Breathing without mask technique?

[ctjwa]

Hi all,

I'm very recently open water certified. The only part of training I am still uncomfortable with is the full mask removal. I'm fine with getting it back on and clearing the water, but i had to cheat and hold my nose while the mask was off to avoid breathing water up my nose. I know it's inevitable that i'll lose my mask on a dive one day, so I would love to practice and master this skill before heading back out.

I can't wait to look back on this post 5 years and tons of successful dives from now and laugh at myself, but what is the secret? How do I tell myself not to use my nose while breathing?

 

[boulderjohn]

To begin with, it's not inevitable that you will lose your mask on a dive some day. It's never happened to me, and I really can't think of anyone at the moment who has experienced it accidentally. Now, I have taken my mask off intentionally quite a few times during a dive--it's the best thing to do when you feel a sneeze coming on, believe me. I have had my mask removed from my face by my tech diving instructor a number of times as well. It has never happened to me accidentally, though.

The most important thing is to get used to knowing the difference between breathing through your mouth and breathing through your nose. That sounds silly, but a lot of people have trouble controlling which opening is being used. The easiest thing to do is to wear a snorkel while holding your nose for a while and just breathe in and out through your mouth until you really get the hang of it. Then put your face in the water (you just need a large sink) with the snorkel on and practice breathing without holding the nose until you have mastered it.

One problem a lot of students have with this skill in scuba classes comes from the fact that most instructors have students do the skill while kneeling. When they are without the mask, the bubbles escaping from their regulators are constantly hitting their noses. that alone can cause your problem. When I instruct, my students are never on their knees. They are lying forward in a swimming position, slightly buoyant for these skills. When they do this skill, the bubbles go harmlessly past their cheeks. The day I switched to this technique was the day I stopped having students struggle with this skill.

 

[nimoh]

I know of one person that has a physical limitation causing him to not be able to do this skill without holding his nose, although I can't remember the details of the explanation from his doctor that he gave me. Perhaps this is not all that relevant, just saying.

Back on point, you should practice this skill on dry land, it should be fairly easy to tell when breathing that you are only breathing through your mouth. Perhaps holding your nose until you get a rhythm going, then releasing to see if you can continue it.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Best way to practice this skill is in shallow water ... chest deep, where you can remove your mask, put your face in the water, and breathe ... and when you start to feel uncomfortable, stand up and get relaxed ... then do it again.

Whenever I have students who have this problem (which isn't uncommon, by the way), I use this technique. Start out taking a few breaths. Then stand up and take a short break, then try it for a longer period. Repeat this process until you can keep your face submerged, maskless, breathing through your regulator for as long as you want to.

What you're doing is reprogramming your instincts. We're all different. For some, this exercise is easy. For others it's the hardest thing in diving they'll ever do. Most of us fall somewhere in between ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[lowviz]

Ideally, start in a pool holding onto a rail or something that will allow you to stand up and breathe if you aspirate water.

Remove your mask quickly while looking at the pool floor. Keep looking at the pool floor. You will go through an uncomfortable period then settle down. Once you get this down pat, do it without holding on. When you can do this lying on your back, you have mastered it.

 

[danpass]

practice with a snorkel

 

[drrich2]

Not sure whether my experience will be of any help. Like you, I held my nose during original OW cert. diving. I'm hoping to take a course soon where having my mask taken underwater by the teacher is a part of it. I'm also one of those people whose eyes are burned by just about anything; tap water, natural freshwater, Johnson's Baby Shampoo, etc...

Sooooooooooo, on a recent dive at a quarry, rather than let the suspense unfold during an actual course, I had a buddy in attendance, was near the surface (the top of my head sticking out of the water), closed my eyes, pulled off my mask, opening my eyes & tried to breathe, fearing that my eyes would burn like crazy & water shoot up my nose (I am also sensitive to water in my nasopharynx; burns!). Results of this experiment:

1.) Yes, the water burned my eyes, but it wasn't overwhelming. I could hold them open, though I didn't like it.

2.) I could see, though things were blurry.

3.) Water did not shoot up my nose. Breathing through my regulator as I'm used it, even without any conscious effort to just suck through my mouth, and without pinching my nose, I did not such water up my nose.

I didn't do this long, but I wanted to find out what would happen, and the exercise served its purpose.

Your mileage may vary.

Richard.

P.S.: If it's a comfort to you, one of the things taught in SDI's Solo course is to have an extra mask on your person so that if you lose yours during a dive, you can pull a spare out of a BCD pocket (for example) & put it on.

 

[supergaijin]

IMO it's fine to hold the nose if that is what you need to do the skill. Many people do, and if a mask was somehow to disappear on you during the dive, your right hand can hold your nose, the left can operate the BCD.

The end goal is that you retrain your breathing reflex so that you an breathe fairly comfortably and have both hands free. Practice in increments as has been advised above with a snorkel- cheaper than tank air.

 

[windapp]

This is not a difficult skill to master, and if you have access to a pool to dive in, you can get it in a very short amount of time. Here are a few tips:

1. Don't look up when your mask is off. The air in your nose will keep the water out, but only if your nostrils are the lowest point on your nose. If you have to look up, make sure you are exhaling out of your nose while you do.
2. Breath out your nose at first to keep the water out, but then try to do with only breathing through your mouth.
3. When you go to put your mask back on, don't worry about filling your lungs with air to clear the water out. Blow out very gently to prevent the mask from pushing water up your nose, and then use two or three breaths instead of just one to clear the mask. Make this a very relaxed exercise.

 

[tracydr]

Hi all,

I'm very recently open water certified. The only part of training I am still uncomfortable with is the full mask removal. I'm fine with getting it back on and clearing the water, but i had to cheat and hold my nose while the mask was off to avoid breathing water up my nose. I know it's inevitable that i'll lose my mask on a dive one day, so I would love to practice and master this skill before heading back out.

I can't wait to look back on this post 5 years and tons of successful dives from now and laugh at myself, but what is the secret? How do I tell myself not to use my nose while breathing?

I have this same problem and even after 18 years I still have to practice it. I think I'm just an obligat nose breather.
here's how I taught myself, in the pool. It wasn't easy, at all.
I started with a snorkel and a swimming goggles instead of a mask, because the goggles don't cover your nose. I snorted up half the pool! I practiced this until I could comfortably snorkel around the pool with the swim goggles and snorkel. This was much harder than it sounds for a nose breather!
then, start doing your mask drills in your pool. You can do this on the shallow end if you'd like. Just sink down to the bottom and start flooding and clearing your mask, to start. When that is easy, start removing and replacing the mask. Finally, start swimming, removing and replacing the mask.
when all this is very easy, do all the skills in open water with a buddy helping you and have them take you on a tour without your mask in shallow water.
this is easier in warmer water, to start, if possible. Colder water makes breathing without a mask harder, for some strange reason.
Finally, work really hard to get your bouyancy nailed down while clearing your mask and removing/replacing the mask. If your the least bit anxious, you may go jetting to the top while clearing the mask the first few times, especially on shallow dives.
Trust me, you are not the only one this is hard for. This is really my hardest skill and it's still hard for me. I hate it. But, don't avoid practicing it as it is something that you will absolutely need. I've had everything from mask completely flooded to mask kicked or blown off the head.
Somehow, I always seem to have issues with a mask leaking or flooding on every dive, so I do get plenty of practice!