Advanced Deep Dive Fail

[moviefilmgirl20]

Hi everyone; I just became open water certified last month, this weekend I went for my advanced open water certification; long story short when we started decent for the deep dive to 70 feet because we are diving at altitude; I experienced my first real panic attack. Combined with the fact that I have a hard time with water around my nose, clearing my mask and equalizing, I started to freak out when we were about 50 feet down I was dizzy, disoriented and had feelings of vertigo; How do I prevent this panic/ disorientation from taking place in the future; does anyone have any tips for deep dives and also for clearing masks when you have an issue with water around your nose?

 

[ps444mike]

First figure out what's going on with your mask. has it leaked in the pass ? might need a different mask.. also slowly work down on the depth.. make sure your dive buddy knows your pass with Panic attack. he should let you lead the dive. any problems with your ears ? did you equalize ok ?

 

[TMHeimer]

I'm sure you'll get a wide variety of responses. I'll start by suggesting more shallow diving before going deep. Perhaps some snorkeling without a mask or just some "no mask" breathing shallow on scuba such as the OW pool skill. Remember that both your nose and mouth are capable of being completely closed off to water internally. Called glottis and soft pallet, I think. I believe there is one exception with the nose, but only if you tilt your head WAY back you may get a bit of water into the passages--what I've been told anyway. Once your nose is closed off you only get water in the nostrils, which does nothing but sit there. So psychologically getting over your problem with that seems to be task number one.
As far as mask clearing, do it with one big blow. You should be able to clear a fully flooded mask that way, though the standard for passing that OW skill says you can blow more than once. Some people blow from the mouth at the same time, which only prolongs the mask clearing.
That's another example of airway control--you close off the mouth and blow only through the nose. It's always an idea to practice closing off each airway on land as well--ei. breathe in through nose, out through mouth and vice versa.

As far as vertigo below 50' I don't know. I have had vertigo several times probably due to one ear equalising before the other. But this happened only on ascents.

 

[DevonDiver]

Build comfort, before adding more stress and challenge to your dives.

You learned something valuable on that AOW deep training dive.... the lesson being that you should dive within your comfort zone and not to underestimate the psychological stress that diving can create.

The primary reasons why OW divers are (recommended) limited on depth is to keep stress levels manageable and allow skills and confidence to develop whilst ensuring that the physical consequences of a mishap occuring on a dive remain very forgiving.

Everyone develops at different speeds and there's no stigma in taking longer to progress to deeper depths - the emphasis should be on doing so with a high degree of comfort, confidence and competence.

Personally, I have more respect for divers who take it slow and acknowledge their weaknesses - rather than those who succumb to the 'Dunning-Kruger effect' and rush headlong into relatively challenging dives that they scrape through by the skin of their teeth.

I'm interested whether you experienced similar stressors on your OW course? And, if so, did you communicate those issues to your instructor? Or would they have been otherwise apparent to them?

OW qualification should only be issued on the basis of having "mastered" all requisite performance requirements, including mask clearing. Mastery is defined as "fluidly, repeatably and comfortably". It doesn't sound like you've reached that level of performance in respect to mask clearing skills.

Did you communicate your problem to your AOW instructor? And, if so, what remedial training did they insist upon?

 

[АлександрД]

one important remark:
when you buy your mask - normaly you are very serious, and not smiling.
When you going under water - you see many nice things, or (like in your case) scared (or on panic), and start to corrugating your face.
Two wrinkles appears on sides of your mouth, and water starts to leak under mask.

To prevent mask flooding - do not smile under water!

 

[scrane]

I have a hard time with water around my nose, clearing my mask and equalizing,

Gosh.
Why did you think you were ready to go for Advanced? These are skills required for OW.
I would forget about advanced certifications and do some diving.

 

[txgoose]

How do I prevent this panic/ disorientation from taking place in the future; does anyone have any tips for deep dives and also for clearing masks when you have an issue with water around your nose?

My wife had similar issues when beginning her OW skills training. We literally spent a couple of hours in the pool with just her mask and snorkel slowly working on getting her face wet.
Her process was: (of note each and every process was done multiple times. Slow and methodical. Backtrack a bit as needed to keep the calm)
Snorkel for a bit. Get calm. Let some water in. Get calm. Stand and clear mask.
Snorkel for a bit. Get calm. Let some water in. Get calm. Stand but stay face down and clear mask.
Snorkel for a bit. Get calm. Let some water in. Get calm. Float face down and clear mask.
Her pinnacle was when she could snorkel for a bit, dive and flood both her mask and snorkel, surface, clear the snorkel, breath, clear the mask.

A slightly different take on DevonDiver's "fast path" sentiment, I was very pleased by her ability to work on a method to make slow incremental progress. I didn't need a fast path for her to figure out she didn't want to do this. I needed her as my buddy!

I would encourage pool time with one singular goal of getting comfortable with water in your mask. It is going to happen from time to time. Be prepared to fix it.

Good luck. You can do this! Oh and PS, we are taking AOW later this summer. Woot!

 

[Schwob]

one important remark:
when you buy your mask - normaly you are very serious, and not smiling.
When you going under water - you see many nice things, or (like in your case) scared (or on panic), and start to corrugating your face.
Two wrinkles appears on sides of your mouth, and water starts to leak under mask.

To prevent mask flooding - do not smile under water!

That definitely applies to me!
Smiling and turning / tilting the head too far.
But it's fine, I am contempt with "being leaky" and smile away when I see something that has me so inclined.

As for comfort:
By all means, have / find that great non leaking mask, but during some shallow practice dives, better yet than practicing clearing the mask every so often (you have to remember, it is too pre-meditated) is to dive an ill fitting mask that leaks. You'll clear a lot because you'll have to. To the point where you don't even notice doing it.
= comfort
Then enjoy that non leaky mask...

 

[DevonDiver]

one important remark:
when you buy your mask - normaly you are very serious, and not smiling.

Another key issue that's commonly overlooked, and often not educated, is that holding a regulator mouthpiece in your mouth can often also cause skin creasing below the nose. That, in turn, can allow water ingress at the base of the mask when diving.

When trying on masks... perform the 'suction test' as normal, but don't forget to open and close your mouth to ensure the seal remains. Even better, take a spare mouthpiece and put it in your mouth when testing your mask options.

 

[Tournesol2000]

sometimes, a mask that is too tight is a problem for water leakage. maybe strap is too tight??