How to Make Your Ears Pop

Ever have trouble with your ears on a plane? Where your ears suddenly feel blocked? Someone you know probably recommended chewing gum. And you probably don't even know why this works sometimes. If your ears feel blocked, here are some tricks to pop your ears.

Pressure And Your Ears

Your ears, as it so happens, do an incredibly good job at controlling pressure. Thanks to a useful little piece of anatomy called Eustachian tubes, the pressure of the outside world is able to be regulated, adjusted, and equalized inside of your ears. Normally.

Inequalities in the pressure of the air can cause issues in situations where your Eustachian tubes are having trouble adjusting. There are times when you might be suffering from an unpleasant and sometimes painful affliction called barotrauma which occurs when there is an accumulation of fluid behind the ears or when you're ill. At higher altitudes, you experience a small amount of this exact situation.

You usually won't even detect small pressure changes. But when those changes are rapid, or when your Eustachian tubes aren't functioning properly, you can experience pressure, pain, and even crackling inside of your ears.

Where's That Crackling Coming From?

Hearing crackling in your ears is pretty unusual in an everyday setting, so you may be understandably curious about the cause. The crackling noise is often compared to the sound of "Rice Krispies". Normally, air going around blockages of the eustachian tubes is the cause of this crackling. The cause of those blockages can range from congestion to Eustachian tube malfunction to unregulated changes in air pressure.

Neutralizing Ear Pressure

Any crackling, particularly if you're at high altitudes, will normally be caused by pressure imbalances. In that situation, you can use the following technique to neutralize ear pressure:

• Try Swallowing: Pressure in the eustachian tubes will be equalized when the muscles used to swallow are activated. This, incidentally, is also why you're told to chew gum when flying; the chewing makes you swallow, and swallowing is what forces the ears to equalize.
• Toynbee Maneuver: This is actually just swallowing in an elaborate way. Pinch your nose (so that your nostrils are closed), close your mouth, and swallow. If you take water in your mouth (which will help you keep your mouth closed) it may be helpful.
• Frenzel Maneuver: Okay, try this tactic. Pinch your nose, shut your mouth, and make "k" sounds with your tongue. You can also try clicking to see if that helps.
• Valsalva Maneuver: If you're still having problems, try this: after pinching your nose and shutting your mouth, try blowing out without letting any air get out. Theoretically, the pressure should be neutralized when the air you try to blow out moves over your eustachian tubes.
• Yawn: For the same reason that swallowing works, try yawning. (if you can't yawn whenever you want, try imagining someone else yawning, that will usually work.)

Medications And Devices

If self-administering these maneuvers doesn't do the trick, there are medications and devices that are specifically made to help you handle the pressure in your ears. The cause of your barotrauma and it's severeness will establish if these techniques or medications are correct for you.

Special earplugs will do the job in some cases. Nasal decongestants will be appropriate in other situations. Your situation will dictate your response.

What's The Trick?

The real key is figuring out what works for you, and your eustachian tubes.

But you should schedule an appointment to see us if you can't get rid of that feeling of blockage in your ear. Because this can also be a symptom of loss of hearing.