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Quick hijack - do you have the problem only in cold water, or in warm and cold water? Do you flood your mask slowly before removing it, or 'rip it off'? I have no problem breathing without my mask in warmer water - shallow, deep, light, dark. I can slowly flood it or 'rip it off'. But, cold water is a real challenge, and I have to continually practice, even to the point of gearing up at the quarry, then doing a U/W swiiming descent without the mask, until I am in cold water (45 - 50 F). For me it is the initial shock of cold, and I haven't found a unique way around that, other than slowly flooding to allow my face to acclimate, and even then it is challenging. If your issue is breathing U/W without a mask, all I can suggest is repetition and practice to increase your comfort level, e.g. go for extended swims in shallow, warm water, breathing from the regulator.aubie85:While we are on the subject of class. Can anyone give me any tips on getting over my fear of taking off my mask and clearing it? I did it several times fo my ow certification sucessfully, but I still am nervous doing it. I know this is a common problem, but there has got to be a way of getting rid of that fear...
Quick hijack - do you have the problem only in cold water, or in warm and cold water? Do you flood your mask slowly before removing it, or 'rip it off'? I have no problem breathing without my mask in warmer water - shallow, deep, light, dark. I can slowly flood it or 'rip it off'. But, cold water is a real challenge, and I have to continually practice, even to the point of gearing up at the quarry, then doing a U/W swiiming descent without the mask, until I am in cold water (45 - 50 F). For me it is the initial shock of cold, and I haven't found a unique way around that, other than slowly flooding to allow my face to acclimate, and even then it is challenging. If your issue is breathing U/W without a mask, all I can suggest is repetition and practice to increase your comfort level, e.g. go for extended swims in shallow, warm water, breathing from the regulator.
Yeah it's not the water (except that in class the chlorine of the pool got to me, but that is over ) I think my problem is the breathing. I try to think about it this way: when you are sick and your nose is clogged, you usually just breathe in/out through your mouth. That part is okay with me when I take the mask off. I think it is the fear that instead of 'inhaling through my mouth/exhaling through my nose' when I try to clear, that I will screw up and try to inhale through my nose. Yeah, this is going to take a lot of practice Someone(I think my instructor) told me to practice in the dark, breathing in through the mouth and out through the nose. I am just afraid that when water is added, all that practice will go out the window.
First of all, you don't have to exhale through the nose. Just breathe through your regulator. You do not want to exhale through the nose while wearing the mask, so don't do it without the mask, either.
Next, start out without the mask at all. Slowly lower your face into the water and just breathe through your regulator for a while that way. I usually find that that process clears up problems like this.