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Emma Carl

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Location
Manchester
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Hi All,

I need some advice please? I am new to diving (and forums), and have just done week three of my OW confined sessions with the OW one at the end of this month. Not only that but I am relatively new to swimming, and despite having done outdoor swimming in cold water, I still panic in water. I hate water in my face when I swim and panic if it goes up my nose..... so why dive? It was a gift from someone who know I like to push myself and after the initial panic of the first session, I am enjoying being under the water. (Still not happy with water when swimming). Due to a dodgy mask I bought, I can clear a partial mask but when trying to clear a fully flooded mask I inhale through my nose and choke. I am struggling with this and the thought of having to remove my mask sends waves of fear through me. I can't be the only one that has had this issue. Please can I have some advice on how to get over this. I have got a 1:2:1 session booked in very soon but I want to make the most of this and use the time to 'catch up' with the rest so I can enjoy the OW sessions rather than panic. I know I am being shown the 'worse case' skills so I need to get past this fear to get to the fun bit. I know I want to carry on hen I can trick my mind to accept I can do this. Any help and suggestions would be very welcome

Thanks
 
I struggled to clear using a snorkel (on a regulator it was fine) but I worked through the difficulty. It's definitely a skill you'll need, not a worse case thing so worth getting right. As suggested, practice elsewhere. It'll be worth it because diving is fantastic.
 
It's a long time since I worked as a scuba instructor, but when I did I had a couple of students who really really struggled with mask clearing and mask off excersises. I asked them to try celaring their masks under the shower until they really got used to the whole water on face thing. It worked really well. It is actually harder to fill the mask than it is to clear it under the shower - but the point was to get them used to the sensations and realise that they were not going to die. After that, I had them practice breathing on snorkel in the shallow part of the pool with flooded mask and then clearing and so on through normal mask clearing. They went on to pass their courses and became enthusiastic divers IIRC. Some people defintly struggle to breath through mouth and not nose, or vice versa, but it is a skill that can be learned by most.

One thing to remember with a flooded mask is to try and keep your nose down enough to stop water running back into it, which almost everyone hates, especially while clearing your mask. You do not really have to tilt your head back to clear your mask, but if you do, make sure you are blowing air out your nose to keep the water out. The other thing to keep in mind is that water up your nose feels bad but is normally harmless. Having said all that, if you are clearing your mask and regularly getting water up your nose you are not doing it right.
 
Thanks all, diving is something I'd admired from afar and never thought I would even have a go at let alone enjoy doing. I know this is a mental block I need to get over but the bath and shower ideas seem the way forward. I had considered these but thought they wouldn't be the same but understanding its more about getting used to it the that makes sense
 
Hi All,

I need some advice please? I am new to diving (and forums), and have just done week three of my OW confined sessions with the OW one at the end of this month. Not only that but I am relatively new to swimming, and despite having done outdoor swimming in cold water, I still panic in water. I hate water in my face when I swim and panic if it goes up my nose..... so why dive? It was a gift from someone who know I like to push myself and after the initial panic of the first session, I am enjoying being under the water. (Still not happy with water when swimming). Due to a dodgy mask I bought, I can clear a partial mask but when trying to clear a fully flooded mask I inhale through my nose and choke. I am struggling with this and the thought of having to remove my mask sends waves of fear through me. I can't be the only one that has had this issue. Please can I have some advice on how to get over this. I have got a 1:2:1 session booked in very soon but I want to make the most of this and use the time to 'catch up' with the rest so I can enjoy the OW sessions rather than panic. I know I am being shown the 'worse case' skills so I need to get past this fear to get to the fun bit. I know I want to carry on hen I can trick my mind to accept I can do this. Any help and suggestions would be very welcome

Thanks

Hi Emma. If you've got a 1 to 1 session with your instructor don't worry about trying to achieve too much beforehand as he/she will have their own strategy for helping you overcome this. It's quite common for new students to fear mask skills and most instructors will have experience getting people past this issue. The good news is that it is entirely fixable and once you've cracked it it'll be easy.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.
 
Hi! I am a recently certified diver, and didn't like the idea of clearing a fully flooded mask, either. My issue wasn't so much that water would go up my nose, but that I would just stop breathing completely, because I was so focused on the fact that my mask was off (and/or fully flooded). Although it may sound super simple, what really helped me was just to remind myself, especially as I was taking my mask off, that I have a regulator in my mouth, and I just need to keep breathing. It was still a little difficult, but I got through it by constantly reminding myself to just breath. I really like the idea of what others have said about practicing in the shower/bath - I think that is a fantastic way to work towards it. Also, some find it quite useful to practice breathing through their mouth only at random times in the day. Like, while you are reading this, perhaps. Pay attention to how much you breath out of your nose, and try to consciously breathe only out of your mouth. This exercise should get you used to "closing" (for lack of a better term) the passage to your nose, helping you not inhale water.

Just make sure you practice until you are comfortable with it - mask clearing is really not a "worst case" scenario; it will likely happen somewhat regularly.

Happy diving!!
-Mark
 
Not only that but I am relatively new to swimming, and despite having done outdoor swimming in cold water, I still panic in water.

Your bigger issue is that you're not comfortable in the water to begin with. Mask clearing can suck even for beginners that are comfortable in the water.

If I were you OP... I would find a local pool or other body of water and just spend some time swimming, floating, treading water, etc. and just work towards becoming more comfortable in the water in general.
 
I can't picture anyone other than a contortionist getting into a good position to clear a mask in a bathtub.

Depends on the bathtub.

@Emma Carl: when you breathe in, you suck water in the nose. Most people do, it takes practice to stop doing that and/or learn to live with it. It gets worse if you're few metres down with a bit of water pressure on top. And with a reg in your mouth, you can't even do this: How to Keep Water Out of My Nose (The Human Nose Clip) - part 2 (if you could do that at all).

You could try using soft palate to close off your nose and breathing through the mouth in the shower: press a hand to your upper lip to keep water from getting in your mouth. If you can get your face underwater in your bathtub, breathing through a snorkel in the bathtub could be something to try too.

PS. follow the link to "soft palate" aka "part 1" in the above blog post for the long explanation on how to use that.
 
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