What happens to our ears on airplanes?

Inspired by a recent trip to Rome I decided to find out what really happens to our ears when we fly.

Let's start by talking about the inner ear. Inside our ears, behind the ear drum, we have a small tube that connects the ear and the throat and nose, called the Eustachian tube. This connection allows air to flow in and out of tubes, which allows our ears to adjust to the air pressure outside. For the eardrum to act normally, the pressure inside the ear and of the air outside needs to remain the same (or close to this).

When we take off and the plane climbs upwards, the pressure in the cabin begins to rapidly decrease until it reaches the height (and therefore air pressure level) it remains at for the rest of the flight. Since this air pressure is lower than what our ears are used to on the ground, some of the air trapped inside our ears needs to be released to make it the same pressure as that on the outside. If not, the ear drum may begin to bulge - picture bread rising in the oven! This normally occurs as we swallow, which moves a bubble of air from the back of the nose into the Eustachian tube. This air is then absorbed into the inner membranes of the ear, releasing the pressure, and this cycle continues. It is much easier for the air to escape on the way up, meaning many of us don't suffer with pain on the ascent.

On the descent, pain is much more common. This is because the air pressure begins to increase in the cabin, pushing the ear drum inwards. In order to return to equal pressure inside the ear, air needs to be sucked into the Eustachian tube.

The best solutions are to chew, suck sweets and swallow or yawn to help the Eustachian tube do it's job!

Why can we not hear so well when flying?

When the pressure on our eardrum increases, it is unable to vibrate as it would on the ground, meaning our hearing is suppressed and muffled.