nose vent?

[SailNaked]

It is possible that the regulator was miss adjusted and was providing too much pressure, it was a simple regulator without any adjustment. we noticed it on the open water dives so we just gave him a larger tank and did some stuff like holding his nose to see if he could learn to stop it. I think he could sometimes.
at first I had no clue what to do then the more I thought about it, and tried to duplicate it myself with forcing positive pressure the more I figured it was a muscle control issue or something that could be controlled and not a birth defect of some kind. He could take his mask off and would not bubble then but he may have been holding his breath, and I did not notice it during the no mask swim.

 

[cutlass]

...If you think about how you breathe with a regulator, you really are controlling airflow by pressure changes, not by closing your VP valve. ... Mike

Now you did it So I'm experimenting and making all this gurgling and gagging sounds and, of course, in walks the clerk with some billing questions and I get the weird eyeballs -- again..... Anyway, I'll go along with what you said. But, so is it true that shutting the VP valve is more related to momentarily damming any nasally inspired water until it can be snorted out before taking the next breath?

 

[doctormike]

Now you did it So I'm experimenting and making all this gurgling and gagging sounds and, of course, in walks the clerk with some billing questions and I get the weird eyeballs -- again..... Anyway, I'll go along with what you said. But, so is it true that shutting the VP valve is more related to momentarily damming any nasally inspired water until it can be snorted out before taking the next breath?

Hahaha... Well, if you really want to know for sure, come by my office with your regulator, and I'll put the scope in your nose while you breathe and we can make a movie...

There are a series of protective reflexes that happen when water gets close to your airway (larynx), and to a lesser extent, the back of your nose. This is because we have the evolutionary design flaw of having our air and food passages crossing, unlike the better designed dolphins and whales. So the reflexes kick in to prevent us from drowning in our Dr. Pepper or our Jack and Coke...

Normally, the VP valve closes during certain types of speech (e.g. the "k" sound), but it also closes during swallowing. This is because the body needs to seal off the air leak through the nose to allow for pressure to build up in the throat which helps force food down the esophagus. A similar thing happens if you just stimulate the back of the nose (for example, with sea water).

M

 

[cutlass]

Hahaha... Well, if you really want to know for sure, come by my office with your regulator, and I'll put the scope in your nose while you breathe and we can make a movie...
....
M

Oh great. Now you've given me an itch to try that....

 

[tracydr]

Have him try snorkeling with swim goggles in the pool. This is how I practiced not inhaling through my nose. Snorted up half the pool learning, though.