Dreading your next trip because you are one of the hundreds of fliers who suffer from pain in the ears the minute your flight takes off? Ear problems are surprisingly common among travellers on airplanes. While sometimes, they can be mildly annoying, at other times, there can be more serious effects, including acute pain in the ears, ear discharge and even temporary loss of hearing.
However, fear not. Understanding why it happens as well as taking a few precautions can ensure that your journey is pleasant from take-off to landing!
The Eustachian tube is a membrane-lined tube, about the thickness of a pencil lead, which connects the back of the nose to the ears. On one side (the ear), we have a space surrounded by bone and closed off from the outside world by the eardrum, and on the other side, a space that is open to the outside through the nose and mouth. The closed space in the ear is lined by a membrane which constantly absorbs air and this air is replaced from the Eustachian tube. Thus air pressure outside the eardrum and inside the space remains equal. When there is a difference in pressures, the ear feels blocked. This is because if the air in the middle ear is absorbed but not replaced, a vacuum forms which pulls the eardrum inwards, causing a block as it cannot vibrate. It is the stretching of the eardrum that causes pain.
This vacuum also pulls fluid into space from the membrane, filling the middle ear with fluid. This can be dangerous as when the fluid builds up, it punctures the ear drum leading to discharge from the ear.
Common cold, nasal allergies and infection in the tonsils or throat.
When your flight takes off or lands, there is a rapid change in the air pressure. This causes swelling of the membranes, which does not allow the air pressure inside the ear to equalize rapidly, which in turn results in blocked Eustachian tubes and other ear problems.
Note: This is a guest article written by Dr. Dillon Dsouza. Dr. Dsouza is a Mumbai-based consultant and an ENT, head, and neck surgeon. He consults at Jaslok Hospital, Breach Candy Hospital, and Desa Hospital. The views expressed here are personal and that of the author.