A squeeze in scuba diving is one of the medical conditions that is associated with this sport. It occurs when the pressure of the air in one of the air spaces of your body (nose, air, etc…) is less than the pressure of the water that surrounds you. This condition can cause discomfort, pain, or at worst injury.

In this article, we will talk about “Squeeze in scuba diving”. Let’s know together about the dangers and the prevention.

Understanding Pressure Changes While Scuba Diving

Upon descending underwater, the pressure of the water increases while going deeper, depending on Boyle’s Law. The deeper you go, the greater the pressure of your surrounding water.

According to the fact that most of our bodies are filled with water (which doesn’t compress under pressure while diving), we won’t feel the water pressure in most parts of our body, so a diver’s arms and legs have the same feelings as if they were on the surface. However, the scuba diver will realize the increased pressure in the air spaces of their bodies.

Air in the Body Compresses With Descension

As you descend underwater, the pressure in the air spaces of your body stays constant, while the water pressure around you increases.

As a result of this increase in water pressure upon descending, the air in your body’s air spaces compresses. If you can’t equalize the air spaces of your body in the proper way, this difference in the pressure causes a “squeeze”, which is a sensation of water pushing in or squeezing the air space.

The common air spaces where a squeeze can occur include the sinuses, the ears, a scuba mask, and even the lungs. Fortunately, it is considered easy to handle a squeeze.

The Main Types of Squeeze in Scuba Diving

As we mentioned above, a “squeeze” refers to a condition in which the changes in the water pressure affect a diver’s air-filled spaces, resulting in a discomfort feeling or even injury. The main two types of squeezes, include:

Ear Squeeze: 

This occurs as a result of the increase in pressure upon descending, which causes a difference in pressure between the middle ear and the pressure of the water outside.

If you can’t equalize your ear pressure properly (by swallowing, yawning, or even by the Valsalva maneuver), you may feel pain and an injury to the eardrum can occur.

Mask Squeeze:

This occurs upon descending without equalizing the mask’s air space. The air in your mask compresses as a result of the increase in the external pressure. This creates a vacuum causing pulling on the skin and a bruising or discomfort around both your eyes and face.

You can prevent both of these types when you equalize pressure at a regular manner while descending and ascending, and by making sure that your scuba diving equipment is fitted and adjusted in the proper way.

Equalizing Air Spaces

Preventing a squeeze in scuba diving is simple, as it requires equalizing the air spaces in your body so that the pressure inside these areas is the same as the pressure of the water outside.

In every beginner scuba diving course, divers learn to equalize their ears (by pinching their nostrils and blowing out through the nose), their mask (by exhaling into it), and their lungs (by continuous breathing).

When Can a Squeeze Be Dangerous?

Once you feel a squeeze, you must stop descending. If you fail to do that, a pressure related injury or barotrauma may occur. Barotraumas occur underwater when the pressure outside your body is so different from the pressure inside your body enough to be responsible of a damage to the tissues.

Barotraumas that are associated with scuba diving include mask squeezes, ear barotraumas, and pulmonary barotraumas.