Inhaling water when clearing mask

[Koi Fin]

Hello Scuba Board-ers I hope you can help me figure out what my problem is.

I just started my certification last week* and I have been lurking here since then and picked up many great tips - my mask doesn't fog anymore and I think I'm getting the hang of clearing my ears . However I'm having a big problem I haven't been able to get over and I couldn't find a thread on it.

I'm not entirely sure what my problem is. I can take my mask off and just breathe through the regulator without too much discomfort, although I find that I start to get an uncomfortable feeling of water going up my nose even when I let a few bubbles out my nose occasionally.

But my big issue starts when I try to clear my mask. I can completely remove it and put it back on my face full of water, no problem. But when I attempt to do the tilt head up, press mask to face and blow out my nose maneuver, half the time I somehow end up choking on water. Not a little "cough cough" amount but a full on "gonna die" feeling. I do not automatically shoot to the surface - I try to stay down and hyperventilate/cough my way through it, but sometimes I feel like that's not working and two seconds after it starts I'm heading up fast.

The only thing I can think of is that somehow I'm unintentionally inhaling through my nose when I tilt my head up. Or possibly taking water in through my reg somehow? It's my throat that hurts after this happens (from the chlorine?) but maybe I just have insensitive sinuses.

I know I need more practice, but I can't get back in the water for a few more days so I was hoping maybe someone else had had this experience and could tell me what I'm doing wrong. Thanks for any and all help!

* (Not a vital part of my question, but as a background, I'm taking the 3 day PADI OWD class and in hindsight it was a really bad idea for someone like me. I wanted to go with my friends and they chose it, but the class moved way too fast for me, I simply need more than 4 hours of pool time - it almost seemed like they assumed you would get everything right the first or second time. I don't want to be too hard on the instructor, who was a nice person, but I felt like everything was really rushed and there was little correction/explanation when you made a mistake. I guess that's the way it has to be in such a short class but I felt really frustrated and not ready to move on to the open water.

I have other friends that are certified and have their own gear, and they rented a tank and took me to a pool for a few hours to practice. But I'm still having this issue, so I just canceled this weekend's open water dives with the shop... I'm disappointed in myself but I just don't want to go down to 40' when I'm still having this problem.)

 

[Walter]

When clearing your mask you should exhale. Inhaling is counter productive.

 

[vixtor]

Disclaimer: this is something heard from somebody else, and because of that I'm not sure if I described it correctly.

Anyway - somebody told me that when he was preparing to exhale in the mask, he focused so much on the next (exhalation) step, so he forgot to breath using the mouth (so it was inhaling the water from the mask instead of inhaling air from the regulator). The reasoning was something like that he was preparing the mask blow similar to a blow in a birthday cake candles and this confused him (?). He was saying it was hard for him to just inhale normally before blowing in the mask, even though he was perfectly able to breathe without the mask, just because of that.

I'm not sure if I remembered or understood everything correctly (i heard this about 7 years ago), but maybe it helps. It remained in my mind because of the funny explanation that I never really understood.

 

[diver 85]

inhaling thru your nose brings things in(your head)----a big no no as far as survival is concerned...repeat do not inhale @ any time thru your nose, that's the mouths job..............Now, exhaling thru your nose is very good---tends to keep stuff out your head...............good luck, practice practice practice and you will become perfect(a much needed 'good' skill to obtain)

 

[waytooslow]

I am having same issue, but going forward with OW at lake this week, so will let you know how it works out.

Try clamping off nose as well, getting a good lung full of air through the mouth, slowly start to blow out nose while slowly releasing your pinched off nose. Repeat as needed. this may get you through to get morre practice.

 

[bleeb]

One other small possibility that's previously been mentioned here on SB is that some people tilt their heads too far back, especially for the way their nose and sinuses are shaped. If you think this applies to you, remember that it doesn't take much change in head position to have the gap at the bottom of the mask be the lowest point. Just enough so that the water isn't pooling against the lens, and not so much that it runs backwards down your nose.

 

[tfsails]

I am assuming you're breathing ok through your mouth without pinching your nose while your mask is off when I say this:

Try NOT tilting your head back for one exhaled breath while you clear your mask. You won't clear it totally, but you'll get a large percentage of the water out and set yourself up for sucessfully clearing the rest of the water out when you do tilt your head back on the next breath.

There is so much water in a completely flooded mask that you don't need to tilt your head back at first; it's only when you're trying to get the last drops out that you need to tilt back and let the water run down to the mask skirt before exhaling.

Try it--I bet it'll work for you.

 

[water_monkey]

It definitely sounds like your are breathing through your nose. The way I clear my mask is to take a good deep breath from my reg and then do the procedure. This way I minimize the risk of inhaling through my nose, since my lungs are already full of air.

 

[robint]

mask clearing is one of the hardest skills to learn, many people have problems with it. Just remember it gets easier, and eventually you will do it without thinking, and no more water up nose. Just relax and enjoy and don't dwell on it. Practice, practice, and think about all the pretty fishies you will be watching soon!

 

[AEIOU]

Make sure you are already exhaling before you tilt your head back. Its a difficult skill for a lot of people.