Why do my ears pop on a plane?

Summer is finally here, and our thoughts turn to our next holiday. For many the holiday starts at the airport, but for some the thought of travel and getting on a plane fills them with dread, because they always experience trouble with their ears on a plane.

Why does this happen?

When you are in a plane you will experience quite sudden changes in altitude. When this happens, it doesn’t give your ears enough time to adjust to the pressure changes. The air pressure inside the inner ear, very quickly, surpasses the pressure outside, or the pressure inside the ear rapidly becomes less. The ear drum then will swell inwards or outwards, and therefore needs help from you to correct this.

Here are a couple of useful tips you can do for yourself whilst on the plane

Swallowing

When you swallow, little pockets of air will move around from the back of your throat to your ears and nose (as they are all connected). Once the air reaches your ears, it will then travel through the Eustachian tube into the middle ear. The middle ear then feeds a cycle of air into the inner ear, ensuring that the pressure on both sides stay the same. After swallowing a few times, your ears should have righted themselves.

Chewing gum and sucking on hard sweets

The action of chewing or sucking stimulates your ears, mainly because (as above) it’s a way of getting little pockets of air into your ears to equalise both sides of your ears.

Valsalva maneuver

Pinch your nose so your nostrils are closed and very gentily blow (as though you are blowing your nose). Of course you have them shut so you cant actually blow your nose. But you should feel air behind your ear drum and once you release your nostrils, the air pressure should then be correct on both sides of the ear drum.