Aeroplane Ears
Flying Can Be A Painful Experience
The ear pain caused by the changing air pressure when planes are descending to land can be severe and may burst your ear drum.
When we travel by air our ears are able adjust to the decreasing cabin pressure as the plane climbs rapidly from takeoff. I do not know of anyone who has experienced ear pain or other problems with their ears during takeoff but I assume it must happen occasionally.
The Cause Of Ear Pain When Flying
The pain is caused by the difference between the air pressure inside your ear and air pressure in your surroundings – in this case the cabin interior. By the time plane gets up to cruising altitude the air pressure inside your ear has equalised to that of the cabin and you experience no ear discomfort. The pain can come later!
Air Pressure In Cabin
The air pressure inside a plane is maintained at quite a low level, probably because it costs the airline less than maintaining a higher pressure. I also wonder if maintaining a higher cabin pressure might increase the stress on the aeroplanes structure when it is cruising at high altitudes as the tendency would be higher internal pressure to expand the cabin, a sort of extreme example of blowing up a balloon.
In an airliner the cabin pressure is maintained to that equivilant to about 6,900 feet (about 2103 meters) which same as standing on a very high hill or smaller mountain. The air pressure at the altitude is different enough to that of that at sea level to cause ear pain if it is changed rapidly.
Coming Down To Earth
When a plane comes in to land the descent is usually faster than your ears can readjust to the increasing cabin air pressure as your plane gets closer to sea level.
The rapidly increasing cabin air pressure pushes hard against your ear drum as the air pressure on the inside of your air drum is still at the lower cruising level air pressure. The pain caused by this pressure difference can be severe and is usually the reason children cry when coming into land – and I don't blame them at all for crying as I usually experience pain but am too adult to wail about it.....
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Ian Miller - Health WriterI
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