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Mask sucking onto face

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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mad mat

Well-Known Member
Jan 20, 2006
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Greeting,
Was just reading the blood on lungs thread (which I’ve had before and was told it’s because I look up when ascending) and thought I’d throw this one out there for comment.

after I’ve been diving for say an hour or so, my mask starts being fore billy sucked onto my face. The pressure becomes uncomfortable even at the surface. I take the mask off, blow my nose, add positive pressure, loosened straps on the mask to the point water seeps in. None of it works.
it’s definitely something to do with the sinus or nose/throat just not sure. I take my mask off and put it on and I can feel it sucking back on my face.

Doesn’t effect my dive and I’m mainly only hunting in 15-40ft of water these days. Doesn’t seem to matter the depth. Just seems to be after a certain amount of dive time.

Thought, suggestions, similar experiences?
 
It sounds like your mask Otherwise, is on too tight, and it molds to your face over the course of that hour.
Do you have a beard or moustache? If so is it well trimmed. Either can cause leakage, at which point you get the strap too tight.
How well does it fit? can you lean your head back and suck the mask tight without putting any pressure on it? If more than minimal air leaks in, the mask doesn't fit well. That would, again, require you to set the strap too tight.
 
I don’t believe it’s the mask. As stated I have backed the straps of previously until it starts filling with water.

It’s physiological. I can put the mask on once this all starts and have my mouth open and it still sucks to my face. It’s not even because of vacuum from inhaling.

Ive snorting in throw my nose and then putting in the mask, positive pressure in the mask. Nothing stops it.
And as stated. There is no pain etc.
 
Do you pinch your nose as you dive? Sounds like you need to blow a little air threw your nose to regulate the pressure in your mask as you dive
 
Do you keep the soft palate between the throat and the nose closed? Not doing so would push the mask to the face with the pressure of the water around you, which in 10cm of water is already enough to be very uncomfortable.
 
Do you keep the soft palate between the throat and the nose closed? Not doing so would push the mask to the face with the pressure of the water around you, which in 10cm of water is already enough to be very uncomfortable.
I’m not sure. I have never really paid much attention. Next dive I will be a little more aware. I wouldn’t say it’s very uncomfortable rather just annoying because it’s not something I have control over, yet....
 
Swallowing can also cause the mask to suck to the face and could be exacerbated by congested sinuses.
 
I get this often at around 2 hours. I think it's tiredness, my soft palate no longer closes properly, and on every inhale my mask sucks on. I take it as a sign that it is time to head home.
 
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Yes, it’s common when you get tired and/or winded. Your body starts inhaling small amounts of air through your nose causing suction. Even when you blow out air into the mask via the nose it only temporarily relieves the tightness because on the next breath or two in you suck all that air back in through the nose and have tight mask again. Be wary when you get this tired and rest for a bit.
 
Sounds like what they call mask squeeze. I’ve had it happen to me once before but I just blow through my nose to relieve the pressure.
Agreed. This is quite common for me , when descending but also sometimes at the surface. I just exhale a little through my nose to push the mask out a bit. I'm not overly concerned about it because it suggests a good seal, leaks are more troubling.
 
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Good morning Matt,
I’m sure you’ve had a ton of ideas. I had this same issue using a low volume mask with a nose piece.(Italian manufacturer) the closing the soft palate or closing the throat tight helped. I had to solve the problem so ultimately I dove with scuba and had to take the mask off re set it and clear it. This solved the problem. So it was a simple squeeze issue that was helped by breaking the deal ECM er so slightly with just enough water For me to clear the mask. My squeeze was more noticeable when I wore a hood. Last aid was I added a decongestant Ty.... ol sinus and it helped. It is a combo of little things that developed a better path. Good luck with this & may your spear never miss!
 
Sounds like what they call mask squeeze.
I learned that a "mask squeeze" is when you dive deep and do not equalize the mask, which means, that on going deeper, you got to blow parts of your precious air reserve into the mask. If you don't do that, the mask will get pressed onto your face by the external water pressure, the deeper the more. The resulting underpressure inside the mask can lead to the rupture of blood vessels in the eyes and even the skin. And for sure you will have the imprint of the mask on your face for some time. And reaching greater depth it will really hurt. The good news is, that on going up you can suck the extending air back into your lungs and get back some kind of rather fresh air reserve when you most need it.
 
Re. Hoods, I did consider piercing a small hole in my hood by each earhole to help with equalization. I never did, in the end: I found it easier just to let a little water into my hood.
 
Greeting,
Was just reading the blood on lungs thread (which I’ve had before and was told it’s because I look up when ascending) and thought I’d throw this one out there for comment.

after I’ve been diving for say an hour or so, my mask starts being fore billy sucked onto my face. The pressure becomes uncomfortable even at the surface. I take the mask off, blow my nose, add positive pressure, loosened straps on the mask to the point water seeps in. None of it works.
it’s definitely something to do with the sinus or nose/throat just not sure. I take my mask off and put it on and I can feel it sucking back on my face.

Doesn’t effect my dive and I’m mainly only hunting in 15-40ft of water these days. Doesn’t seem to matter the depth. Just seems to be after a certain amount of dive time.

Thought, suggestions, similar experiences?
Does it feel like you're getting congested when the mask starts sucking to your face? Are you having to clear your sinuses more at this point in the dive?
 
Definitely blow a lot of crap out of my nose. The last couple of posts seem to be on the money.

Are there particular movements to practice to work on the soft pallet?
 
Greeting,
Was just reading the blood on lungs thread (which I’ve had before and was told it’s because I look up when ascending) and thought I’d throw this one out there for comment.

after I’ve been diving for say an hour or so, my mask starts being fore billy sucked onto my face. The pressure becomes uncomfortable even at the surface. I take the mask off, blow my nose, add positive pressure, loosened straps on the mask to the point water seeps in. None of it works.
it’s definitely something to do with the sinus or nose/throat just not sure. I take my mask off and put it on and I can feel it sucking back on my face.

Doesn’t effect my dive and I’m mainly only hunting in 15-40ft of water these days. Doesn’t seem to matter the depth. Just seems to be after a certain amount of dive time.

Thought, suggestions, similar experiences?
The reason your mask sticks to your face (when not at depth) is that you have sucked in through your nose and then ‘locked’ your soft palate. Look up soft palate exercises on google and try them. With a little practice you will learn to isolate and control the soft palate so that when you notice this happening you can correct it.
 
Definitely blow a lot of crap out of my nose. The last couple of posts seem to be on the money.

Are there particular movements to practice to work on the soft pallet?
Do you suffer from allergies at all?
I do and my sinuses bothered me in other ways when I dove. I started taking antihistamines regularly to control the mucus and it's worked really well.
 
on going up you can suck the extending air back into your lungs and get back some kind of rather fresh air reserve when you most need it.
I have my doubts about this. It takes quite some control and muscles when doing this. At the same time, the biggest change in air volume is in the last few meters, when you should be positively buoyant. It seems wrong to me to put in extra effort, especially during the last seconds of the dive, to get a return that is really small in both actual air volume and time you spend with that air, as you're seconds from inhaling a nice big gulp of *fresh* air.
 
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