Why Do Your Ears Pop on an Airplane?

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Why Do Your Ears Pop on an Airplane?

• By Brittany T.

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Introduction

• Ever been on an airplane, and had your ears hurt
  really bad? Have you ever heard a baby cry while
  your landing, while the mother frantically tries
  to calm the child down? Well, all of these
  answers you can find in my website. They all
  relate to the question, why do your ears pop on
  an airplane? What does it have to do with? Just
  read on and youll find out.

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Science Page

• Why do your ears pop in an airplane? That is the
  question that most people ask while on an
  airplane and are experiencing pain in their ears.
  
• Air pressure has a lot to do with it. Pressure is
  the exertion of force on a surface by an object.
• While at sea level the air pressure is very high
  and the higher in altitude, you get the lower air
  pressure becomes, and in airplanes you go very
  high.
• Altitude is the height of anything above a given
  planetary reference plane above sea level on
  earth.

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More science

• During ascend and descend there is a
  rapid change in air pressure. The middle ear is
  what causes discomfort during air travel because
  it is extremely sensitive to changes in air
  pressure. Normally, when you swallow, your ears
  make a pop because a small bubble has entered
  your middle ear your nose. It then passes through
  the Eustachian tube, a membrane-lined tube about
  the size of a pencil lead that connects the back
  of the nose with the middle ear. But since the
  air pressure is changing your middle ear is also
  experiencing changes in air pressure. To maintain
  comfort, the Eustachian tube must open frequently
  and wide enough to equalize the changes in air
  pressure. This is why some people chew gum, yawn,
  or suck on candy during air travel. All of these
  acts open the Eustachian tube to let the air
  bubble out and reduce the pain.

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..more science

• It seems so simple to just open your
  mouth, right? Well, what if you had a cold or
  sinus infection? Not so simple then, huh?
• Your sinuses are connected to your ears
  by the Eustachian tube, and if your sinuses are
  infected then that makes your ears even more
  vulnerable. For children, babies, or infants, the
  pain is more severe because their Eustachian tube
  is much smaller than teenagers or adults. Also
  they cannot intentionally pop their ears. To
  help, you might be able to give them a bottle or
  pacifier to suck on, or some cheerios to chew.
  This will allow them to open their Eustachian
  tube just like adults.

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Some Photos
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Vocabulary

• Force- A push or pull exerted on an object to
  make it accelerate.
• Altitude- the height of anything above a given
  planetary reference plane, esp. above sea level
  on earth.
• Equilibrium- a state of rest or balance due to
  the equal action of opposing forces.
• equal balance between any powers, influences,
• Eustachian tube- a membrane-lined tube about the
  size of a pencil lead that connects the back of
  the nose with the middle ear.
• sinus infection- Of abrupt onset, in reference to
  a disease. Acute often also connotes an illness
  that is of short duration, rapidly progressive,
  and in need of urgent care.
• Eardrum- The tympanic membrane of the ear, or
  tympanum, the membrane that separates the middle
  ear from the external ear.
• pressure- the exertion of force upon a surface by
  an object
• middle ear- The middle ear consists of the ear
  drum and, beyond it, a cavity. This cavity is
  connected via a canal. The Eustachian tube
  permits the gas pressure in the middle ear cavity
  to adjust to external air pressure. The middle
  ear cavity also contains a chain of 3 little
  bones that connect the ear drum to the internal
  ear.
• membrane- A very thin layer of tissue that covers
  a surface.

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Introduction to Graph

• I had a biggie physics question that I had to
  do this PowerPoint on. My question was, Why do
  your ears pop in an airplane? I asked 20 adults
  this question and recorded their responses in a
  graph. On the following slide you will see how
  many people actually know the answer to this
  question.

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Survey Graph
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Related Links

• http//www.entnet.org/healthinfo/ears/altitude.cfm
  
• AAO-HNS- This website had a ton of information
  about the middle ear and altitude.
• http//airtravel.about.com/library/weekly/aa061502
  a.htm
• About- This website has helped me find
  information about how to unblock your ears and
  also a lot about air travel in general.
• http//www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?art
  iclekey60597
• Medicine Net- This page made available a ton of
  cold and sinus information relating to air
  travel. It also did a wonderful job of
  explaining why your ears pop in airplanes.
• http//wright.nasa.gov/airplane/pressure.html
• NASA- This website gave me a ton of facts about
  pressure. It also had some really good diagrams
  explaining pressure.

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Other Biggie Questions