Who nose?

[Zeldah]

So this is how it was:-

Sat at the bottom of the pool, took off my mask and proceeded to choke and swallow water for a minute until we could go up. My problem as a kid was that I could never swim under water without nose clips, nor could I dive in. I have tried blowing out my nose when I take the mask off but the instant I am done, water floods up my nose, ergo my struggle in pool classes. Needless to say that traumatised me greatly and I was not looking forward to pool day two where I would have to take my mask off again and swim around the bottom. As expected this did not go well and I had to surface before I totally drowned myself.

I had two different instructors - the first on day one not too helpful with my problem. The second on day two told me quite reasonably that I could take off my mask and hold my nose and do the swim which I did with no problems and no panic. I am getting to a point here honest .... I am doing my open water dives in a week and I would like to know from all you experienced divers if it is indeed o.k. to pinch my nose closed with mask off while I breathe through the reg? Will the instructors insist on me not holding my nose? I also cannot open my eyes underwater without panicking (maybe too strong a word but made me really uncomfortable) ... any hints on overcoming this too?

I really want to crack this as I did really enjoy the underwater part when my mask was on, it was a blast and I was good at all other safety drills. My 12 year old son who took the course with me said it was the best day of his life and is so excited to be going to do the checkout dives, I just need to know I can handle what comes my way!

Many thanks for any advice for the noob!

 

[Bubbletrubble]

First and foremost, you need to spend more time in a pool to become more comfortable in the water. If you can't open your eyes while diving (with a mask on), that's going to severely limit how much enjoyment you'll get out of the sport. That has to change. I'm very concerned about your comment regarding "panicking" when you open your eyes. Perhaps you meant to say that it would make you a little uncomfortable. If that's the case, start in the shallow end of the pool. Don your mask and try opening your eyes. If it becomes too much for you, stand up. Then try it again. If you can't get over this, you shouldn't be diving.

Practice maskless breathing with a snorkel. This should help with the nose issue.

It's important not to develop poor habits. Pinching the nose every now and then is acceptable to help equalize your ears. However, no one will conduct an entire dive while pinching his/her nose. Even if you could, that leaves only one other hand to do everything else. Most importantly, will you be able to conduct an air-share with your buddy with only one hand? Think about all of the task-loading that needs to be done during an air-sharing ascent.

Communicate to your instructor that you'll need a fair amount of work outside of class. Be patient. Good luck with everything.

 

[krawlings]

Like bubbletrubble said practice in the shallow section of the pool and if you don't have a pool to use you could put your head under water in your bath tub . ayaou can allso any time work on breathing just through your moth with out any air going through your nose . With a little practice you will get used to it . GOOD LUCK

 

[Zeldah]

Ermmm sorry guys in my mind I am saying the right things

I can swim with a mask on normally and enjoy every minute of it! I just have a problem opening eyes with mask off when in water. Also only hold my nose when mask is off. I have snorkelled for many years and am comfortable in water until my mask is off. I can clear it fine but anything longer without holding my nose seems to be a problem.

Should have clarified better - new to this

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Practice maskless breathing with a snorkel. (Yeah, I realize I've already said this.)

FYI, no one says you have to open your eyes when clearing a completely flooded mask.
I wear contact lenses, so that's a pretty good reason not to open my eyes during mask clearing.

 

[Zeldah]

Thanks Bubbletrubble, I will practice but just really need to know whether it is acceptable to hold your nose if you need to - like sitting on the bottom for a minute with mask off. Would an instructor have a problem with me holding my nose?

I remember having my swim instructors trying to get me to not hold my nose as a kid and I always just ended up choking .... makes me wonder about an old dog learning new tricks!

 

[vladimir]

I will practice but just really need to know whether it is acceptable to hold your nose if you need to - like sitting on the bottom for a minute with mask off. Would an instructor have a problem with me holding my nose?

A competent one certainly would. You have to be at ease without your mask. What if it gets kicked off during a dive (fairly common)? There are some good strategies for overcoming this (again, fairly common) problem, but it may be that scuba diving is not the hobby for you.

 

[Karibelle]

@Zeldah, while it will be beneficial for you to get comfortable enough underwater to not hold you nose, there is nothing in the standards of a PADI course the precludes you from doing so. Personally, when I evaluate this skill in confined water I watch to see how comfortable the student is, as that is a measure of "mastery" of the skill. Do I expect all students to execute the skill in exactly the same way? No. Is it easier for some students to "master" a skill than others? of course. Have I ever said to a student "You fulfilled the performance requirement but I didn't like that you held your nose"? No, I haven't.

@bubbletrouble, it doesn't sound like the problems are with what you've stated: "If you can't open your eyes while diving (with a mask on), that's going to severely limit how much enjoyment you'll get out of the sport." Of course this is true, but it doesn't sound like this is the OP's problem. As you yourself have stated, many of us don't like to open our eyes when our mask is off. To the OP, I say, then keep your eyes closed.

Oh and BTW, I do realize that the above post make me an "incompetent instructor" according to @vladimir. So be it.

 

[Zeldah]

A competent one certainly would. You have to be at ease without your mask. What if it gets kicked off during a dive (fairly common)? There are some good strategies for overcoming this (again, fairly common) problem, but it may be that scuba diving is not the hobby for you.

Here is my thought on this - if my mask comes off in the water, guess what I'll do first? I'll hold my nose because that is what I am comfortable doing. Then I would hopefully pull out my spare mask, don it, clear it and off I would go. Surely it is similiar to opening your eyes underwater - yes the instructors would prefer you opened them but if not comfortable you are not forced to.

Everyone is saying diving might not be for me. I feel I can do everything as well as anyone with the one exception of an occassional nose hold with mask off. I will keep working on this skill but don't think I should be penalised for knowing my comfort levels - safety first and I can sit down there all day holding my nose.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Have I ever said to a student "You fulfilled the performance requirement but I didn't like that you held your nose"? No, I haven't.

You're really missing out on a teaching opportunity there. You could explain to the student why it would be good to exceed the minimum PADI requirements for that particular skill. Maybe this might inspire the student to practice the skill more and become a safer diver.

@bubbletrouble, it doesn't sound like the problems are with what you've stated: "If you can't open your eyes while diving (with a mask on), that's going to severely limit how much enjoyment you'll get out of the sport." Of course this is true, but it doesn't sound like this is the OP's problem. As you yourself have stated, many of us don't like to open our eyes when our mask is off. To the OP, I say, then keep your eyes closed.

If you look at the original post carefully, you'll see that the OP has recently revised the post for clarification. I now understand what the OP was talking about. It wasn't clear to me at the time I made my posts.