Airplane ear-popping. Why? [more inside]
posted by lockestockbarrel on Jun 23, 2009 - 13 answers

EarPressureFilter: I had an argument with someone a couple hours ago, and they yelled in my left ear for a few seconds. My ear isn't ringing. but it feels pressurized, like I'm underwater, on and off. I've taken a full dose of magnesium-based antacid...anything else I can do? Will a doctor be able to help, or do I just need to move somewhere with a vow of silence for a month?
posted by StrikeTheViol on Jun 15, 2008 - 8 answers

Tell-me-I'm-not-going-deaf-filter: I was flying home from Chicago one night ago, happily listening to the new Cornelius album - drifting off into the soft relief that benedryl supplies when you have been rocking a head cold for 2 days (sore throat, leaky nose, watery eyes, headache) - when suddenly I'm wide awake with a severe pain in both my ears from the plane starting its decent. And it lasts. I swallow and swallow, but I'm reeling in pain, saying terribly mean things to my very confused and sleepy girlfriend - and it doesn't stop until well after I'm off the plane. [more inside]
posted by mrgreyisyelling on Oct 3, 2007 - 45 answers

I have read that airplane cabin pressures are regulated to match the pressure at about 8000 ft. Why is the pressure not regulated to approximate ground level conditions? [more inside]
posted by Galvatron on Aug 2, 2005 - 11 answers