Why Do Your Ears Pop on an Aircraft?

Many people complain that their ears hurt when flying. This pain happens when pressure in a person's middle ear does not automatically adjust to changes in air pressure in the cabin of the plane during takeoff and landing. This adjustment is called "popping."

What Happens Up There?

• It hurts

  Flight physiology is a study of how flight affects the human body. One of the most obvious affects occurs in the ears, especially the middle ear. This is where air can be trapped, and the pressure can cause pain if not released.

Why Does This Happen?

• Ready for takeoff

  Middle ear pain normally happens when there is some anomaly in the middle ear caused by a cold or infection. Children often have this condition. When we are on the ground, the pressure outside our ear and in the middle ear is the same and we don't feel any pressure difference. The cabin pressure inside the aircraft changes as the aircraft climbs. The cabin pressure inside commercial airliners is maintained at 8,000 feet above sea level.

How to Fix it

• The pain, the pain

  The problem is at its worst during descent. The pressure outside the ear is increasing relative to the pressure in the middle ear. The relief of this pressure is through a tube---the eustachian---that runs from the middle ear to the back of the nose. For relief, you can pinch your nose closed and keep your mouth shut, then attempt to exhale. This forces air into the tube and into the middle ear and equalizes the pressure. This maneuver is called the valsalva maneuver.

Other Methods of Prevention

• Yawning or chewing gum are other ways to equalize middle ear pressure. For children, especially babies, drinking something can help. When children cry, their pain increases because mucous builds up in the eustachian tube and makes it more difficult to unblock the ears. Those with a chronic painful ear problem when flying might want to take a decongestant an hour before the flight to help shrink the membranes in the sinus and around the eustachian tube.

Little by Little

• During the descent phase of the flight is when you should begin to equalize the pressure in your ears. If you yawn or chew gum at this time, it should help. As soon as you start to feel any pressure in your ears, try the valsalva maneuver and continue doing it every few minutes until you land.