Second pool session, thinking of quitting

[24940]

One question for those instructors on here. One of the things that shook me was him refusing my hand signals. Was that an appropriate response? His stance is that he wanted us to solve our problems underwater, which I completely understand is what will be needed in actual diving but this was day 1, hour 3 in the pool (and I've never had a mask nor snorkel on). He also did not give me any tips/methods to go home and work through it which I found a bit odd. He was encouraging when I left saying that it happens all the time and not to beat myself up over it.

It's your right to refuse any request to perform any skill for any reason you see fit. I always make this clear on the first night and it seems to alleviate some tension. A students potential for success is often determined on the first night. The progression should include some degree of comfort as a check point prior to moving to the next skill.

When I encounter a student with issues, I may work with them or I may give them something to work on until they achieve a degree of comfort which will allow them to continue.

OW class is a lot to digest. You are bombarded with new information and for some, a new environment. Comfort in the new environment is crucial to learning new skills and can't be rushed. "Hurry up and get comfortable" isn't much help.

Congrats on starting OW.

 

[BigdogDown]

I signed my wife and I up and we have been doing the study sessions together and having some fun with it. The first pool session went pretty well but was a little scarier than I thought it would be.

I figured it would get easier/less scary by the second pool but I was wrong

Let me tell you my specific issue. It all comes down to the skill where you have to take your mask off, put it back on and clear it.

I am middle aged. My whole life I have never been able to swim without nose plugs. Water in the nose, down the back of my throat, then getting sick. But put on nose plugs and no problem, I am a fish. I can swim for hours. Whether this is a mental issue, physiological, or faulty swim lessons at the YMCA, I don't know. But it has always been an issue for me.

I figured SCUBA would not be an issue because I get to wear my nice mask like when I snorkel (love to snorkel, never had a problem with it) and my nose is enclosed.

But haha, the joke was on me! I went out and dumped a couple thousand dollars for some basic gear and lessons and then on the first night the instructor is making us take off our masks! Whoops!

So I did as he asked, I was at the bottom of the pool and I took off my mask. But of course I immediately took my other hand and pinched off my nose so I didnt have water streaming down my throat. The instructor motions me to let go of my nose. I refuse. I then put my mask back on and cleared it. We went up top and he asked me what was up, I told him I had to hold my nose. He said we would work on that.

Last weekend I took the mask and snorkel to a local pool to do some practice but it was not to be. Even in 3 feet of water I just cant do it. I pretty much made up my mind right then and there and told my wife that I was going to have to quit the class because I cant/won't take my mask off without pinching off my nose. She sighed as the only reason she is in this class (she is doing great btw) was to humor me.

You guys all seem like pros and I think I am the only person who has this water issue. Whether it is a phobia or some kind of deviated septum/nasal issue, I really couldn't tell you. All I can say is I have had it forever and I guess I didn't realize it would be a deal breaker on the SCUBA. I feel like a fool.

I have to say I have never had the problem that you speak of with my nose, I have done mask ditch and don's at over 150 ft, it's a skill you just have to master. Though I did have an incident where the water going up my nose combined with many other things to send me into panic, and shoot me to the surface from on 45ft. My point is that you are REALLY not alone, anybondy doing any amount of diving has had some little problem that made them question their commitment to the sport.

I would offer this : Try while breathing through your regulator, drive your tongue to the roof of your mouth as hard as you can. Make it a habit. You can't breathe through your nose while doing this, and you won't get any water going down your nose either. it's a response in your nasopharynx that closes it off from your oropharynx, thus not allowing you to breathe through your nose. then breathe normally through your mouth and relax, cause you just mastered one of the most important skills in diving!!

 

[boliver_69]

I have the same problem. I am a bad nose breather, I can't stand taking the mask off, doing fill and purge, or pretty much any exercise that includes water going near my nose. my instructor had us hold the pool edge and put our face in the water with no mask and take turns breathing out through our nose and through our mouth/regulator.
It really help me get some control of my tendency to suck water up my nose.
I was (and still am a bit) scared of the water too, the one big thing that made the difference was realizing that I can cough, throw up, and gag into my regulator all i want and keep breathing. So even when I do snort up half the pool or gulf (and I do!) I just cough through it and keep trying! Try one of the mask strap covers too, it makes it easier to get it back on fast!

 

[Lee Taylor]

You guys all seem like pros and I think I am the only person who has this water issue. Whether it is a phobia or some kind of deviated septum/nasal issue, I really couldn't tell you. All I can say is I have had it forever and I guess I didn't realize it would be a deal breaker on the SCUBA. I feel like a fool.

Ok brother Nebrunner. I read through a dozen or so of the responses and I did not see what I was looking for. The BIG secret. The BIG deal. The ANSWER to the problem. The RESOLVE. There is a simple way to keep water from going up your nose. Very few people know this. I am gonna let you have it for free. I know this because I had the same problem except worse when I was a kid. Here is is: One day a kid told me to blow just a little air out of your nose when you jump in the water. If you are underwater do the same. Just a little bit. After a while you learn that a tiny bit of air comming out of your nose just simply will not allow any water in. I mean none. Not a bit. It works like a charm. Ok. Now you have it. The holy of holies. The big mystery revealed.

Charleston SC Scuba Club

 

[barkeep3514]

Hey buddy don't give up just yet once your mask is off try gently blowing air out you nose until the mask is back on that should prevent any water from entering
Good luck

 

[24940]

The problem comes when they have to inhale. I think your technique is perfect.... If you can explain how to exhale through the nose, while inhaling through the mouth.

Ok brother Nebrunner. I read through a dozen or so of the responses and I did not see what I was looking for. The BIG secret. The BIG deal. The ANSWER to the problem. The RESOLVE. There is a simple way to keep water from going up your nose. Very few people know this. I am gonna let you have it for free. I know this because I had the same problem except worse when I was a kid. Here is is: One day a kid told me to blow just a little air out of your nose when you jump in the water. If you are underwater do the same. Just a little bit. After a while you learn that a tiny bit of air comming out of your nose just simply will not allow any water in. I mean none. Not a bit. It works like a charm. Ok. Now you have it. The holy of holies. The big mystery revealed.

Charleston SC Scuba Club

 

[TSandM]

One of the things that shook me was him refusing my hand signals. Was that an appropriate response? His stance is that he wanted us to solve our problems underwater

I think it's a big judgment call on the part of the instructor. When I was doing my checkout dives, I got water in my throat and began to choke. I gave the instructor the thumb, and she refused it -- Shook her head and said, "No.". I repeated the signal, with emphasis, and again got the "No!". I stayed underwater, solved the problem, and learned one of the most valuable lessons I've learned in scuba thus far, which is that I CAN control that "I want out of here NOW" feeling and go on to be calm and find solutions. It has served me well in at least one near-panic producing episode, a year later.

You don't want to keep somebody underwater when they really need not to be there, but making someone stay a bit longer than they want to was certainly very constructive in my case.

 

[dive pro]

I signed my wife and I up and we have been doing the study sessions together and having some fun with it. The first pool session went pretty well but was a little scarier than I thought it would be.

I figured it would get easier/less scary by the second pool but I was wrong

Let me tell you my specific issue. It all comes down to the skill where you have to take your mask off, put it back on and clear it.

I am middle aged. My whole life I have never been able to swim without nose plugs. Water in the nose, down the back of my throat, then getting sick. But put on nose plugs and no problem, I am a fish. I can swim for hours. Whether this is a mental issue, physiological, or faulty swim lessons at the YMCA, I don't know. But it has always been an issue for me.

I figured SCUBA would not be an issue because I get to wear my nice mask like when I snorkel (love to snorkel, never had a problem with it) and my nose is enclosed.

But haha, the joke was on me! I went out and dumped a couple thousand dollars for some basic gear and lessons and then on the first night the instructor is making us take off our masks! Whoops!

So I did as he asked, I was at the bottom of the pool and I took off my mask. But of course I immediately took my other hand and pinched off my nose so I didnt have water streaming down my throat. The instructor motions me to let go of my nose. I refuse. I then put my mask back on and cleared it. We went up top and he asked me what was up, I told him I had to hold my nose. He said we would work on that.

Last weekend I took the mask and snorkel to a local pool to do some practice but it was not to be. Even in 3 feet of water I just cant do it. I pretty much made up my mind right then and there and told my wife that I was going to have to quit the class because I cant/won't take my mask off without pinching off my nose. She sighed as the only reason she is in this class (she is doing great btw) was to humor me.

You guys all seem like pros and I think I am the only person who has this water issue. Whether it is a phobia or some kind of deviated septum/nasal issue, I really couldn't tell you. All I can say is I have had it forever and I guess I didn't realize it would be a deal breaker on the SCUBA. I feel like a fool.

Hola from Cancun
I find this to be very common and nothing to worry about, I recommend, practice going in a shallow pool and go underwater breathing out your nose and hold it then practice not holding it your body will remember, we were all in water before we were born, as and Instructor I have my students first fill the mask a little bit, then on pool session 2 or 3 I make them remove the mask and no mask swim, I have encountered a handful of people that just need to hold their nose (it is more in your head than in your nose) and I have let them do it as long as they can perform the skill and get all the water out of the mask, under water after certification you may encounter a problem where you need to get water out of your mask while holding a camera or something but in general I believe you can achieve this skill even if you have to hold your nose as long as you can perform the skill there are no standards that state you cannot hold it.....please dont give up it is a wonderful world down there. Take this as a minor thing dont make it a big deal, practice breathing through the regulator without a mask and little by little try to let go, thats what I would make you do even if it takes some time, but i would not give up on you, YOU CAN DO IT, PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW YOU ADVANCE ON THIS ONE....DO NOT QUIT.

 

[chris9562]

Cor Blimey, if we didn't have to learn anything in life and could do everything perfectly 1st time, life would be real boring )

Don't worry. Everyone goes through life and finds they want to do something, and has to learn how 1st.

Chillax, you'll be fine. learn a method that suits you and you'll floating over the coral and darting after dolphins before you know it )

 

[sdahl38]

I cna't believe how familiar this all is sounding.

I just had my second pool session last night and have the third tonight. Last night we did the breathing underwater for 1 minute with mask off and then putting the mask on and clearing it.

I really did not have that much trouble breathing with the mask off (a bit uncomfortable but manageable), the problem came when it was time to put the mask back on and clear it. I can't exhale through my nose! I must have tried for like two minutes but was constantly just exhaling out my mouth. The problem seems to be that I can exhale out my nose if my mouth is closed but with the regulator in it a no go. I am sitting here at my desk trying to practice breathing in with my mouth and out with my nose with my mouth open hoping this practice is going to help. Any other suggestions?