eli5: Why do our ears pop when we change altitude? And if it’s pressure, why do they do it in pressurised plane cabins?

Question

eli5: Why do our ears pop when we change altitude? And if it’s pressure, why do they do it in pressurised plane cabins?

In: 14

Answer 1

Next time you fly take a bag of chips and check it out when the plane reaches cruising altitude. The expanded, taught bag has the same pressure as the inside of your ear until it adjusts to the nee pressure via the eustachian tube.