Learn these tips before your next journey
Whether it was driving up a winding mountain road, riding in a high-speed elevator in a skyscraper, or flying on an aircraft, you've definitely felt a pressure in your ears that you want to get rid of right away. Sometimes a situation will settle itself. However, there are situations when you will need to do something if you want your ears to pop. Here's why this happens and what you can do to prevent it.
What factors contribute to ear pressure?
Ear pressure can occur for a variety of causes, according to Dr. Matthew Goldman of the Cleveland Clinic. Allergies and sinus infections are two examples, as are swimmer's ear and ear infections. But the cause we're looking at here is fluctuations in air pressure induced by rapidly climbing or dropping altitude, such as during takeoff or landing in an airplane or scuba diving.
The sensation that your ears are blocked and need to pop occurs because as the air pressure around you changes, the air pressure in your inner ears attempts to adapt in tandem—but it can't always keep up.
All of this happens in the Eustachian tubes, which connect the area behind your eardrum to the back of your nose and throat in each ear—the area outside of the eardrum. "This tube helps to maintain balanced air pressure [in the ear]," explains Goldman.
How to Pop Your Ears Safely
It may be tempting to place your finger, a cotton swab, or anything else inside your ear to relieve pressure, but this is never a smart idea. Instead, try one of these doctor-approved alternatives:
- Swallowing will usually cause your ears to pop since it opens your Eustachian tubes, which are normally closed, to alleviate pressure. Chewing gum or sucking on a piece of hard candy may benefit some people since it encourages them to swallow more than normal.
- Yawning, like eating, opens your Eustachian tubes and can cause your ears to pop.
- The Valsalva technique is closing your lips firmly and pinching your nostrils shut, then exhaling forcefully. The trick is to keep any air from escaping through your lips or nose.
- Close your lips, clamp your nostrils shut, and swallow the Toynbee technique.
If these approaches don't work and your ears remain plugged, or if you're having other symptoms such as discomfort, discharge, dizziness, hearing loss, or ringing, Goldman suggests consulting a doctor.
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SOURCE: lifehacker
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