Proper Exhale - mouth or nose or both

[ththooft]

Sustained oral breathing is not what we do in our surface lives so it becomes something of a learned skill for a new divers. Like all things diving it is an adaptation and for some it's a quicker process than others.

I totally agree. It's a change at first, but once you get used to it it's something you don't even think about. I run into a lot of mask fogging problems if I breathe out through my nose and that can ruin a dive since you can't see much clearly. Is there a pool or something that you can go to where you can just knell on the bottom and practice? Probably a little easier than jumping in the lake and learning in on the fly.

 

[drbill]

Unless I do it unconsciously, I don't exhale through my nose at all on ascents or descents. What I normally do is clear my mask at depth, which accomplishes pretty much the same thing.

The issue of mask fogging was one I was referring to as well. Likewise air getting trapped in the hood.

I've been diving so many decades, I can't remember what adjustments I had to make in my breathing when I first started. I do have a chronic problem with my nose that occasionally requires me to breathe with my mouth topside.

 

[harleythedog]

thanks to all the responses... profile updates as someone suggested.

My mask doesnt fog one bit when I exhale through nose. I think thats just because I dont exhale completely through nose but rather a mix of mouth and nose so its not a lot, but I can see that being an issue also on significantly longer dives.

The reason I was asking is that this weekend I spent some time in a pool giving a good buddy of mine a quick overview of basic skills. I am no expert by all means but hes somewhat intersted in getting OW and to see if he liked it we jumped in the pool. At one point I started showing him mask clearing, removing mask, etc.. and when I took my mask off I had a little trouble focusing enough to not breathe in through my nose (inhaled just a bit then remembered I couldnt do that). At this point I realized that breathing out of my nose as I have been doing doesnt allow me to refine that control (nose control if you will).

I figure I ask everyone else to get some feedback. I do appreciate it. As for me, will reinforce mouth only to promote more control over nose breathing. Will also spend another session in the pool just making sure I feel more comfortable. I was able to do it fine, but I like to practice. One more comment, I also realized that breathing out of my nose, I dont get as many bubbles, not sure why but I have less bubble obstruction when I use my nose. Maybe a better way to explain it is that I have smaller bubbles when I use my nose.

thanks

 

[HowardE]

hello,

forgive me for asking what may be a silly question but new to diving and wanted to clarify something.

When exhaling, is the proper technique to ONLY exhale through your mouth ? I have noticed that I exhale through both my mouth and nose, this breaks the seal on my mask just a tad, no water gets in because air is escaping. I can learn to just use my mouth to exhale, but the way I am doing it now seems pretty comfortable and normal at the moment.

Thanks for any feedback.

Whatever you feel most comfortable would be the correct answer. Don't worry about what's "right" or "improper" here... It your mask doesn't fog when you exhale through your nose, then do it. I frequently exhale equally through my nose or my reg, and it doesn't make a bit of difference with fogging. I never have fogging issues though... I also have a moustache, and have no leak issues either with exhaling through my nose.

 

[Tom Yerian]

Mouth is ideal although on descent you will need some nose to equalise pressure in the mask to prevent squeeze.

Having said that i tend to breathe out pretty much equally through my mouth and nose. (i) this causes my mask to fog and (ii) all the air goes from my mask into my hood which after a while creates some buoyancy and i look like a traffic cone. Its not a habit anyone should really copy.

I wouldnt worry about it too much.

To prevent from looking like a cone, burn a hole directly on top of hood, tap a grommet in hole;done! Now you won't look like a cone. Air will bubble out preventing lift on hood. ... Capt. Tom