Popping our ears is one of the thing we do so many times, and although it can hurt sometimes, we just find ourselves doing it. But what happen when we pop our ears, and to know that, we need to understand how the ear works, and what we need to know about our ear.
Let's start with the external ear and we will be looking at the external auditory canal which is where the pinna connects to. This external auditory canal is where people insert the Q-tip, or cotton bud depending on what you call it in your country. The Q-tip has been advised against by health experts as it can lead to the earwax or any external particle or object it might have caught, being pushed into the ear leading to the blockage of the ear. It can also rupture the eardrum but this is rare because the ear is filled with sensory receptors that can tell what region the Q-tip is at, as well as identify pain, so people using Q-tips would usually stop before it begins to hurt the eardrum but the first one is more likely.
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The skin lining the external auditory canal is filled with Ceruminous glands which is a type of sweat gland that produces the yellow secretion found with the EarWax (Cerumen) which provides a sticky barrier that prevents foreign bodies from getting into the body as well as lubricates the ear canal and prevents pathogens from getting into it. The external auditory canal ends with the Tympanic membrane (eardrum) which separates the outer from the middle ear. In the middle ear, there are small bones in an air filled space. These bones are known as the Mallus, Incus, and Stapes, which we all refer to as the ear ossicles.
In the middle ear are also muscles which are the Stapedius and the tensor tympani and they are responsible to popping of the ears. These muscles also contract when the ear is exposed to loud noise thereby limiting the movement of the tympanic membrane which would help to protect the Cochlea which is found in the inner ear.
The pressure of air within the middle ear is most often the same as the pressure outside the body but as you would expect, there are times when these pressure would not be the same at all time putting pressure on the tympanic membrane which causes pain in the ear but in serious cases, it can lead to the rupturing of the tympanic membrane. In the case were people decide to dive deep into Oceans like in the case of Scuba diving, as they go deeper, the pressure outside becomes greater than the pressure in the middle ear leading to the bulging of the eardrum inwards. When a person is going up, let's say climbing a mountain, the air pressure in the middle ear becomes greater than the air pressure outside leading to the bulging of the eardrum outward.
When this happen, the Pharyngotympanic tube is needed to be opened so as to help balance the pressure which then leads to popping of the ears. But there are cases when people are unable to pop up their ears such as in the case of upper respiratory tract infection causing the mucus membrane to get inflamed narrowing the Eustachian tube to be narrowed.
Although popping our ears may seem like a simple act, it's a reflection of the complex mechanisms at play within our auditory system. Understanding these processes not only sheds light on why we pop our ears but also underscores the importance of protecting our hearing health.
Reference
https://blog.klm.com/what-happens-to-your-ears-during-a-flight/
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002077.htm
https://homework.study.com/explanation
https://www.kenhub.com/en/library/anatomy/the-ear
https://www.uhhospitals.org/blog/articles/2023/10/ear-popping-pain-or-pressure-when-to-be-concerned
https://www.topdoctors.co.uk/medical-articles/popping-clicking-or-crackling-in-the-ear