Mask clearing

[waterkitty]

Hi guys...quick question for ya. I am PADI OW Certified (have been since Aug 1, 2004). When I did my open water checkouts I got the mask clearing down. Yes, it took a little work, trying to get over the heebie-jeebies at first, but I passed.

Now I am working on my AAUS Research Diver certification through my university so I can work on my thesis work. Today the Dive Safety Officer and I went to do a practice dive and tried mask clearing. I freaked out! :11: What the heck, right? So he basically said everyone goes through it and we will keep working on it until I get it.

I know I can do it, but it would make me feel better if everyone shared their stories of how they got through this and if there is anything that goes through your head that helps you cope with clearing your mask. Also, do you find it helpful practicing mask clearing while snorkeling?

Thanks! Besides that, the other skill we worked on - fin pivot- was great.

 

[Wayward Son]

Don't tilt your head back. A bit forward helps. If you tilt back too soon you get water up your nose/down your throat. Much easier if you start out with a downward tilt.

 

[jepuskar]

Well, first of all....he is right....don't sweat it. There are several things to try to help you with this, but if you could be more specific as to when you freaked out that would help us.

Was it when you let water in or went to clear??? Did water go up your nose? etc etc

Jason

 

[spectrum]

When scuba training was just a wish I did practice mask clearing while skin-diving and it is much harder when skin-diving. In order to get the tip right I needed to take a breath and then move my head to where the mask would clear right which put the the snorkel under water. Clear as best I could with 3/4 of my breath, restore the snorkel airway and repeat as needed. On scuba tip breathe as needed and just clear it, much easier.

What my be bothering you is the water on the face. After getting certified it's real easy to get unaccustomed to this unless you intentionally flood your mask or go maskless from time to time. Start in a clean warm bathtup or basin and work your way to open water. Try snorkel breathing without a mask. Before long it will be second nature including opening your eyes. From there I bet the mask clearing drill will be like falling off a log.

Good luck!

Pete

Hi guys...quick question for ya. I am PADI OW Certified (have been since Aug 1, 2004). When I did my open water checkouts I got the mask clearing down. Yes, it took a little work, trying to get over the heebie-jeebies at first, but I passed.

Now I am working on my AAUS Research Diver certification through my university so I can work on my thesis work. Today the Dive Safety Officer and I went to do a practice dive and tried mask clearing. I freaked out! :11: What the heck, right? So he basically said everyone goes through it and we will keep working on it until I get it.

I know I can do it, but it would make me feel better if everyone shared their stories of how they got through this and if there is anything that goes through your head that helps you cope with clearing your mask. Also, do you find it helpful practicing mask clearing while snorkeling?

Thanks! Besides that, the other skill we worked on - fin pivot- was great.

 

[DennisW]

I'm sorry, but the best way to start getting better at clearing your mask is to look up at the surface. Most people at first don't look up nearly far enough. After you get good at it, then you can pretty much clear your mask in almost any position.

Practice in the pool in the shallow end without tanks, but use a weight belt. Take a breath, go under, flood your mask, then clear it. Practice until you can clear your mask 3 or more times on one breath. It doesn't take much.

Then get the tanks, it is sooo much easier with air.

Practice, practice, practice. Never let this skill go away, you may need it at some time.

 

[vetdiver]

Hi -

This is a very important skill, and it can be even freakier in the cold and murky waters of New England. The one thing I needed to reassure myself of when I started diving is that I can have water on my face/in my nose, and I will be fine as long as I have air. I personally felt much more at ease a year and a half later when I did my rescue class - I had to get into a pool over and over again with nothing and come out fully geared up. Feeling very confident that I could breathe through a regulator without a mask on at all was the thing that really enabled me to get over any stress about mask clearing - didn't spend much time with my mask off in my OW course!! I don't know how fun this would be to practice in the ocean, but you may want to try it in a pool if you think this is part of your issue.

As for the clearing, practice makes perfect. Try to remember to keep calm, and you will do fine.

One other thing, just to make you feel better - a few weeks ago, I dove at Burnham Ledge (about 115 ft) off of Rockport, MA. I was using a spanking new mask (cleaned, but not well enough), and it was fogging like crazy. I had to remind myself over and over that I was doing fine - and this is not a new dive OR my first newer mask on a deep dive . Panic is not logical, and it can happen to any diver at any time over any little thing. Do not feel bad because you panicked. Just try to think of ways to stay calm the next time it happens so that when it happens in a place where you can't come right back up to the surface, you'll have a little mantra for yourself.

Good luck getting your research diver cert!

 

[Louie]

There's a good practice to get used to that unpleasant sensation of water in the nose:

If you have your SCUBA equipment on in the pool, with NO MASK
stand/sit/float until the water is just under your eyes (so your nose is in the water but your eyes are above the water)

Just breath normally from the reg.

If you are snorkelling, do the same thing but breath with your snorkel, no mask.

This gets you used to that feeling of breathing while there is nothing blocking the water from your nose.

ALSO,
some people find it difficult to breath out from their nose when their mouth is not in a closed position (as when the reg is in mouth). If this is the case, place your tongue on the roof of your mouth when exhaling out of your nose. This makes it difficult for the air to come out of your mouth, thus facilitating it out of your nose.

Happy diving

 

[No Fish]

When you are ready to clear, remember to not look up too soon..... what I mean by that is start with your head tilted down, looking down. Press on the top of your mask and start blowing air out of your nose, slowly is fine. As you are blowing out, tilt your head back finishing the move looking up, with your head tilted back. What this accomplishes is keeping water from running into your nose at the start. It is easier this way and less stressful too.... you don't get that "water in the nose" feeling.

If you have trouble with blowing air only out of your nose, try saying the letter "N" . In other words, if you are saying "Nnnnnnnnn" you can't blow air out of your mouth, ie out of the reg.

Standing in shallow water with no mask, putting only your face in the water while breathing on your reg helps gain comfort too.

I hope this helps you.

 

[CameronMartz]

Like Louie said, time spent in the pool using a snorkel without a mask will help you to get used to breathing through just your mouth. You can even do laps using goggles and a snorkel for a while, then progress to snorkel and no goggles, then progress to water-filled mask and snorkel. Once you get the hang of it, try to clear your mask in 3ft of water without SCUBA. Just sit on the bottom, fill your mask, and clear. If the volume of your mask is small enough, you'll get to where you can fill and clear your mask several times on one breath.

It can take a lot of practice, but it is worth it, and you don't need to wait until you're using SCUBA to do it.

Cameron

 

[Captain CaveMan]

last time I went diving i havd a new mask that i cleaned but i gess i didnt clean it that well because i ad to clear it about every 3 mins.
tillting you head down helps but what i found out is i hate the felling of the water hitting my nose and the inside of it so what i do is blow out my nose when i pull the mask off. it stops the weter from going in. once i did that it works great. a nother thing i do is get a tank of air and a weight belt and go in the pool and take off my mask and just sit there and do it over and over it realy helps.