system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5 When I plug my nose and blow air really hard, my ears "pop". What is actually happening?
gpt
When you do that you force air up your eustacion tube which goes from your throat to your ear behind your ear drum. It equalizes the pressure on both sides of your ear drum. When you go to higher altitudes the air pressure gets lower so the air on the inside of your eardrum is higher and pushes out on your eardrum so if you plug your nose and suck in it will pop your eardrum back to normal. If you go underwater far enough the water pressure will push in your eardrum so by plugging and blowing you pop your eardrum back out.