Am I Retarded?

[JimC]

Doesn't anyone else while diving flood their own masks to clear any fog that may develop?

I do this some times, bot only when I messup and don't hork enough spit into my mask. I do however end up clearing it a few times / dive typicaly. Normaly because I had to blow my nose or some water leaked in.

 

[Dea]

I was surprised to hear how many people had trouble with it.
It seemed to me that every diver has to cler his/her mask 2-3 times a dive, and do it without much thought. After a few dives it is almost automatic. Because typically a little water sips in for various reasons.
I haven't yet met anyone who had a problem with it. And I have to say I am annoyed at the suggestion that it is biologically gender-specific. Psychologically, maybe-- if you are not too comfortable in water.
There were 3 guys and 3 girls in my certification class, and not one of them had a problem with that skill.

Scuba barbie, did your instructor have you put your face underwater with a reg and no mask? That's the first thing they did to us. On our very first breath underwater we were told to breath in and exhale through the nose. And it haven't occured to anyone that it is difficult (of course back than I did not know that as a woman I was supposed to have trouble with it)

 

[mtdivegirl]

I am glad you had no problem with this skill. I have heard from dozens of people that its a really common problem to have. I have been swimming my entire life and was a lifeguard..i think my problem stems from having worn a nose plug for most of my swimming life and that blowing harshly out of my nose seems unnatural to me.
To those of you who affirmed that I was not retarded thanks a million. I perfected the partial flooded mask clearing tonight and have moved on to new and other wonderful breathing problems. Full flooded clearing, and breathing without my mask on...I know I will eventually master these skills as well but it just takes time to aclimate to this kind of activity.
Beyond that tonight went great. I am exhausted so I know it went well!
Thanks again..please keep the commentary coming!

 

[chrispete]

Breathing without a mask takes a bit of getting used to, but if you practice, it gets to the point that you can do it without thinking about it. I had a bit of trouble with mask clearing as well in the fact that I'd pick up water through my nose like you described when I didn't have my mask on. I just practiced it as much as I could until it got to be natural in the bathtub and a shallow pool - I'm sure the other people in the pool found it quite amusing as I only had my tank and regs with me, I was floating around hugging my tank for dear life trying to keep us together , and now I can go without a mask with no problem at all. Here's one trick that I picked up while learning: make sure that the exhaust from your reg is not rolling up your face when you have your mask off when you are getting used to it - I found that the bubbles hitting the bottom of my nose made it harder to keep water out. (Who knows though, it just may have been a mental thing ) Another thing from your last post: you shouldn't need to "blast" air through your nose, a nice, slow, gentle exhalation through your nose should clear your mask easily

 

[Walter]

This ticks me off. There's no reason to have students dreading no mask breathing. I just finished another OW class with no problems in this area. The problem you're having with no mask breathing isn't with you, it's with an instructor who doesn't know how to teach the skill. It's the first skill I teach in my OW course. It's also the easiesy if taught properly. Go to http://www.scubaboard.com/t171/s.html and read my advice to Jennifer. Print it out and give it to your instructor, it may help his future students. You can do this!

 

[DennisW]

mtdivegirl,

My wife had a very hard time with snorkling and mask clearing. Walter was our instructor and taught us with the methods in the post that he has directed you. I had zero problems, Donna kept choking like she was drowning. My wife, being the very independent person that she was stopped the session for her and then went off to think about the skill. She went to the tub every night and practiced Walter's/Ken's methods until she could clear her mask and snorkle without sucking water through her nose. She is a very good diver and my best dive buddy. Walter still says that Donna was his worst student even though she scored the highest of anyone on his OW test. She got through it and loves to dive, so can you. You can do this skill. Let us know how you do.

 

[Mike Newman]

Originally posted by NuttyGambler
Doesn't anyone else while diving flood their own masks to clear any fog that may develop?

Gambler - Oh yes! I am usually fastidious in my pre-dive preparations (he said modestly) but on a recent dive I forgot to de-fog before going under.

It didn't help that this was the dive for my AOW search and recovery experience. I spent quite a bit of time flooding my mask to get some vision. Talking to a more experienced diver afterwards he told me that grabbing a handful of sea grass (if you're in saltwater) and rubbing this round the mask de-fogs it very well.

Do feel for MTGirl - I guess everyone's nervous of mask-clearing to begin with.

However, the first time someone turns carelessly and kicks your mask off in the water, you'll be grateful to have the skill down pat.

Keep going MTGirl - diving's worth all the effort.

Mike

 

[JamesK]

A lot of stress for people is the sudden rush of the water. I do not know if this is the case for you, but it happens to others. The water hitting their face shocks them, and they are unable to complete the skill. Before you descend, breath off your reulaotr with no maks, and your face in the water. If the water is chilly, this could take a minute before you can breath comfortably. You might even want to hold your nose for the first ten seconds or so, and then let it go. Do this every dive. This will get your face used to the water, and you will not have the shock of the colder water hitting your face when you flood your mask.

Also, I noticed that a lot of people say to take sharp breaths when doing this. I can not understand that one. I guess it works for some people, but for others, slow easy breaths work the best. A large breath can tend to puch the seal to far away from the face, and cause excess water to come back in the mask from the sides. While the sharp quick breath may work for some, it does not work at all for me. With a nice slow breath, I can clear my mask multiple times on one breath.

 

[mtdivegirl]

I am heading to the lake tomorrow and although I dont have a weight belt I am going to try and perfect the art of breathing through my nose. That is really my problem. At this point I am fairly well convinced it is just a matter of forcing myself to accept that this can be natural and comfortable.
I will keep you all posted on any advancement in this area. Next class is monday...so youll be hearing from me monday night.

Out of curiosity..when is an instructor supposed to do the swim test? I would have thought i would be during the first class but we have yet to do it and we are heading into class three. I guess he is lucky in that it seems everyone can swim.

 

[SubMariner]

Mtngirl, you can do your watermanship (the swim & 10 minute survival float/water tread) any time prior to certification. There is no specific set place during training that it has to be performed.

Why not ask your Instructor when the plan is to do it?

So... are you having fun yet?

~SubMariner~