mask or leave it on depending on the situation.

 

[Standingbear56]

Nah, step out of your box. I sometimes have been known to swim more than a mile to sea, on my own, alone from a beach entry. I generally do such dives by swimming on my back with my wing partially inflated towing my safety float behind me with flag etc. I like my mask popped on my forehead during such swims. It is comfortable and despite all the BS is very secure there. I can flip it down, roll over, view the underwater terrain and then roll back on to my back and continue my swim. If you were to do this with your mask down you would be uncomfortable quickly. I prefer to breath through my nose as well. You all the time mouth breathers may not understand but the only time I breath through my mouth is underwater or during high physical activity. I have never lost a mask or panicked as a result of having the mask on my forehead. I have never needed rescuing yet as a result of having the mask on my forehead either.

If it works for you then do it. No law says you can't.

Mask on forehead is comfortable, secure and functional way to store the mask while not in use and is indicative of a comfortable and secure diver who can adapt to the situation--as opposed to my "instructor said" sort of diver who always applies the same "think" to every situation and panics at the first bit of water on their face, help, help, save me, I cannot swim, I got water in my eyes, waaaahhhhh, waaaahhhhh---typical PadI sort ya know.

N

Personally I love to see masks on foreheads - just means more mask business for our Dive Center.

One of the last persons I pulled out of the water half drowned was a Y diver whose mask was knocked off of his forehead when a wave went over his head and he choked on some water. This poor ol PADI instructor was just lucky his low standard PADI training not only had him keep his mask on his face and regulator in his mouth, but was also able to bring the distressed diver into shore.
So much for the standard PADI waaaa waaaa in my face. This sort of thing can happen to anyone of any agency, and has.

Folks, the mask on the forehead CAN mean a diver distress, but that in itself isn't the only sign, you need to look for others. There are also cases of divers in distress whose masks are on their faces and they appear calm at first glance. When in doubt, a simple "Diver Diver, Are You OK? Do You Need Assistance?" can go a long way in assessing a potential situation. Many divers have their mask on their forehead simply because it is comfortable, and no agency says you can't - it is a suggestion only - but one that has prevented a lot of lost masks. This is why in my classes at least, the students are taught to keep their masks on their face when they are in the water, along with either a regulator or snorkel in their mouths if they don't have to speak.

Time to go diving and get Waaa Waaa on my face,
George

 

[Nemrod]

Walter, the wise old man, hits on something he has learned from practical experience. I know in you guys perfect worlds you don't have to concern yourself with long surface swims and conflicting boat traffic. A mask on the face limits vision severely. I kinda like seeing what is going on around me. Most of you apparently do mostly quarry dives or dive from a boat. Beach/shore divers do occasion have to swim at the surface. I would rather lose my mask than get run over because I could not see the boat/jetski/nuclear submarine about to run over me.

Standingbear56, I like your posts, most of the time you are dead on and always informative, but in this case, you are just being dogmatic. One size does not fit all.

BTW, IMO, if somebody is such a weak swimmer and so lacking in water comfort that having a wave wash over them causes them to drown or nearly so, they should not be in the water to begin with, the mask is not their problem, there lack of water skills and comfort is. The real problem is that instructors keep certifying these people. It is not the students fault, it is the instructor who did not provide real world realistic instruction. In the real world jet skis zoom around you, there are boats and the fisherman on board are drunk. There are waves, jellyfish and all manner of things to cause a bad hair day. It is not the MOF, it is that these people don't belong in the water until:

1. They can actually swim.
2. They are not afraid of saltwater in their eyes, in their nose, down their throat, in their face.
3. Have been taught drown proofing techniques and been evaluated for water confidence

N