Mask flooding - panicking

[k4man]

Hi guys

I went for my third open water dive today. To date I have been quite relaxed underwater and my air consumption is pretty good. So I was pretty confident that I could handle emergencies. Boy was I wrong!

this is NOT meant to FLAME you:light: but the comment you start out with seems to be part of the obvious answer, too. With just your 3rd open water dive, relaxed or not, it's ok to feel confident, but really... able to handle an emergency?? As you've heard, there are divers with lots more experience who STILL recommend training/practice on a regular basis even after 100's if not 1,000's of dives

 

[RoyN]

Had a better one, my mask kept flooding even it was secured, but then I found out that the lense was leaking. So the only thing I could do at the moment is seal the mask with silicon for now and I'll probably get a new mask or get it fixed.

 

[diver 85]

Definitely con't(in your case start) practicing your mask floods...You never can do it to well....When I 1st started diving, I had the yellow & black(rubber skirt I think) mask-forget the manufacture but it was just like Al Giddings wore on his series he made back in the mid 80's Ocean Quest, anyone remember??...Anyway, I loved that mask & tried to keep it forever......Toward the end of it's life, slowly I kept having to ALL THE TIME clear it, like 50 times a dive it seemed like....Well, finally I put 2 & 2 together & got a new one, man diving got easier...lol....To this day(guess I'm reverting back to my 'self taught' dive habbits), I'll take my mask off under water just to do it....Also, have had to take it off to defog on a few dives- the more things you can do as 2nd nature & with complete confidence ,the more relaxed & better diver you will be......keep it up....

 

[akscuba]

I agree -- It's good you had this experience, because there are a lot of lessons in it.

My flooded mask panic occurred when I had more than 100 dives. The good thing was that I HAD had an experience in my OW class where I WANTED to bolt and was kept from doing so, so I recognized the fear spiralling up and controlled it. You should be able to do this now, too. Stopping fear before it reaches panic is a critical skill for a diver.

NWGratefulDiver has given you excellent advice, and I'll only add to it to reinforce what Mike said -- Make yourself swim around with a flooded mask from time to time; take your mask off and put it back on; learn to flood and clear without disturbing your buoyancy -- Do all this because you can NEVER predict when somebody might kick a mask off. Almost happened to me the other night while sitting at a stop -- A fin I didn't see coming got me in the face. My mask didn't go, but it could have!

I cannot agree more with the sentiment that this is an important lesson to have early on. It took me many, many tries in my OW class to "master" this skill, and by master I mean do it without bolting to the surface. I would still panic on the inside. I try to at least flood my mask every dive now, and to occasionally remove it. It still makes my stomach clench. Just do it as much as possible, and then, if it happens unexpectedly, you can remember that you've done it before, and have the confidence to not panic and calmly deal with the situation. Nothing like panic to make a mundane situation very, very bad, very, very fast.

 

[NorCalDawg]

Yeah the cold water definetly magnifies the situation. This morning I was diving in 43 degree water (coldest i've ever been in) and intially on submerging the water just was such a shock that it increased my breathing rapidly. It wasn't panic, but it was alot like it. I soon grew acclimated to the water (somewhat ) and my breathing returned to normal. But yeah, getting that water in the face is no fun.

On the other hand, I try to take my mask on every dive in warmer water, just to reinforce the idea of it being optional equipment. The less I feel I need my mask the more comfortable I am when something goes wrong with it. Now I'm completely comfortable without it. It's also fun to show off to all the people who don't like mask removal underwater

 

[EvaL]

I think you did fairly well, considering this was only your 3rd OW dive and you're able to analyze this objectively afterward and take steps to improve (by practising mask removal at safety stop) and not freak out and giving up on diving.
Aside from checking with your finger, you can also try sucking in (not too hard) to see if there are any air leaks. Additionally, you could also ask your buddy during the buddy-check before the dive to see if your mask seal is OK.
Mask removal is still one of the tougher skills I try to practice, even if I don't like doing it in saltwater (it stings my eyes). If you want to get a head start and won't be able to dive anytime soon, you can head to the pool with your mask and snorkel. Practice in 3 or 4 ft of water, so you can stand up if somethig gets out of hand - remove mask, use some air from your lungs to clear the snorkel and now use the air you breathe through the snorkel to purge your mask. If you can't clear it in a breath, that's OK, use more breaths.
Dive safely and good luck to getting your c-card soon.

 

[scubadobadoo]

And let me add that if it was a problem when you started diving and you don't contimue to drill it AFTER you are certified, then it will sneak up on you again. I had a problem with it initially and barely got through my open water dives. Eventually I got comfy with the mask off and then forgot about it. 100 dives later I decided to do a mask off drill in 50 degree water and the cold water mixed with the long time since practicing really did me in. Long story short, I bolted for the surface but was luckily alright. It really shook me for about 50 more dives.

Now, I spend 5 minutes with my mask off after almost every dive and have even started to enjoy the feeling of having my mask off. Sometimes I even make a game out of navigating back to the boat or shore without my mask at all, but that I only reccomend after you have really become comfy without your mask and in good conditions with a buddy keeping an eye on you. DOn't sweat it. Just take some of the great advice here and keep practicing.

Some great advice here as always! I just wanted to add my own personal two cents.

 

[Aussie_pro]

I had the same problem as an open water diver. It was my first time wearing a hood and diving with gloves etc. only my problem was the actual removal and replace. The water was 32F and I was frozen before I even hit the bottom I got the mask off and started to panic because of the shock/cold and then really panicked when trying to put it back on. My snorkel got stuck and when I fixed that I had to deal with the hood issue. With the three fingered mittens that wasn't the easiest thing I have done diving. I have to say if it wasn't for my instructor holding me down I probably would have hit the surface really really really fast! My instructor managed to fix my hood and... sure enough... I got to redo the skill. Ask me if I was impressed! The second time around went much better and after the evaluation left the skill for a while.

When I did my advanced course we had near 0 vis and a few of the other divers had some really big problems with their dry suits. (we were doing dry suit cert. at the same time, did OW in 7mm wetsuits... was very cold!!!!) One diver had her feet completely come out of her fins because she was quite small and had rolled the legs up a bit on the suit to accommodate for her lack of height. When her feet popped out of her fins she panicked and grabbed on to me and in the process knocked off my mask at which point I almost panicked as well... Thankfully my brain took over and decided that I had to be this lady's 'rock' and help hold her down (air in her feet at this point). Our instructor found us, yay for lights, and helped her ... and I'm still sitting there, no mask, no idea what is going on and I wasn't planning on opening my eyes in the mud! It felt like forever before I someone was around me again and it was my instructor searching for my mask. He found it, I cleared it and went on with the dive. Ever since that experience I remove my mask every dive! Lucky for me too... a month later in South America (at least the water was warm this time) I was doing a safety stop and got nailed by another divers fin (they were also at the safety stop and had just started to leave) which knocked my mask off... it sunk! I finished my safety stop and counted on my buddy’s’ really big signals (and a tap/tug) to make it to the surface…

In cold water I find that splashing your face with water before you dive is a good thing, as already mentioned!!! It takes a bit of the shock away when you actually have to remove your mask later in a dive whether you choose to or not.
Practice, practice, practice, that's all you can do to become comfortable with a skill.

If you are diving with a group of people (I go diving with 4 or 5 other people on a regular basis) you can make a game of removing your mask. So long as you are in an area where you won't harm anything on the bottom, form a circle and play a mask passing game. Take yours off, pass it to the person on your right and put on the mask being passed to you then clear it ... and continue until you get yours back.
Another thing, if you find you can't do something like this diving or don't get to dive a whole lot... check with your dive shop (if they have a pool) of a local swimming pool and see if they have a night or some time when you can take scuba gear in the pool. It makes for a great place to practice (and its a little warmer too... and a hot shower after getting out doesn’t hurt any either!). Many dive shops will let you use the pool and some have special nights where anyone can come, use the pool and gear (the usual pool stuff) and just practice their skills.

Good luck to you and congrats on the way you handled the situation. Many a new diver in the same situation would have panicked, stopped breathing and darted for the surface! You are also right about continuing with your dive. If you hadn’t, your probably would have over thought the situation and would have had more anxiety going into future dives/training.

Happy diving and all the best
AP

 

[MikeFerrara]

If you are diving with a group of people (I go diving with 4 or 5 other people on a regular basis) you can make a game of removing your mask. So long as you are in an area where you won't harm anything on the bottom, form a circle and play a mask passing game.

You don't need the bottom. Learn to do it in a hover.

Instead of practicing putting on someone elses mask (that doesn't fit anyway) while kneeling which isn't really diving, practice doing if midwater with your buddy helping you out with depth monitoring if you need it. Practice no mask ascents and safety stops. What I'm getting at is integrate those mask skills with diving.

Most divers have to remove and replace their masks plenty of times in training. It doesn't help. Most of us still have these problems at one time or another when we're new divers...I did, my wife did and it got pretty dangerous a couple of times. Some divers never get over it and just go through their diving careers hoping the never have their mask off again. It happens because divers aren't taught these skills in a diving context so when it happens in a diving context...on a real dive...it's trouble

 

[spectrum]

I had a real nice post written at the onset of this thread but my computer ate it. Last famous words right?

Doing mask skills in a pool is one thing. Doing them on a tropical referral is not that different (though I have not). To me the rubber really his the road as the water gets colder, and I'm talking in the 60sF, let alone the 30s.

When the cold water hits your face all of those "don't inhale, you will drown" instincts come back, loud and clear. As much as you may have a nice breathing pattern while you are diving you need to set that aside and give your self permission to breathe in whatever raspy gasps you can manage while your face acclimates and you deal with the problem. If you fight to breathe as you normally dive you will become more distressed and subject to panic. As long as you are breathing the rest is probably just an inconvenience.

This also underscores the importance of using hoods and gloves in pool sessions. It also points out why divers who got their start in warm water need to have a cold water orientation with an instructor or mentor.

Pete