Who nose?

[Zeldah]

My wife had an issue in class while underwater with her mask off and getting water up her nose.

Our instructor pretty much said if you cannot go under water with your mask off without holding your nose he cannot certify you. He worked with her in the pool a bit (we had 20-25 mask clears every pool session) and she was finally able to swim around while we were buddy breathing without masks. She wasn't comfortable doing it by any means but she was able to complete the requirement.

I can see very easily why this would be a good thing. You're not going to be holding your nose the instant your mask gets knocked off (haven't had this happen myself) and you would need to be able to control the water from going up your nose and freaking yourself out into doing stupid things.

Hey Klinc - kudos to your wife for pushing through! Maybe have her look at post no 18 from G1138 - seems like we may be able to practice on dry land a bit too and control our nose breathing I am sure I could have passed the underwater swim without holding my nose, it would have been tough but doable and now with everything that has been said on here I feel a tad cheated that I may have been given an "easy pass". I would have continued working on it in the pool till I could do it but after the instructor told me I could hold my nose ...

Well that seemed a reasonable fix at the time and I took it :easy:

 

[hbhobby]

If I were the OP I would contact DAN and go see one of their ENT's (Ear Nose and Throat specalists) there are conditions that will not allow one to breathe without a mask or a plugged nose ( konw of one incident of a NAVY SEAL applicant who couldn't do this because of the said condition) best of luck and I hope it all works out well for you.

 

[Zeldah]

Zeldah, I suspect you will be fine with a little bit of practice. Sorry I missed the hyperbolic tone of your post and took it quite literally. These threads often continue on a meandering and hypothetical course long after the initial question is answered.

Coincidentally, a relevant thread just popped up that may interest you: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/347180-ever-lost-your-mask.html

Thanks Vlad - been there, read that Must admit that I spend about 3 hours per day on this board trying to learn all I can before my OW dives. Lots of great information out there and I feel a safer diver already knowing some of the things to avoid and of course some of the things to continue working on!!

 

[LenC]

Hey Klinc - kudos to your wife for pushing through! Maybe have her look at post no 18 from G1138 - seems like we may be able to practice on dry land a bit too and control our nose breathing I am sure I could have passed the underwater swim without holding my nose, it would have been tough but doable and now with everything that has been said on here I feel a tad cheated that I may have been given an "easy pass". I would have continued working on it in the pool till I could do it but after the instructor told me I could hold my nose ...

Well that seemed a reasonable fix at the time and I took it :easy:

I skipped the last few pages of the thread so I may be repeating others. As an instructor, my problem with this is that if you lose your mask under real water conditions you are going to need both hands. You will have to retrieve your mask and put it back on, which is going to be extremely difficult while one hand is being used to hold your nose. This is even more difficult in that you will probably have your eyes closed. So even though the standards may not require it, I think this is something you need to master.

Just because your instructor may have given you an "easy pass" is no reason you need to. Most shops I have worked with will let you go to their pool and play around, practicing skills without actually having to take a class. It isn't free, but not expensive either. Or you can request time from a DM or instructor and just focus on it. The chances are you will never lose your mask, but it would be nice to know that if it does happen you are prepared for it.

 

[2 Big 2 Fail]

I skipped the last few pages of the thread so I may be repeating others. As an instructor, my problem with this is that if you lose your mask ...

Is that because you view control of the nose as something that the OP should be able to accomplish with practice, or as an absolute, something that must be doable to dive? What of a diver who simply could not control the nose and had to hold it? What then of a one-armed diver? While he doesn't have to hold his nose, he nevertheless will have to recover from mishaps using only one arm. In fact, he will have to recover from ALL mishaps with one arm, not just a mask problem. (I do recognize the the one-armed diver doesn't have that very brief moment in which the nose is not controlled.)

I think an "easy pass" would be passing with an inability to respond effectively to one of the specified mishaps. Our one-armed diver (not a hypothetical at all, since that are some) can deal with the standard mishaps, and like all with limitations, doesn't go into special situations he can't accommodate.

 

[Zeldah]

I skipped the last few pages of the thread so I may be repeating others. As an instructor, my problem with this is that if you lose your mask under real water conditions you are going to need both hands. You will have to retrieve your mask and put it back on, which is going to be extremely difficult while one hand is being used to hold your nose. This is even more difficult in that you will probably have your eyes closed. So even though the standards may not require it, I think this is something you need to master.

Just because your instructor may have given you an "easy pass" is no reason you need to. Most shops I have worked with will let you go to their pool and play around, practicing skills without actually having to take a class. It isn't free, but not expensive either. Or you can request time from a DM or instructor and just focus on it. The chances are you will never lose your mask, but it would be nice to know that if it does happen you are prepared for it.

Thanks Len and you are correct I do not like knowing I passed something but did not really become a safer diver by doing it my way. I am going to mention this board and it's comments to the instructor when I see him again and maybe he can perhaps stress that you should work on this skill and not take the easy way out - even though he was the one that suggested it I will keep working on improving my skills and yes we can go use their pool for free so I will take advantage of that too! Thanks.

 

[Charlie99]

Zeldah -- G1138's comments about the soft palate are key to being able to breathe from a reg and not suck in water through your nose when your mask is off.

 

[LenC]

Is that because you view control of the nose as something that the OP should be able to accomplish with practice, or as an absolute, something that must be doable to dive? What of a diver who simply could not control the nose and had to hold it? What then of a one-armed diver? While he doesn't have to hold his nose, he nevertheless will have to recover from mishaps using only one arm. In fact, he will have to recover from ALL mishaps with one arm, not just a mask problem. (I do recognize the the one-armed diver doesn't have that very brief moment in which the nose is not controlled.)

I think an "easy pass" would be passing with an inability to respond effectively to one of the specified mishaps. Our one-armed diver (not a hypothetical at all, since that are some) can deal with the standard mishaps, and like all with limitations, doesn't go into special situations he can't accommodate.

I have no idea whether she can fix the problem with practice, but I would sure not give up on it. Snorting salt water at depth is not fun. If I heard that one of my students thought they got an "easy pass" from me, I would be rethinking my standards.

 

[Zeldah]

Zeldah -- G1138's comments about the soft palate are key to being able to breathe from a reg and not suck in water through your nose when your mask is off.

Hey Charlie99 - it sounded like an informed voice to me I am doing all I can to sort this out - heading to the hot tub in a minute for some practice as only 1 week to go till checkout dives

 

[BabyDuck]

zeldah, i'm a total nose-holder when jumping into water. i got lots of water in my nose at first when i took my mask off.

but - then i sorta 'got it' and learned to hold a bubble in my nostrils. when you take your mask off, blow some slow bubbles out your nose and then hold one almost coming out. this bit of pressure keeps water from going up your nose. it becomes second nature when you're able to be quiet in the water (like not jumping in, but while holding still or swimming calmly). so give that a try, too.