Wife is a nose breather any advice

[LoonDiver]

Greetings brunow and first and foremost let your wife read most of the posts afore mentioned. As previously mentioned YOU CAN OVERCOME THIS WITH PRACTICE!
I would know because I was ONE of the WORST nose breathers my instructor ever had to train.
I could not handle any water on my nose at all. My brain just went crazy!
I got so upset that it derailed a entire pool session. I completed all the skills minus mask removal and no mask swim. I was determined to conquer my brain reflex.

I went home put my mask on and wore the thing constantly. If it fogged I knew I was breathing through my nose. I flooded it in the shower and took my shower everyday.
After a week of intense mask surface technique I went into a private pool session that I was determined to overcome it. It was not easy, I sputtered a little but I found that with practice and determination I could do it.

Actually I was more comfortable without the mask at all but I still blew air out my nose some. I have to concentrate even now not to blow air out my nose at times.
The key is to as others have said break it down into small steps and get comfortable.
It would be best to schedule a private pool session and if you attend stay away from the water or go to another area. LET HER CONQUER THIS ON HER OWN!
That is paramount in her diving future! I am not saying that you can not encourage her by all means do so. I found that it super charged my confidence and when OW came I sailed right through the skill with no issues at all.

I found that I feel much more relaxed in OW than int he pool. I have issues with chlorine, sensitivity to it actually.
DO NOT GIVE UP BUT BEAT THIS THING!
If she wants to talk to me please PM me and I will share my story with her at length.
TSandM has a great dive journal to read through as well.
If I would have given up I would have been miserable and missed out on one of the greatest changes in my life!

CamG Keep diving....Keep training....Keep learning!

That's what I'm talking about...motivation...motivation...motivation

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Don't know if this qualifies as motivation but.. I have to say learning to dive was the hardest thing I ever did in my life conquering my fear after nearly drowning as a kid. In the beginning I would be on my way out to dive and giving myself a pep talk.. "just get your face in the water and breathe and you will be ok.. just get your face in the water and don't think about it".

It was a real war or will for me.. I wanted to conquer my fears and see the pretty fish. Now there is nothing that I do that relaxes me and helps me shed stress as much as diving! If I can get to this point anyone can! Hang in there.. it IS worth it!

 

[Scuba.com]

And while this solution isn't for everybody due to its unique challenges and cost, I had a student in an advanced class one time who had this same issue. She loved diving, was getting fairly experienced but was seriously considering giving it up as she just couldn't get comfortable with the nose breathing issue. She and her husband had practiced in the pool, in a tub of water, with and without a mask. She was persistant but frustrated and about to the end of her rope.

In the end she tried an Ocean Reef full faced mask. Obviously not an inexpensive solution and using a full face mask for recreational diving has its own issues to overcome, but over the years I've dove with her or come across her on numerous occasions and she's now a DM and still dives 100% of the time with her FFM.

 

[stairman]

I saw a program on TV about the training of a group of Navy Seals. The one guy could not breathe through his mouth without his nose pinched. Obviously that practice wouldnt fly as a seal so he didnt pass, It was stated at the end of the program that after exrays it was determined that he physically could not do it and had nothing to do with drive or practice, so it is a possibility that a development flaw in the sinus could be the issue but I think its pretty rare.

 

[alibi 2]

Im a nose breather and have been for all the 30 plus years ive been diving. She will be able to over come it, but she will have to give it more thought than others..in shallow water standing up she should put her face in the water with the reg in her mouth an practice breathing from the reg. She could start breathing before she places her face in the water.

I still have times when i get water up my nose when i take my mask off..i just swallow it and keep breathing..she will eventually get comfortable doing that, and its normal. The hardest thing i had to over come was the feeling sometimes i get that i NEED to breath from my nose while underwater with my mask on...how ive dealt with that is that just before i descend i pull my mask away from my nose and take a couple good breathes through my nose..this seems to help prevent me from getting that feeling while I dive...

Good luck, Im sure your wife will do fine. What she is experiancing is normal for lots of us and a lot of good ideas have been posted here. She will try different ones till she finds the one that works for her.

 

[tracydr]

Here's how I learned and still practice.swim goggles with snorkel in the pool. I thought I swallowed the entire pool up my nose a few times but now I can swim comfortably. Breathing through the snorkel without a mask to close my nose was really tough to learn. I think some of us are more obligate nose breathers than others!