Brain-freeze Headache in Cold Water

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Sorry to be late to reply. I get less of a headache in cold water by trying to cover most of my forehead using the hood.

After putting my mask I try to move the hood over the mask skirt to cover my forehead.
 
Sorry to be late to reply. I get less of a headache in cold water by trying to cover most of my forehead using the hood.

After putting my mask I try to move the hood over the mask skirt to cover my forehead.
Yeah. I've had several hoods which all seemed to go well with various masks.
 
The other half of this equation is the mask itself. I see from the avitars that most divers now wear what we used to call "low volume masks" with a nose sticking out. These masks themselves don't provide a lot of protection for the forehead sinuous area. Low volume masks were originally developed for free diving, as you didn't have to use much air to equalize the mask as the free diver descended, which can affect breath-hold diving. But in cold water, there isn't much of an air pocket to protect the forehead from cold water. I like some of the older masks, which provide a much greater volume of warm air around my forehead.

That's new information for me, thank you. I do indeed have a low volume mask, A SB Spectre. Wouldn't have thought about that.
 
The full hood and gloves really made a difference.

Was a little difficult to get the mask/hood/face sealed and comfortable, flooded my mask a few times getting it right.

Was able to descend to 50' in about 60 degree water without the dreaded brain freeze, so that's a win.

The full hood constrained my head movements some. Found it more difficult to look left/right/down, so that was a downside.

Conclusion is, I might just be a warm water diver in the future :wink:

Thanks for the suggestions all, issue solved.
 
I usually get the mask/hood fitted perfectly before entering the water.
 
Give yourself some time to get used to it. You don’t want to be an only-warm-water diver if that means you get to dive a whole lot less.

If you and a friend own 3mm hoods, you can also wear two 3mm hoods one on top of the other.
 
Does the hood fit you well? Is it snug and doesn't move around on your head while diving? If it's big or hangs down too much, it will dislodge your mask/stap.

Is it too tight or just not the right hood for you? That would make it feel constrictive.

I know the conventional wisdom is for the hood to sit slightly over the mask seal, but I find that pushes my mask down and gives me constant floods - even with a XXSmall hood. I trim the face part of my hood. Some hoods say they are trimmable.

I like the hood to just meet or be slightly above the mask seal - it's comfortable, no loss of peripheral vision, still very warm, doesn't push my mask down, and no icecream headache.

Put your mask and hood on and look in the mirror at how they sit. Mine always come down too low, so I chalk where I want to trim, take it off, and cut with scissors. I use a lighter to seal the edges just in case, but maybe someone can enlighten us if that does anything for a hood. I've been trimming hoods for 18 years with no issues, so it seems fine.

Give it some getting used to and see what you think.
 
Give yourself some time to get used to it. You don’t want to be an only-warm-water diver if that means you get to dive a whole lot less.

That was more of a joke. So far, I've only been diving in my local quarry to build skills and get comfortable. I'm in N.C. so I'm near the coast and travel a good deal, so I have many options.

Does the hood fit you well? Is it snug and doesn't move around on your head while diving? If it's big or hangs down too much, it will dislodge your mask/stap.

It does fit well. I purchased mine and my sons at the LDS and went through multiple options until we found the right fit. Good advice on practicing in the mirror. Mine was coming down too low which is why I was flooding, had to adjust and pull back, etc to get it right. No doubt time & practice will lead to comfort.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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