Student Trouble With Nose Breathing

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Conaire

New
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Location
Ohio, USA
# of dives
200 - 499
Long ish post, TL;DR at the bottom.

Hello SB, I am a divemaster assisting an instructor with a PADI Open Water course. In this particular class, there is a parent/teenager duo that I have been working closely with. The reason for this is the parent has been having trouble with nose breathing and consequently dealing with water in their mask.

We are on week three of their five week program and the student has been unable to stay down in the deep end longer than a minute or two and they are now getting frustrated because their difficulties are holding up their child's learning. They also have an international trip scheduled soon that they wanted to be certified for.

Due to this student's difficulties I have been working with them almost exclusively, walking them through in my best words how to focus on just breathing through the mouth while in the shallow end and just sitting and relaxing underwater to get the technique down. The Student does kind of alright while in the shallow end, but still complains of difficulty getting a full deep breath because they can't breathe through their nose. Once in the deep end they can only last about a minute underwater until they surface because of lack of deep breaths.

Last week I got the Student pretty comfortable and through many of the skills, the only one we had trouble with on the skills that can be done in shallow water was the 1 minute no mask breathing. Since last week, the student didn't practice at all (instructor recommended breathing at home with mask on focusing on not using nose) and this week they had regressed to hardly even being able to stay under in shallow water. They are now more frustrated than ever because they though they could just jump right back in this week and be at the same mental place as last week and that was not the case, further holding them and their kid up from finishing the class.

Anyway, my question to you SB dive professionals is what strategies do you recommend for students that have trouble with nose breathing I could try with this student? Any help is appreciated!
 
I would recommend the same as what the instructor said ("breathing at home with mask on focusing on not using nose"), but in the shower with the mask partially filled. Otherwise they won't exactly notice if they're not doing it wrong.

Good luck!
 
Hmm, it sounds like a minor physiological issue has developed into a more psychological one.

The problem now is that the student may have convinced themself that they are not physically able to do this and repeat attempts without any material change or outcome is only reinforcing their belief.

Just a thought, but have you tried a different mask. I'm not saying the existing mask isn't a good fit, but it may be that a tangible equipment change could convince the student that the outcome will be different, giving them the psychological boost to tackle the skill successfully.

Obviously this doesn't necessarily help for no mask breathing. With this skill I sometimes suggest to students that they angle their face down slightly. This does two things; first it routes the exhaust bubbles past their checks rather than towards the nose and eyes, and second it flattens out the nostrils to prevent the sensation of water ingress. Not saying this will definitely work, but maybe it will.

Regarding the feeling of breathlessness, the answer is obviously steady deep breaths and less physical exertion. If the student doesn't believe that they can breath as efficiently through their mouth, try to explain that the mouth provides a much larger and more direct air passage to the lungs. An analogy would be a runner breathing through their mouth to oxygenate the lungs.

Anyway, well done for persisting and looking for alternative solutions.

Good luck and keep us posted.
 
I’d ask them to do as much snorkeling as possible between lessons and an hour before lessons and just have some fun between them messing around picking stuff off the bottom.
 
Water in the mask - positioning, tightness? Did you try a different mask?

What is the body type and fitness level of the student?

How easy is it to breathe from that regulator? Sometimes the breathing resistance creates a feeling of shortness of breath which can be quite stressful for a new diver.

As for the nose/mouth breathing - maybe they can try snorkeling with goggles so the nose is exposed, this will force them to breath through the mouth only.

And after all, if an adult is not able to control simple body functions, maybe they are not fit to dive.
 
Thanks for everyone's responses! Some answers to questions:

Yes we gave them a few different types of masks to try including the old school "boxy" mask, a lower profile one, and a generous one with a lot of skirt. They currently own a Tusa Maximus HD (what I dive with).

On regulator I have let them borrow my Aqua Lung Legend with the valve 100% open to show them that is the best you're going to get, that reg isn't going to hold anything back.

Fit/body type: Very athletic late 40s/early 50s. Strenuous exercise every day is part of the job.

I like the snorkeling ideas, especially with goggles. The at home shower mask with water in it may be a good practice too...
 
Standing in the shallows, have them put their mask on FULL OF WATER. I start out all my students like this after the swim test. Now talk to them. Ask them about Boyles law. They may snort. They may fluster. But you are only hitting them with one skill: breathing through their mouth with water around their nose. One skill. If they pull their mask off, encourage them to refill it and try again. And again. And again. Soon, they'll be able to talk to you with water in their mask. Ask about their school or their kid's school. Once they are getting comfortable talking, tell them the mermaid joke. Why do mermaids wear seashells? A=> "B" shells are too small! They usually snort through their nose, clearing their mask. A couple more times clearing their mask above water, then just clear it while they are floating on the water. It doesn't matter if their mask rises a bit out of the water as they do this. Gravity works above and below the surface. When you introduce/teach this while on Scuba, the student is often overwhelmed with multiple issues. They are dealing with so many new variables that it's hard to isolate specific problems. This is the most common skill to go south during training. You won't have any additional issues after this if you start with a mask full of water.

Caveat: It's much easier to diagnose and remedy mask clearing issues above water rather than below. You can see if the mask is too tight/loose, you can see how the water streams (or not) out of the skirt.
 
what @The Chairman said works, we also have our students turn their masks around and breathe thru the snorkels while at the surface. You can talk at them while they're doing this for any sort of lectury type stuff or just let them go, doesn't matter, but it's important they are at the surface so they can pick their head up and with this student I'd be talking to them the whole time.
The goal of this exercise is for them to start out by inhaling thru the mouth, exhaling thru the nose. Once they can do that, then have them inhale thru the mouth, exhale thru the nose but start and stop the bubble streams every second or two. Next step is inhale thru the mouth, and SLOWLY exhale thru the nose, the "advanced" drills we have our students do is exhale a single bubble at a time thru one nostril, but for this it is about being able to control the exhalation thru the nose. Final step is breathing in and out of the mouth.
That progression does several real world benefits. First one is they are in shallow water and can pick their head up if they get uncomfortable so you are in a controlled position. Second is it gives them the breath control for clearing masks. Third is it gets them used to just not having a mask on which makes water in the bottom of the mask trivial but also preps them for the ability to just breathe without it.

So many instructors skimp on skin-diving skills, but if you have students that can do the drill above without batting an eye, you are not going to significantly minimize the risk of panic at any point once they get on scuba.
 
For all the issues I had, this is not one of them. Haven’t people ever had a stuffed up nose? I’m just confused how people cannot know how to breathe through their mouth.
 
This is a good topic. I agree that it is important for the student to get comfortable in a mask out of the water first. I've always been a swimmer and snorkeler and just got into diving around 4 years ago. Being underwater and breathing underwater is just different and not necessarily for everyone. As a swimmer I often would wear a nose clip/plug especially in wavy/choppy waters. The nose clip prevented water from coming in and forced me to breathe through my mouth. Not certain if it would work in this case but just throwing it out there. I also believe it will just take this student some time. Be patient as they say Rome wasn't built in a day. I know that this family has a timeline but the student has to reach that comfort level else they should just stick to snorkelling for now and maybe next year try again. Safety first - always.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

Back
Top Bottom