Just for perspective: I am a man in my mid-40s and for as long as i can remember i had this question… is it normal that i can shut my nose close just with some muscles?
I always wondered why some people hold their nose shut with their fingers while jumping into a pool or when exposed to some horrible smell… i never had this need. Changing my sons diapers? No problem! Cleaning the latrines while in the army? Just a breeze!
Ehm… yeah… just thought about this…
Yes you can, but it’s not very strong. So when jumping into water, you might want to force close with fingers to prevent pressured water to get into the nose even if you keep it closed with your internal muscles.
I almost broke my timpanus due to a very high jump without using the fingers