You’ve just settled into your window seat. The flight attendant does the safety demo. The engines whine. And then, as the wheels leave the tarmac, it happens: That muffled, underwater feeling. The world goes quiet. Your own voice sounds like it’s coming from inside a well.
During ascent, an airplane cabin loses atmospheric pressure. The air inside the middle ear expands, pushing against the eardrum. Normally, this excess air escapes through the Eustachian tube easily, often without the passenger noticing. ear popping on plane remedies
