Reasons why your ears pop when flying and what to do to avoid it (2025)

A pilot has revealed the reason why your ears pop when flying.

Flying can be exciting, especially when you're heading on holiday. However, one thing that can put a dampener on flight is earache.

Ear pain can be a painful start to your holidays and many passengers have been left confused as to why it happens.

According to experts, ear popping happens due to pressure changes in the cabin. This can cause a feeling of fullness or pain in your ears called ear barotrauma, or barotitis media.

This occurs when the air pressure in your middle ear is different from the air pressure outside.

Pilot William Hosie explained further. He said: "Cabin pressure changes as you climb or descend in the plane.

"When you leave the ground, you go from breathing air at sea level to flying at 35,000 feet. When the plane is at 35,000 feet, you’re breathing air in the cabin as if you’re at 6,000 feet.”

“The air is thinner and the air pressure is less, which is why some people have problems with toothache, and of course ears.

"If you have toothache, it can be exacerbated by an abscess."

William said the worst journeys for blocked ears and toothache are the flights that have a rapid climb or rapid descent.

He warned the higher the plane flies, the worse your symptoms will be.

William added: "Normally for comfort, the cabin climbs or descends at 300 feet per minute, while the aeroplane is doing 2,000 or 3,000 feet per minute.”

“The higher the aeroplane flies, the greater the difference from the ground to your local environment.

"So, basically, the higher you fly, the more likely you are to have ear trouble. For example, when flying to places at higher altitudes, like the Himalayas, as the air is thinner, it could be said that symptoms are worse.”

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Tips to stop ear popping when flying

Hold your nose, close your mouth and blow gently

Holding your nose, closing your mouth and trying to blow gently, will equalise the air pressure that is around you. However, passengers should be careful not to damage their eardrums when doing this. A burst eardrum can be very painful and take weeks to heal.

Swallow repeatedly or chew a sweet

When climbing or descending, swallowing repeatedly or chewing a sweet will help equalise the air pressure around you and for your ears to remain at a normal level.

Avoid flying if you’ve got a cold

It is always advisable to avoid flying if you have symptoms of a cold or a blocked nose.

Last year a plane passenger went viral on social media after sharing a handy hack that her flight attendant showed her to beat "airplane ear" once and for all.

TikTok user @BabyGriffin shared a video of her sitting on a flight with a paper cup firmly planted over her left ear, captioning it: "When the flight attendant sees you struggling and saves you with a 'hot cup' because you thought your ear drum was going to explode during descent."

The hack involves soaking a paper towel in boiling water, then putting it inside a cup and holding the cup against a blocked ear.