{"id":16766,"date":"2024-11-19T09:00:38","date_gmt":"2024-11-19T10:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=16766"},"modified":"2024-11-19T10:32:21","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T10:32:21","slug":"why-do-flights-cause-clogged-ears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=16766","title":{"rendered":"Why Do Flights Cause Clogged Ears?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">Q: Sometimes my ears hurt during flights. Why does this happen, and what can I do about it?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When you fly thousands of feet above ground, the changes in cabin pressure can be downright unpleasant \u2014 causing potential issues like <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/26\/well\/live\/gas-air-travel.html#\" title>abdominal bloating<\/a>, headaches and yes, earaches.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cAirplane ear\u201d is an umbrella term for a variety of symptoms caused by rapid changes in altitude and air pressure, said Dr. David Gudis, an otolaryngologist at NewYork-Presbyterian\/Columbia. For some people, it\u2019s no more than a clogged feeling that temporarily muffles hearing. For others, the condition may cause intense pain and even damage the ear drum.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe good news is that it generally resolves on its own,\u201d Dr. Gudis said. \u201cIt can just be very uncomfortable until it does.\u201d This can take anywhere from seconds to days, he added.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-1u37br4 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-463f2247\">Why does air travel hurt your ears?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In the space behind your eardrum, or the middle ear, is a structure called the Eustachian tube, which connects the middle ear to the back of the nose and throat. The Eustachian tube is responsible for keeping the air pressure between the middle ear and the environment the same.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-1\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Keeping air pressure balanced is \u201csomething we don\u2019t normally have to think about,\u201d said Dr. Esther X. Vivas, a professor of otolaryngology at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. We can usually do it by yawing or swallowing, which contracts muscles that open the Eustachian tube, experts said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But when the air pressure changes quickly during a flight, it can be hard for the Eustachian tube to \u201ckeep up,\u201d Dr. Gudis said. This can make us feel that we need to yawn or \u201cpop our ears\u201d to force the tube open so air can pass through, said Dr. Gregory Levitin, an otolaryngologist at the Mount Sinai Health System in New York City.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1336jj\">\n<div class=\"css-121kum4\">\n<div class=\"css-171d1bw\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-asuuk5\">\n<div class=\"css-7axq9l\" data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1dv1kvn\" id=\"optimistic-truncator-a11y\">\n<hr \/>\n<p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F11%2F19%2Fwell%2Fclogged-ears-on-planes.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">log into<\/a>\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F11%2F19%2Fwell%2Fclogged-ears-on-planes.html\">subscribe<\/a>\u00a0for all of The Times.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1g71tqy\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Already a subscriber?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"log-in-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F11%2F19%2Fwell%2Fclogged-ears-on-planes.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">Log in<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Want all of The Times?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"subscribe-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F11%2F19%2Fwell%2Fclogged-ears-on-planes.html\">Subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Q: Sometimes my ears hurt during flights. Why does this happen, and what can I do about it?When you fly thousands of feet above ground, the changes in cabin pressure can be downright unpleasant \u2014 causing potential issues like abdominal bloating, headaches and yes, earaches.\u201cAirplane ear\u201d is an umbrella term for a variety of symptoms caused by rapid changes in altitude and air pressure, said Dr. David Gudis, an otolaryngologist at NewYork-Presbyterian\/Columbia. For some people, it\u2019s no more than a clogged feeling that temporarily muffles hearing. For others, the condition may cause intense pain and even damage the ear drum.\u201cThe good news is that it generally resolves on its own,\u201d Dr. Gudis said. \u201cIt can just be very uncomfortable until it does.\u201d This can take anywhere from seconds to days, he added.Why does air travel hurt your ears?In the space behind your eardrum, or the middle ear, is a structure called the Eustachian tube, which connects the middle ear to the back of the nose and throat. The Eustachian tube is responsible for keeping the air pressure between the middle ear and the environment the same.Keeping air pressure balanced is \u201csomething we don\u2019t normally have to think about,\u201d said Dr. Esther X. Vivas, a professor of otolaryngology at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. We can usually do it by yawing or swallowing, which contracts muscles that open the Eustachian tube, experts said.But when the air pressure changes quickly during a flight, it can be hard for the Eustachian tube to \u201ckeep up,\u201d Dr. Gudis said. This can make us feel that we need to yawn or \u201cpop our ears\u201d to force the tube open so air can pass through, said Dr. Gregory Levitin, an otolaryngologist at the Mount Sinai Health System in New York City.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0log into\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0subscribe\u00a0for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?\u00a0Log in.Want all of The Times?\u00a0Subscribe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16768,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16766"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16766\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16769,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16766\/revisions\/16769"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}