WEBVTT - Why do your ears pop when you dive in a deep pool?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from house Stuff Works dot com,

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<v Speaker 1>where smart happens him Marshall Brain was today's question, Why

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<v Speaker 1>do your ears pop when you dive in the deep

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<v Speaker 1>end of the pool. If you've ever struck your finger

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<v Speaker 1>into your ear, you know about the ear canal. Your

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<v Speaker 1>ear canal is a tube, and at the end of

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<v Speaker 1>the tube is the ear drum, a thin piece of

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<v Speaker 1>skin stretched tight like a drum over the end of

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<v Speaker 1>the ear canal. You've probably read on a box of

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<v Speaker 1>cotton swabs or heard from your mother that you should

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<v Speaker 1>never stick anything in your ear. What you want to

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<v Speaker 1>avoid is sticking something in that could puncture the ear drum.

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<v Speaker 1>On the other side of the ear drum is a

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<v Speaker 1>hollow space filled with air called the middle ear. What

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<v Speaker 1>you want is for the air in your ear canal

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<v Speaker 1>and the air in the middle ear to have the

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<v Speaker 1>same pressure. If they do, then the ear drum has

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<v Speaker 1>equal pressure on both sides and it is smooth and happy.

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<v Speaker 1>In order for the middle ear to equalize its pressure,

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<v Speaker 1>there's a thin tube called the us Nation tube that

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<v Speaker 1>connects the middle ears air chamber to the throat. Air

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<v Speaker 1>can flow back and forth through this tube, and it

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<v Speaker 1>keeps the air pressure in the middle ear equal with

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<v Speaker 1>the outside air pressure. When you swim in deep water,

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<v Speaker 1>there can be a lot of water pressure. If you're

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<v Speaker 1>you station tube is clogged or narrowed for any reason,

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<v Speaker 1>then your middle ear gets shut off and it becomes

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<v Speaker 1>a closed chamber. It holds air at normal pressure, like

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<v Speaker 1>fourteen point seven p s i. When you swim to

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<v Speaker 1>the bottom of the deep end, the water is pressing

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<v Speaker 1>into the ear canal at about nineteen p s i,

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<v Speaker 1>so the ear drum bows inward because of the pressure difference.

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<v Speaker 1>Since the ear drum is full of nerves, you feel

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<v Speaker 1>this bowing as pain. To solve the problem, you can

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<v Speaker 1>equalize the pressure. When you start to feel pain in

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<v Speaker 1>your ears, hold your nose shut with your fingers and

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<v Speaker 1>blow into your nose. You'll hear your ears pop and

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<v Speaker 1>the pain should go away. By blowing, you increase the

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<v Speaker 1>air pressure and your lungs and throat and it blows

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<v Speaker 1>the air up your station tube into the middle ear

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<v Speaker 1>to equalize the pressure. When you rise back up to

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<v Speaker 1>the surface, the middle ear will contain excess pressure, but

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<v Speaker 1>the US station to generally releases it automatically. If not,

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<v Speaker 1>try yawning to open it up, or chewing gum or

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<v Speaker 1>something that will cause the U station tube deflex and open.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you have any ideas or suggestions for this podcast?

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