New and not doing well

[spacemanspiff1974]

Here is a method that I would suggest.

1. Put your mask on in the bath tub.

2. Hold your breath.

3. Lean back so that the water is over your face and flood your mask.

4. Sit up with a flooded mask on your face and breathe through your mouth.

5. Just breathe through your mouth for a minute with a flooded mask to relax.

6. Press against the upper portion of your mask (towards your face, not downward).

7. Exhale through your nose.

Once you get this down, it will be easy to do in the pool.

 

[AnnaL]

Wow! I can't believe I got so many replies in less than 24 hrs! Thank-you so much to all of you!:10:
Lots of excellent advice and encouragement on how to master the skill and get comfortable with being underwater overall. I have to wonder why my instructor could not give me any of that advice though. He had me flood the mask by opening the top seal for 3 seconds before trying to clear it. Looking at him doing it, the mask was 3/4 flooded at that point. It would have made a lot of sense to try in smaller steps. I asked him several times if he could recommned any practice I could do on my own in the pool and he could not give me ANY.
I wish I had joined this board before I signed up for the class.
I went to see my doctor today and she found that my sinus is swollen and I have liquid in my ears. So I am being prescribed antibiotics and decongestants. I am sure all of that did not help. Being my first time I really did not know what to expect and I took it hard.
I will talk to the dive shop. I obviously should not be doing my practice on sunday with my sinus being infected. This course was supposed to be 2 sessions as it is 1:1. But the first night the pool time was a little over 1 hr and the expectation was to go thru 3 modules. I was told that most people can do it. And when the instructor told me that most people master the mask clearing right away, I definitely started to think that perhaps this simply was not for me. It just went from bad to worse after that. I will talk to the shop to a) see if I can get a different instructor. I am spending a good amount of money on this.b) I will ask for more time, even though probably that will mean more money. If they don't cooperate, I will let it go and try somewhere else. It means I probably won't be able to do this before I go on my trip in july, but I can continue later. Above all this is supposed to be FUN.
If anyone from Portland, OR reads this thread I would love to hear recommendations about dive shops around the area and if you are considering diving lessons I can share the shop info with you.
Thanks SO much. YOU ARE AWESOME. I'll keep you posted.
Anna

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Definitely try Walter's method ... I've had a few students who just couldn't "get it", and I've had them use this method. It works.

Oh ... and it does sound like you should use a more helpful instructor ... then again, you've found several right here ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[webjr]

the pool time was a little over 1 hr and the expectation was to go thru 3 modules.

You paid for private 1:1 instruction and the instructor wants to rush you though 3 modules in 1 hour ?
Even though some people could learn the minimum required skills in that time , ample time should be allotted to just relaxing underwater , practicing fin technique and whatever else needs a little extra attention .
I'd recommend insisting on a change of instructors .

 

[RonFrank]

Welcome to SB!

You have already been provided some great advice, and I'll echo Walter in that doing this in the pool is the way to go!

One thing I'm not sure I've seen discussed is what type of mask are you using? This really should not matter much, but a lower volume mask (Mares XVision/Aqualung Mythos are two that come to mind) is going to be easier to clear than a higher volume mask.

Just something else to think about, however the process is the same for all masks (with the exception of purge valves), so it's a matter of volume, not technique which you still need to practice.

I also echo the thoughts of maybe getting a new instructor. If he is NOT encouraging you, the end result is that you are getting discouraged, which is not a good way to approach diving.

Stick with it. Mask clearing from what I've read and heard from instructors is the number one problem for new students. You are not alone in your initial delimma, and you should be able to solve this.

As for ears, if it has not been said, don't dive congested, use sudifed if you must (make sure it's not going to wear off during the dive), and clear early and often.

Ear problems are also very common, and the number one scuba related injury. Don't force clear, and remember to go up and try clearing again if you can't clear. Pools are actually harder on the ears then OW from my experience.

 

[RJP]

One person here alluded to the biggest cause of difficulty here I think, and that is that most new people try to "clear" their mask - that is to say they are trying to blow the water out of the mask by exhaling forcefully.

In reallity you are not trying to blow the water out, you are simply attempting to fill the mask with air, which will replace the water.

If you exhale forcefully the air will leave the mask; that air does NOT replace water so the water stays in.

Try it once by exhaling as SLOWLY as you can - you'll see that the water in the mask drains out just as if you were above water and lifted the bottom edge.

 

[Ginger]

Hi Anna,

Your experience sounds so much like mine when I was trying to master the basic skills, we could be the same person!! I battled mask stuff and had to try a few times before I really executed the CESA well.

Just a couple of weeks ago, my husband and I went through a refresher because we haven't been in the water for awhile and at the close of the pool session, the instructor told us she'd dive with either of us anytime. We easily demonstrated that we could look after ourselves and each other. Now, I'm not a very experienced diver... certified in 2001 but with ony about 30 dives in my log, so her words mean a great deal to me.

I was successful in overcoming the skills problems and I feel sure you will be too.

Here are some things that helped me.

Remember that as long as you can breathe through your mouth (with reg or snorkle) there is no crisis.

When flooding the mask, I generally do so by edging one finger under the skirt at the side of the mask. That lets me control the amount of water that comes in and the speed.

When actually clearing your mask, remember to look UP.

Tilt your head back so the water is sitting at the bottom of your mask resting against the skirt and your upper lip.

Then use either or both hands and press firmly on the top of the mask, to hold the top of the skirt against your forehead. This forces the air you exhale to bubble out the bottom, taking most of the water with it. If the mask is too tight, this is harder to do than with one that really fits correctly.

If there's some water left in the mask, inhale again through your mouth, tip your head back, hand to forehead and exhale again. Slow and steady, no crisis, remember?

It's not a race and it's not the ability to clear in one breath that's important. Being able to clear the mask is the goal... whether it takes one breath or several.

Once you have the confidence in your ability to clear your mask of water, you'll also be able to know that if you remove your mask, you'll be able to get it back on and clear. I always get a little water in my nose during this skill, and the trick there is to continously exhale lightly through your nose while the mask is off, just a very tiny stream of bubbles. As long as you can breathe through your mouth, there is no crisis.

I was so glad, on my first dive after cert, that I'd taken the time to really master both these skills during training. There was an overeager photographer in my dive group and as she swooped down in front of me, her fin caught my mask. It ended up off my face, but since I'd practiced this skill until it was second nature, I was able to retrieve it, replace it and clear it. She also managed to partially dislodge my reg (and never even noticed what she'd done.) No muss, no fuss I reseated it in my mouth... and now when another diver is too close, I put up one hand to deflect the fins<G>.

Be patient with yourself and if the instructor isn't helpful in coaching you to overcome the problem, it's time to discuss another instructor.

I look forward to your celebratory post about getting into open water for your first ocean dive. It is an experience like nothing else and so worth the training difficulties!

Welcome to the Board and welcome to diving.

Ginger

 

[Walter]

Anna,

You are 100% correct, being ill and attempting to dive is not a good idea. Get better first, then try again.

Also, it sounds like you're being rushed way more than is normal even for classes that are way too fast paced. If you paid for private lessons, you should get more time in the pool, not less. If you are an unusual person who can zoom through things, great. I know I wasn't. I had a hard time learning to dive.

I schedule 16 hours of pool work for my open water classes. Often, my private students do finish faster because all my attention is devoted to them and all the time is spend with them working on skills instead of waiting for others, but to expect someone to complete everything in 2 hours of pool work is ridiculous.

Anna, you can do this, but get well before trying. Please stay in touch and let me know how things are going.

I've been teaching Jr. High for 10 years and have a fairly good idea of what it takes to break information into parts which can be understood by someone who is having difficulty with a concept. That is by far the most effective ways I have EVER seen this skill expalined and tackled....man...if you aren't a scuba instuctor....you ought to be!

Thanks. I started teaching diving about 10 years before you started teaching Jr. High. To give credit where it is due, this is the method my instructor used to teach me.

Definitely try Walter's method ... I've had a few students who just couldn't "get it", and I've had them use this method. It works.

Use it with all of them and you'll have fewer who can't get it.

 

[rjpv]

I struggled a little with this and it still usually takes me several breaths to clear a fully flooded mask.

My big problem at first was that I was "too helpful" encouraging the water to leave the mask by breaking the seal at the bottom a bit. All I really ended up doing was letting more water in! I find it much better just to press down firmly on the top of the mask, look a bit up and exhale strongly through the nose.

Also make sure your mask fits... if it leaks (once mine wasn't tightened enough) clearing becomes problematic.

Oh and PS: maybe your instructor was just having a bad day or something, but if he keeps being unhelpful (not giving advice is pretty useless!) then I'd say look for a new one - no big deal if he hassles you about mask clearing, but a bigger deal if he continues to hassle you during the OW dives.

 

[426Scuba]

Anna,

If I have any problems underwater I like to make my self a quick check list.

1. Can I breathe? If so then it’s not a big deal.
2. Tell myself to stay calm.
3. Identify the problem. I.e. mask is full of water.
4. Form a way to resolve your problem. I.e. see if my buddy can help, or will I fix it on my own.
5. Tell myself to stay calm.
6. Fix the problem.
7. Take a deep breath and tell yourself your fine.
8. Check you’re self out: Is my air ok? Am I ok? Do I need to go up? Is my buddy near? ...
9. When I have time I evaluate the problem I had.

I have found this short little check list will help you out of problems that seemed big when they first happen. And after you practice it a few times it becomes automatic.

Note: Sometimes I will also close my eyes. I find I will calm down faster when I do that.

Don't give up!

And remember none of us were born with gills, but we wish we were.