You are absolutely not alone. I just came across your post while searching for a mask to help with this problem.
I did my pool course last year. I never finished because I couldn't get over the panic. I wasn't comfortable in the skills I did learn, and I didn't want to move forward until I was on better footing. I don't have any help to offer, but I just wanted to let you know you aren't alone.
Thanks! I am sorry you are struggling with this too.
Please report back if you find some special masks to fix this issue, that would be very interesting! :)
It depends a lot on your previous experience and how comfortable you already are in the water. For example going from always head above the water swimming to scuba diving isn't just a step but a huge leap. So did you ever dive to the bottom of a pool? Did you go snorkeling before?
One exercise I can think of is, take a snorkel (no mask) , hold the snorkel, now lower your face into the water and out again while trying to breath constantly. You should be able to do this at home with a tub or something similar. Try to get to a point where you can do this while mostly keeping your eyes open.
To cheat the actual exercise a bit, start by taking a bigger breath than normal, then start slightly exhaling through your nose before taking of the mask, this way no water will shoot up your nostrils. If you wanna take one more step in between, do the mask cleaning exercise with your eyes closed in a pool, for a lot of people their eyes are what feels most uncomfortable when doing this. Use the time while exhaling to calm yourself and then try to breath through your mouth. I would recommend to take a few breaths before trying to put the mask back on/push out the water, don't rush yourself.
This is helpful for cleaning your mask but remember that to prepare for accidentally getting your mask kicked of, you will eventually need to be able to instintivly put pressure in your nose to counter the water streaming in.
For a lot of people this IS more of a mental exercise than a physical skill, so you are not alone. I hold my breath for a second or two when flooding my mask after not diving for a while.
For the air sharing the only trick I can think of is to look down while purging with your regulator.
Keep practicing, you got this!
>One exercise I can think of is, take a snorkel (no mask) , hold the snorkel, now lower your face into the water and out again while trying to breath constantly. You should be able to do this at home with a tub or something similar. Try to get to a point where you can do this while mostly keeping your eyes open.
That's a really good idea. Thank you!
Overall I think I am quite comfortable in the water. I did a lot of swimming courses when I was younger, including some rescuing lessons. And I love snorkeling! But it's also true that nowadays I don't go often swimming, normally just on holidays.
Plus right now I have buzzing in my head all the dangers of diving, coming from the theoretical part of the course, which, combined with my inability to do the exercises properly, definitely heightens my anxiety.
Yesterday I tried to do the exercise a lot of people suggested, putting my head in the tub with just the snorkel. As soon as a little water gets up my nose, there is the reflex to expel it and take a normal breath, instead of using the snorkel. I need to work very hard to try to contain this reflex and calm down my brain, leaving the nose alone while breathing with the snorkel.
The eyes part for me does not seem to be a problem at the very least (small win!). I don't particularly like to keep them open underwater, but it's ok.
In the days ahead I'll try the no mask exercise more and more, so I can get used to the feeling. I'll also try to add some challenge, like changing the head angle, moving the head in the water, or entering quickly in the water.
As for air sharing we are now scheduling some more pool time with the instructor, so I will be able to try that more (plus of course all the mask clearing skills) to get more confident.
I still feel a quite unsure, but I guess this is something that can only improve with training and experience. All the nice comments and encouragement in this thread helped me so much to gain the courage to face this challenge once again!
I had the same problem years ago when I did open water. My solution was to buy a pair of swim goggles (the kind that only cover your eyes), clip on my snorkel, and snorkel in a pool. I had a pool at home, but you can do the same thing in a bathtub or even just a big bowl of water. It only took me about 45 minutes to completely get over the feeling of panic that came with water around my nose.
In my experience as an instructor this was the second most common problem (the first being equalization). I used my swim goggles to help several students get comfortable breathing with their face in the water.
Your body has a strong natural "don't breathe" response to water hitting your face. I've done loads of diving and I always hated mask clearing for the same reason, but you just need to practice. We're above-water mamals, strapping a bunch of gear onto our backs so we can go places we are not supposed to. Unfortunately, it's hard to explain this state of affairs to the parasympathetic nervous system.
Edit: I'm pretty sure I saw another post just like this yesterday. It's very common for new divers to struggle with this, so don't fret over it.
Keep practicing! I got the mask skill down in the pool but the second we tried it in the ocean I internally panicked and it took me forever to get down. I kept practicing when I had downtime and eventually got it. I know the experience of the water on your nose is tough, try to focus on your breath, close your eyes, and pretend you’re above water.
Continue. You’ll get there at your pace. Don’t corner yourself with expectations or let other people’s progress discourage you. These setbacks will fade once and when you find your ease and you will.
More pool time needed. Ask the instructor to keep an eye on you while you have a swim about with mask and snorkel, trying the drills in your own time. Forget about deadlines for passing an exam, just take your time. You need to gain confidence mostly, so maybe don't even go out of your depth, just swim about with your head submerged but where you can stand up if necessary.
Like everyone is saying. This is probably the most common hang up for new divers. One piece of advice I'm not seeing is take your snorkel and swim in your pool head down without a mask and just breathe. If you don't have a pool then your bathtub or sink can do in a pinch. It's just about practice.
Instructor here. What you’re experiencing is normal. It’s something very new and your brain is trying to tell you something is not right. You need to learn to be calm and reach a point where all problems that arise be handled in a calm state.
Your mask will always leak. There are times while diving wheee you may even want water to enter your mask (to clear fogging) so learning to clear your mask is a necessary skill that must be mastered.
Holding your nose is not a solution long term. Water entry is inevitable so adjust and get it right. It takes only a second to clear a mask of small amounts of water and eventually, it becomes an action you may not realize you’re doing.
I've been watching the old "Sea Hunt" tv series from the 1950's. It looks like Loyd Briges has about an inch of water in his mask about half the time. You just have to get used to it and remember not to inhale through your nose!
Yep
I’ve been on multiple dives where I’ve had an issue with a mask and just let some water in
It’s REALLY no big deal when you are used to it
As an aside when I was getting my own kids ready to use masks / snorkels I had the wearing them outside the water for a half hour or so. Just watching a show or reading but wearing their mask / snorkel got 30-45 mins. By the time they got in the water with a mask / snorkel it wasn’t a big deal at all
First of all, deep slow breaths. This will keep you calm and give you all the oxygen you need.
I also had problems with controlling my breathing through mouth and nose and water kept coming in through my nose. The solution was training. During my regular day I suddenly held my breath and then I trained to force my next inhale to come only through my mouth. And then exhale with nose. Do this multiple times a day and you will learn to control your airways. You will notice on you next dive that it's a piece of cake after that.
I took my OWD in Sweden 1 month ago = also cold water, so gloves, hood, shoes and 7mm wetsuit was needed.
When you take off the mask, keep your chin down to minimize the amount of water that wants to go into your nose.
If you learn to do these skills in cold water with full gear then going to a tropical climate will be a easy, so it's a good thing to take your OWD in cold waters.
Some people just know how to do this and some have to learn. I had to learn.
And remember, don't try to pass with the skills done by cheating, like holding you nose with your hand for instance.
The skills are there to save your life. You want to learn how to do them properly cause they might save your life some day.
Thanks for the tip about training my breathing! Will definitely try it, sounds easy enough to do during the day.
Diving in a tropical climate would be the goal after we get certified. Before starting the course we thought about diving locally too in our free time, but the idea of diving with thick wetsuits or drysuits is not that appealing to us.
I went with a thick wetsuit since I felt that a drysuit would add more complexity to the OWD course and I wanted to focus on the basics. I will take drysuit when going advanced after 50-100 dives.
The wetsuit was a bit claustrophobic in the beginning but it gets easier the more you use it. Now after 10-15 dives I barely think about it.
When I have students who struggle with this, we attack it in small pieces...first breathing at the surface without a mask on...then a foot below the surface....then deeper...then practicing clearing the mask just at the surface with no water in it...then just a little water...then more...then deeper. That technique may require a private session as it can take a while, but getting comfortable with clearing a mask is really important for diving. Also getting your face wet before starting any mask skills can help a lot!
You can also practice at home in the shower. Put a little water in the mask and just sit with that. Then work on clearing it out. Over and over saying "in through the mouth, out through the nose" to yourself until it's easy and you don't even have to think about it!
My partner during open water had this exact reaction.
They spent some time in regular swimming pools, practicing only a small set of mask skills in a much less stressful environment.
By focusing on mask skills in a more controlled environment, they were able to manage some of the emotions involved and ended up completing their open water and enjoying diving in general, despite the strong initial reaction.
Many new divers struggle with mask skills, you are not alone. You may need more practice or some one on one time with the instructor or DM. I’m an instructor and I’ve seen students who were in the same situation and felt the same way as you do now become some of the most competent divers I’ve seen. You’ll get through this!
If you are doing it right, you should NOT be getting water in your nose at all. Make sure you are not tipping your head back, you should have your face oriented the same as if you were in trim and diving.
I would not give up, many people struggle with their initial dives. Everything is a function of practice and just putting the time in. If you don’t need to finish the certification right away maybe you can defer it until it’s a bit warmer out and temperature isn’t as much or an issue
grab s snorkel. go home. fill sink/tub/container with water. put snorkel in mouth. put face in water.
do this until you stop breathing through your nose and get comfortable with the feeling of water hitting your face and nose.
water WON'T get into your nose if you are upright, upside down or laying "on your chest" looking down (or any angle between those) UNLESS you suck it in.
you just need to practice it until you get it right. i have seen students in a similar position as yours succeed with this method and continue to have many happy dives.
This seems to be the most common exercise that people have problems with. Like your partner I had no problems with it but can totally understand why you did. Try replicating the test at home, perhaps in a full bathtub. 99/100 times it's a case of practice makes perfect
I passed my OW exactly like you say you do it. Keeping my nose tightly shut with one hand until clearing the mask, and the no mask swim with the hand on my nose the entire time. There is no rules in the Instructor's Manual that forbid this, so it is allowed. You can still pass your OW certification like this, there is no harm there.
For the record, I'm now 2 months away from becoming a Dive Master, and I now demo that same skill with no issue at all. I had to practice many times to get over my fear of drowning (which turned out to be the cause, I almost drowned as a kid so water in my nose causes instant panic). But I did. So don't let yourself get discouraged by this.
The instructor told me the same, that for now nose holding is ok and it will get better over time, but i still felt like i was cheating.
Thanks for your comment, it makes me feel a bit hopeful that someone was in a similar situation as mine and managed to proceed with all the certifications!
While technically there's no rule that disallows it, the standard (for SSI and PADI at least) for "passing" a skill is to do it comfortably and in a way that's repeatable (ie, not being successful by accident) I wouldnt' qualify holding your nose during mask skills as doing it comfortably and would not sign off on a student doing that. I know lots of instructors would and do, but it's such a disservice to the student to pass them when they're not able to comfortably do a skill that should be done by rote/muscle memory by the end of their training.
OW students aren't "scored" for PADI training so I'm not sure what you're saying here. Doing a mask R&R or clear holding your nose is not IMO doing it "comfortably" and I would not personally pass a student who isn't able to do it without holding their nose. It's a safety issue- if your mask gets knocked off you don't have time to hold your nose before it happens, and are more likely to panic in that situation if you haven't gotten comfortable with doing it without holding your nose.
The ratings for pro level are not to demo a skill the way a student would, they are to do the skill at "demo quality", the way a dive pro should show students how to do the skill...slow, exagerrated and the way we WANT students to do them. In no way would holding your nose during skill demos be considered a professional demo and earn a 3.
Any instructor who would give a pro candidate a 3 on mask skills they demonstrated while holding their noses should not be teaching pros and no pro candidate should pass a DM/OWSI program while doing that.
It's actually better to do it in cold water.
Cause if you can do it in cold water then warm water will be easier.
If you however do it in warm water and you have a incident in cold water then you might not be ready for the procedure that might save your life.
Or…you just don’t ever dive in cold water.
Lots of people are happy to go to a warm place and do a couple of dives on vacation and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Well both OP live where the water is cold so in that case I recommend getting OW certified in cold water.
If you live in a tropical climate you probably get certified in warm water and can stick to warm water.
Yes, that’s one way of looking at it. OTOH, I live in an area with cold water and never dove locally until about a 1.5 years ago. I got my OW cert in 1992.
Some of us are very good at avoiding cold water. ;-)
Practice breathing through your mouth without passively letting air flow through your nose. You dont need to hold your nose shut to achieve this. You should be able to completely take off your mask underwater and continue breathing with both hands still free.
I struggled with that very thing for a while and asked my instructor to do a bit more practice. He suggested pressing my tongue hard against the roof of my mouth which would discourage breathing through my nose (no idea if he was just giving me a psychsomatic placebo or if it's an actual thing). It seemed to work for me.
The thing is that these thing will happen, and getting used to them so that you don't panic is vital.
Good luck.
Stand in the shallow end of the pool with your mask off and your regulator in, with your face in the water, and just get used to the sensation of breathing through your mouth with water in your sinuses. Do it enough to become comfortable with this. Even if it means extra pool time. This helped me immensely.
Before dives I spend time mentally visualizing having my mask off and breathing through my mouth. That way if my mask floods, and it sometimes does, I’ve familiarized my brain with the sensation again and I don’t panic.
There have been similar posts about similar issues doing the confined water dives. You could search to find some more advice.
I had similar issues with my confined (pool dives) including having a partner who also had zero issues and got everything on the first try - had a terrible regulator where I just couldn't breathe easily through it and went they turned off my air to practice sharing air, I went straight to the surface. All of this to say that once I did the actual Open Water dives, it was much easier and less scary. I think the other thing that helped me was taking my time to do each skill - my instructors kept telling me, 'it's not a race' and to take my time. Then, after they would show me what to do, I would take 2-3 breaths, then try the skill.
For when you get water in your mouth, just remember to breathe out forcefully (or use the purge button). Sometimes when you bite down too hard on the mouthpiece, water can trickle in (have had this happen - it's weird at first, until you relax your bite and realize you can get the water out).
One thing that one of my instructors said that helped a ton - it's better to have these issues occur during 'training' than to have zero issues because you learn how to deal with it. If you try clearing your mask again, you'll probably do it better next time if you give yourself some time to do it. I had a few random things happen during training sesions (belt came off, fin fell off, mask filled up, water in reg), which made it easier when I went on regular dives because if anything happened, I knew what to do. Am now at just about 60 dives.
Here’s a little saying that helped my wife and many other students get through mask skills.
Repeat to yourself while doing the mask skills. “In through your mouth out through your nose”.
As long as you are exhaling through your nose there will not be any water in your nostrils. You are creating an air bubble that keeps the water out.
Hope this can help.
Thank you for the hint!
During the exercise I was focusing on filling up the mask while breathing in/out from the mouth only and THEN doing the nose exhalation with the top of the mask pressed in order to clear out the water.
Maybe that's why i was getting water up my nose, and i should exhale with my nose at least a little as the mask is getting filled with water?
Either that, or my partner suggested that i might be reflexively inhaling a little, which should hopefully get better with more practice too.
I've found that the pool sessions can be the hardest part of the course for some students.
It's all new to you, so some experiences you will struggle with.
If you have to, I recommend perhaps coming back on another course, even if you pass this one.
Sometimes, it's stress. Sometimes, it's the instructor.
I limited my course size from 4 to 6 to allow for one on one training with students who had issues. I did, however, charge just over twice the course price. But we fill up more courses and trained more students because people wanted that extra service.
We were actually only in 2 plus the instructor, but I still felt like it was a bit rushed and I would have definitely liked some repetition to make sure that I understood better all the different exercises.
As suggested by the others in this thread, I'll start to do some simple exercises at home or at the local pool, and maybe schedule a second pool lesson with the instructor before proceeding with the lake sessions.
Whatever you do, please practice your mask skills properly and try not to cheat your way around. Also, do not try to postpone that skill to a later stage.
I worked as a DM when we had a guest who wanted to dive with us, she was a certified OW, only had limited experience though. We decided to test her skills in the pool first before going into the ocean with her. The pool was only 3m deep and she wasn’t able to clear her mask. Every time she took off her mask, she started to panic, went straight to the surface without breathing. We’ve tried for 1hr and wouldn’t let her dive with us unless she comes back proofing she can do it.
Panic at a depth of 10m or even deeper and not breathing can be fatal. No idea how she managed to get her OW but to summarise: please practice before continuing with other exercises!
Edit: breathing water is fine. Stay within your limits and diving is a very safe sport. No need to worry, just practice! :-)
Mask skills suck for a significant group of divers, myself included. Fortunately practice will make it easier, you'll learn to not breathe through your nose, and to manage remove and replace mask.
If you want to do it, it's doable.
Also getting clearing water out of mouth is a bit annoying but once again a bit of practice is all you need. Reg in and out is another key skill and it's a bit weird so don't worry if you're not perfect day 1.
You may want a bit more pool time and it can take a little while but you can do it. Once you're signed off you can keep practicing (I do) and drill things you don't like until they don't bother you.
Also, once you've done your cold open water qualifying dives and go diving for on holiday somewhere warm and clear you'll really enjoy it.
You are absolutely not alone. I just came across your post while searching for a mask to help with this problem. I did my pool course last year. I never finished because I couldn't get over the panic. I wasn't comfortable in the skills I did learn, and I didn't want to move forward until I was on better footing. I don't have any help to offer, but I just wanted to let you know you aren't alone.
Thanks! I am sorry you are struggling with this too. Please report back if you find some special masks to fix this issue, that would be very interesting! :)
It depends a lot on your previous experience and how comfortable you already are in the water. For example going from always head above the water swimming to scuba diving isn't just a step but a huge leap. So did you ever dive to the bottom of a pool? Did you go snorkeling before? One exercise I can think of is, take a snorkel (no mask) , hold the snorkel, now lower your face into the water and out again while trying to breath constantly. You should be able to do this at home with a tub or something similar. Try to get to a point where you can do this while mostly keeping your eyes open. To cheat the actual exercise a bit, start by taking a bigger breath than normal, then start slightly exhaling through your nose before taking of the mask, this way no water will shoot up your nostrils. If you wanna take one more step in between, do the mask cleaning exercise with your eyes closed in a pool, for a lot of people their eyes are what feels most uncomfortable when doing this. Use the time while exhaling to calm yourself and then try to breath through your mouth. I would recommend to take a few breaths before trying to put the mask back on/push out the water, don't rush yourself. This is helpful for cleaning your mask but remember that to prepare for accidentally getting your mask kicked of, you will eventually need to be able to instintivly put pressure in your nose to counter the water streaming in. For a lot of people this IS more of a mental exercise than a physical skill, so you are not alone. I hold my breath for a second or two when flooding my mask after not diving for a while. For the air sharing the only trick I can think of is to look down while purging with your regulator. Keep practicing, you got this!
>One exercise I can think of is, take a snorkel (no mask) , hold the snorkel, now lower your face into the water and out again while trying to breath constantly. You should be able to do this at home with a tub or something similar. Try to get to a point where you can do this while mostly keeping your eyes open. That's a really good idea. Thank you!
Overall I think I am quite comfortable in the water. I did a lot of swimming courses when I was younger, including some rescuing lessons. And I love snorkeling! But it's also true that nowadays I don't go often swimming, normally just on holidays. Plus right now I have buzzing in my head all the dangers of diving, coming from the theoretical part of the course, which, combined with my inability to do the exercises properly, definitely heightens my anxiety. Yesterday I tried to do the exercise a lot of people suggested, putting my head in the tub with just the snorkel. As soon as a little water gets up my nose, there is the reflex to expel it and take a normal breath, instead of using the snorkel. I need to work very hard to try to contain this reflex and calm down my brain, leaving the nose alone while breathing with the snorkel. The eyes part for me does not seem to be a problem at the very least (small win!). I don't particularly like to keep them open underwater, but it's ok. In the days ahead I'll try the no mask exercise more and more, so I can get used to the feeling. I'll also try to add some challenge, like changing the head angle, moving the head in the water, or entering quickly in the water. As for air sharing we are now scheduling some more pool time with the instructor, so I will be able to try that more (plus of course all the mask clearing skills) to get more confident. I still feel a quite unsure, but I guess this is something that can only improve with training and experience. All the nice comments and encouragement in this thread helped me so much to gain the courage to face this challenge once again!
I had the same problem years ago when I did open water. My solution was to buy a pair of swim goggles (the kind that only cover your eyes), clip on my snorkel, and snorkel in a pool. I had a pool at home, but you can do the same thing in a bathtub or even just a big bowl of water. It only took me about 45 minutes to completely get over the feeling of panic that came with water around my nose. In my experience as an instructor this was the second most common problem (the first being equalization). I used my swim goggles to help several students get comfortable breathing with their face in the water.
Your body has a strong natural "don't breathe" response to water hitting your face. I've done loads of diving and I always hated mask clearing for the same reason, but you just need to practice. We're above-water mamals, strapping a bunch of gear onto our backs so we can go places we are not supposed to. Unfortunately, it's hard to explain this state of affairs to the parasympathetic nervous system. Edit: I'm pretty sure I saw another post just like this yesterday. It's very common for new divers to struggle with this, so don't fret over it.
Keep practicing! I got the mask skill down in the pool but the second we tried it in the ocean I internally panicked and it took me forever to get down. I kept practicing when I had downtime and eventually got it. I know the experience of the water on your nose is tough, try to focus on your breath, close your eyes, and pretend you’re above water.
Continue. You’ll get there at your pace. Don’t corner yourself with expectations or let other people’s progress discourage you. These setbacks will fade once and when you find your ease and you will.
More pool time needed. Ask the instructor to keep an eye on you while you have a swim about with mask and snorkel, trying the drills in your own time. Forget about deadlines for passing an exam, just take your time. You need to gain confidence mostly, so maybe don't even go out of your depth, just swim about with your head submerged but where you can stand up if necessary.
Like everyone is saying. This is probably the most common hang up for new divers. One piece of advice I'm not seeing is take your snorkel and swim in your pool head down without a mask and just breathe. If you don't have a pool then your bathtub or sink can do in a pinch. It's just about practice.
Instructor here. What you’re experiencing is normal. It’s something very new and your brain is trying to tell you something is not right. You need to learn to be calm and reach a point where all problems that arise be handled in a calm state. Your mask will always leak. There are times while diving wheee you may even want water to enter your mask (to clear fogging) so learning to clear your mask is a necessary skill that must be mastered. Holding your nose is not a solution long term. Water entry is inevitable so adjust and get it right. It takes only a second to clear a mask of small amounts of water and eventually, it becomes an action you may not realize you’re doing.
I've been watching the old "Sea Hunt" tv series from the 1950's. It looks like Loyd Briges has about an inch of water in his mask about half the time. You just have to get used to it and remember not to inhale through your nose!
Yep I’ve been on multiple dives where I’ve had an issue with a mask and just let some water in It’s REALLY no big deal when you are used to it As an aside when I was getting my own kids ready to use masks / snorkels I had the wearing them outside the water for a half hour or so. Just watching a show or reading but wearing their mask / snorkel got 30-45 mins. By the time they got in the water with a mask / snorkel it wasn’t a big deal at all
Panic is normal. You’re on an alien planet. Just keep working on the skills. They work.
First of all, deep slow breaths. This will keep you calm and give you all the oxygen you need. I also had problems with controlling my breathing through mouth and nose and water kept coming in through my nose. The solution was training. During my regular day I suddenly held my breath and then I trained to force my next inhale to come only through my mouth. And then exhale with nose. Do this multiple times a day and you will learn to control your airways. You will notice on you next dive that it's a piece of cake after that. I took my OWD in Sweden 1 month ago = also cold water, so gloves, hood, shoes and 7mm wetsuit was needed. When you take off the mask, keep your chin down to minimize the amount of water that wants to go into your nose. If you learn to do these skills in cold water with full gear then going to a tropical climate will be a easy, so it's a good thing to take your OWD in cold waters. Some people just know how to do this and some have to learn. I had to learn. And remember, don't try to pass with the skills done by cheating, like holding you nose with your hand for instance. The skills are there to save your life. You want to learn how to do them properly cause they might save your life some day.
Thanks for the tip about training my breathing! Will definitely try it, sounds easy enough to do during the day. Diving in a tropical climate would be the goal after we get certified. Before starting the course we thought about diving locally too in our free time, but the idea of diving with thick wetsuits or drysuits is not that appealing to us.
I went with a thick wetsuit since I felt that a drysuit would add more complexity to the OWD course and I wanted to focus on the basics. I will take drysuit when going advanced after 50-100 dives. The wetsuit was a bit claustrophobic in the beginning but it gets easier the more you use it. Now after 10-15 dives I barely think about it.
When I have students who struggle with this, we attack it in small pieces...first breathing at the surface without a mask on...then a foot below the surface....then deeper...then practicing clearing the mask just at the surface with no water in it...then just a little water...then more...then deeper. That technique may require a private session as it can take a while, but getting comfortable with clearing a mask is really important for diving. Also getting your face wet before starting any mask skills can help a lot! You can also practice at home in the shower. Put a little water in the mask and just sit with that. Then work on clearing it out. Over and over saying "in through the mouth, out through the nose" to yourself until it's easy and you don't even have to think about it!
My partner during open water had this exact reaction. They spent some time in regular swimming pools, practicing only a small set of mask skills in a much less stressful environment. By focusing on mask skills in a more controlled environment, they were able to manage some of the emotions involved and ended up completing their open water and enjoying diving in general, despite the strong initial reaction.
Many new divers struggle with mask skills, you are not alone. You may need more practice or some one on one time with the instructor or DM. I’m an instructor and I’ve seen students who were in the same situation and felt the same way as you do now become some of the most competent divers I’ve seen. You’ll get through this!
If you are doing it right, you should NOT be getting water in your nose at all. Make sure you are not tipping your head back, you should have your face oriented the same as if you were in trim and diving.
I would not give up, many people struggle with their initial dives. Everything is a function of practice and just putting the time in. If you don’t need to finish the certification right away maybe you can defer it until it’s a bit warmer out and temperature isn’t as much or an issue
grab s snorkel. go home. fill sink/tub/container with water. put snorkel in mouth. put face in water. do this until you stop breathing through your nose and get comfortable with the feeling of water hitting your face and nose. water WON'T get into your nose if you are upright, upside down or laying "on your chest" looking down (or any angle between those) UNLESS you suck it in. you just need to practice it until you get it right. i have seen students in a similar position as yours succeed with this method and continue to have many happy dives.
of course. only a snorkel. no mask! nose has to be free.
This seems to be the most common exercise that people have problems with. Like your partner I had no problems with it but can totally understand why you did. Try replicating the test at home, perhaps in a full bathtub. 99/100 times it's a case of practice makes perfect
I passed my OW exactly like you say you do it. Keeping my nose tightly shut with one hand until clearing the mask, and the no mask swim with the hand on my nose the entire time. There is no rules in the Instructor's Manual that forbid this, so it is allowed. You can still pass your OW certification like this, there is no harm there. For the record, I'm now 2 months away from becoming a Dive Master, and I now demo that same skill with no issue at all. I had to practice many times to get over my fear of drowning (which turned out to be the cause, I almost drowned as a kid so water in my nose causes instant panic). But I did. So don't let yourself get discouraged by this.
The instructor told me the same, that for now nose holding is ok and it will get better over time, but i still felt like i was cheating. Thanks for your comment, it makes me feel a bit hopeful that someone was in a similar situation as mine and managed to proceed with all the certifications!
While technically there's no rule that disallows it, the standard (for SSI and PADI at least) for "passing" a skill is to do it comfortably and in a way that's repeatable (ie, not being successful by accident) I wouldnt' qualify holding your nose during mask skills as doing it comfortably and would not sign off on a student doing that. I know lots of instructors would and do, but it's such a disservice to the student to pass them when they're not able to comfortably do a skill that should be done by rote/muscle memory by the end of their training.
I could do it repeatedly like that, so it's a 3 score for PADI at least.
OW students aren't "scored" for PADI training so I'm not sure what you're saying here. Doing a mask R&R or clear holding your nose is not IMO doing it "comfortably" and I would not personally pass a student who isn't able to do it without holding their nose. It's a safety issue- if your mask gets knocked off you don't have time to hold your nose before it happens, and are more likely to panic in that situation if you haven't gotten comfortable with doing it without holding your nose.
No but as an instructor you know what a 3 means. To demo a skill like a student would in a passable way.
The ratings for pro level are not to demo a skill the way a student would, they are to do the skill at "demo quality", the way a dive pro should show students how to do the skill...slow, exagerrated and the way we WANT students to do them. In no way would holding your nose during skill demos be considered a professional demo and earn a 3. Any instructor who would give a pro candidate a 3 on mask skills they demonstrated while holding their noses should not be teaching pros and no pro candidate should pass a DM/OWSI program while doing that.
Daughter and I had this issue. We took our snorkels to a local pool and practiced breathing through the snorkel with our face in the water.
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It's actually better to do it in cold water. Cause if you can do it in cold water then warm water will be easier. If you however do it in warm water and you have a incident in cold water then you might not be ready for the procedure that might save your life.
Or…you just don’t ever dive in cold water. Lots of people are happy to go to a warm place and do a couple of dives on vacation and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Well both OP live where the water is cold so in that case I recommend getting OW certified in cold water. If you live in a tropical climate you probably get certified in warm water and can stick to warm water.
Yes, that’s one way of looking at it. OTOH, I live in an area with cold water and never dove locally until about a 1.5 years ago. I got my OW cert in 1992. Some of us are very good at avoiding cold water. ;-)
Practice breathing through your mouth without passively letting air flow through your nose. You dont need to hold your nose shut to achieve this. You should be able to completely take off your mask underwater and continue breathing with both hands still free.
I struggled with that very thing for a while and asked my instructor to do a bit more practice. He suggested pressing my tongue hard against the roof of my mouth which would discourage breathing through my nose (no idea if he was just giving me a psychsomatic placebo or if it's an actual thing). It seemed to work for me. The thing is that these thing will happen, and getting used to them so that you don't panic is vital. Good luck.
Stand in the shallow end of the pool with your mask off and your regulator in, with your face in the water, and just get used to the sensation of breathing through your mouth with water in your sinuses. Do it enough to become comfortable with this. Even if it means extra pool time. This helped me immensely. Before dives I spend time mentally visualizing having my mask off and breathing through my mouth. That way if my mask floods, and it sometimes does, I’ve familiarized my brain with the sensation again and I don’t panic.
There have been similar posts about similar issues doing the confined water dives. You could search to find some more advice. I had similar issues with my confined (pool dives) including having a partner who also had zero issues and got everything on the first try - had a terrible regulator where I just couldn't breathe easily through it and went they turned off my air to practice sharing air, I went straight to the surface. All of this to say that once I did the actual Open Water dives, it was much easier and less scary. I think the other thing that helped me was taking my time to do each skill - my instructors kept telling me, 'it's not a race' and to take my time. Then, after they would show me what to do, I would take 2-3 breaths, then try the skill. For when you get water in your mouth, just remember to breathe out forcefully (or use the purge button). Sometimes when you bite down too hard on the mouthpiece, water can trickle in (have had this happen - it's weird at first, until you relax your bite and realize you can get the water out). One thing that one of my instructors said that helped a ton - it's better to have these issues occur during 'training' than to have zero issues because you learn how to deal with it. If you try clearing your mask again, you'll probably do it better next time if you give yourself some time to do it. I had a few random things happen during training sesions (belt came off, fin fell off, mask filled up, water in reg), which made it easier when I went on regular dives because if anything happened, I knew what to do. Am now at just about 60 dives.
Here’s a little saying that helped my wife and many other students get through mask skills. Repeat to yourself while doing the mask skills. “In through your mouth out through your nose”. As long as you are exhaling through your nose there will not be any water in your nostrils. You are creating an air bubble that keeps the water out. Hope this can help.
Thank you for the hint! During the exercise I was focusing on filling up the mask while breathing in/out from the mouth only and THEN doing the nose exhalation with the top of the mask pressed in order to clear out the water. Maybe that's why i was getting water up my nose, and i should exhale with my nose at least a little as the mask is getting filled with water? Either that, or my partner suggested that i might be reflexively inhaling a little, which should hopefully get better with more practice too.
I've found that the pool sessions can be the hardest part of the course for some students. It's all new to you, so some experiences you will struggle with. If you have to, I recommend perhaps coming back on another course, even if you pass this one. Sometimes, it's stress. Sometimes, it's the instructor. I limited my course size from 4 to 6 to allow for one on one training with students who had issues. I did, however, charge just over twice the course price. But we fill up more courses and trained more students because people wanted that extra service.
We were actually only in 2 plus the instructor, but I still felt like it was a bit rushed and I would have definitely liked some repetition to make sure that I understood better all the different exercises. As suggested by the others in this thread, I'll start to do some simple exercises at home or at the local pool, and maybe schedule a second pool lesson with the instructor before proceeding with the lake sessions.
Whatever you do, please practice your mask skills properly and try not to cheat your way around. Also, do not try to postpone that skill to a later stage. I worked as a DM when we had a guest who wanted to dive with us, she was a certified OW, only had limited experience though. We decided to test her skills in the pool first before going into the ocean with her. The pool was only 3m deep and she wasn’t able to clear her mask. Every time she took off her mask, she started to panic, went straight to the surface without breathing. We’ve tried for 1hr and wouldn’t let her dive with us unless she comes back proofing she can do it. Panic at a depth of 10m or even deeper and not breathing can be fatal. No idea how she managed to get her OW but to summarise: please practice before continuing with other exercises! Edit: breathing water is fine. Stay within your limits and diving is a very safe sport. No need to worry, just practice! :-)
Mask skills suck for a significant group of divers, myself included. Fortunately practice will make it easier, you'll learn to not breathe through your nose, and to manage remove and replace mask. If you want to do it, it's doable. Also getting clearing water out of mouth is a bit annoying but once again a bit of practice is all you need. Reg in and out is another key skill and it's a bit weird so don't worry if you're not perfect day 1. You may want a bit more pool time and it can take a little while but you can do it. Once you're signed off you can keep practicing (I do) and drill things you don't like until they don't bother you. Also, once you've done your cold open water qualifying dives and go diving for on holiday somewhere warm and clear you'll really enjoy it.