water up nose problem

[ScubaTwo]

Did anyone else have to go from one end of the pool to the other with just the regulator not mask? I really had to concentrate cause I breath thru my nose most of the time. Some how by the grace of God lol I didnt breath water. Practice practice

 

[Buoyant1]

Yeah..my DM had me swim with a reg and no mask..that actually seemed easier than just sitting there without the mask on (remember the bubble issue in my first response)

 

[ScubaTwo]

Yeah..my DM had me swim with a reg and no mask..that actually seemed easier than just sitting there without the mask on (remember the bubble issue in my first response)

Yes I remember was just trying to give some encouragement to the original poster

 

[toodive4]

While not taught in training, there is no law against pinching your nose when your mask is off.... Take a deep breath before removing your mask... remove your mask and pinch your nose with your right hand / hold mask in left hand (breathing out very tiny tiny bubbles... replace your mask using both hands and then clear it by blowing your remaining air through your nose... If the instructor says that's not allowed... ask him where in the book it says so... I'm an Instructor and I guarantee there is no rule against it... I teach it to my students who struggle with mask clearing all the time... Eventually you should be able to ween yourself from the nose pinch with practice.

I'm having problems breathing through my regulator without my mask on. Such as when replacing a mask at depth. When I breath out my nose and then try to take a breath from the regulator I keep accidently breathing throught my nose. Does anyone have any tricks to over come this.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[mer-maiden]

thanks to this thread I was finally able to take my mask off and put it back on 6 times in the pool the other day.

 

[JodiBB]

While not taught in training, there is no law against pinching your nose when your mask is off.... Take a deep breath before removing your mask... remove your mask and pinch your nose with your right hand / hold mask in left hand (breathing out very tiny tiny bubbles... replace your mask using both hands and then clear it by blowing your remaining air through your nose... If the instructor says that's not allowed... ask him where in the book it says so... I'm an Instructor and I guarantee there is no rule against it... I teach it to my students who struggle with mask clearing all the time... Eventually you should be able to ween yourself from the nose pinch with practice.

That's so interesting, because I had this problem last night...and I was NOT allowed to hold my nose with my hand!! If I could have done this, this exercise wouldn't have been an issue, but my instructor wouldn't let me and I ended up choking on water with the regulator in my mouth!

I can clear my mask when water leaks into it no problem, but the exercise in CW when you have to take off the mask and breathe off the regulator for a minute and then put the mask back on has me stumped. With the mask on, I can breathe off the regulator no problem and swim around the bottom of the pool...All of the other tasks we've been asked to I've had NO problem with...so why can't I get over this??

Any feedback would be appreciated!

 

[Heffey]

I had a big problem with this as well.
I did everything the instructor and assistant suggested and nothing worked.
Finally I decided to try different head positions and found one that worked.
I found when I tip my head down slightly I don’t get water up my nose while breathing with mask off or flooded. If I don’t get my mask cleared with the first breath I just tip my head forward a bit take a breath then back slightly to finish my mask clearing. If I inhale while my head is vertical or tipped back I suck water every time. Just a few degrees forward tilt is all that is need for me. This technique became second nature very quickly.
I did my OW dives last week. Mask flood & clear, mask removal & replacement were absolutely no problem.
Hope this helps.
Jeffrey

 

[JodiBB]

Jeffrey....you didn't find that putting your head down caused the bubbles to go up your nose??

I guess tomorrow (I'm giving my body the day off today) I'm going into the bathtub and trying different ways to breathe off the snorkle without my mask...practice makes perfect I guess!

I am determined NOT to allow this to stop me from diving!!

 

[markfm]

I was cruddy on the mask clear in confined water, dry suit, then did OK in the OW, VERY cold but got it. A week ago there was a club pool day at our LDS, I just spent an hour doing reg remove/replace, swimming without a mask, mask remove/replace. It simply "clicked", swimming laps without a mask or randomly doing remove/replace. This really does seem to be a sport of "body memory" -- get something right, practice it until it really is automatic, then remember to follow up and keep redoing the basic things.
Good luck -- you'll get it!

 

[scubafool]

While not taught in training, there is no law against pinching your nose when your mask is off.... Take a deep breath before removing your mask... remove your mask and pinch your nose with your right hand / hold mask in left hand (breathing out very tiny tiny bubbles... replace your mask using both hands and then clear it by blowing your remaining air through your nose... If the instructor says that's not allowed... ask him where in the book it says so... I'm an Instructor and I guarantee there is no rule against it... I teach it to my students who struggle with mask clearing all the time... Eventually you should be able to ween yourself from the nose pinch with practice.

Is pinching the nose a technique used just to help a student to get past the issue, or do you let them pinch the nose when removing the mask to pass the course?