Pressure: When your ears pop...
So what causes atmospheric pressure? We don't think of it much but air has weight or mass and it adds up as you stack it up. The atmosphere is roughly 50 km thick (30 miles) and that really adds up. It's crazy to think that when you lie down on the floor there are roughly 10,000 kg or 22,000 lbs of air stacked on top of you. It's a good question why we aren't all crushed everynight when we sleep.....thoughts?
I'm going to avoid that rabbit hole if possible and move along to the specific question of ears popping since we have more direct experience of this. I hope the previous statement gives you a sense that as we go up and down in elevation there is more or less atmosphere sitting on top of us. This plot shows how the atmospheric pressure changes as your elevation changes.
I know we don't have a great sense in this country of our elevation in meters so I'll let you mutiple the altitude by 3 to get the rough equivalent in feet. Central Oregon is roughly at 1000 m. How much is our pressure reduced compared to sea level?
That 10% reduction is also a 10% reduction in available oxygen as well so athletes often notice the difference when they come here.
The South Sister is just over 3000 m above sea level (3157 m). How much less oxygen is available as you get to the top? Does this help explain why you have increase your breathing to keep up? This is the consequence of the the 30% reduction in overall pressure.
Airplane cabins are typically held at a pressure equavalent to about 2000 m (1800 m - 2400 m). How much of a pressure change is that for us if we fly out of Redmond? (10%) Is the change the same as we land in Portland? (no - 20%)
People who fly often have challenges with their ears hurting either on landing or takeoff. 'Popping' is the process of air moving from one side of your eardrum to the other so the pressure on each side is equal which stops any pain. Do your ears pop as you drive from Central Oregon to Portland? Why do they rarely hurt compared to plane travel? Would you notice if they had spinning classes on airplanes to help pass the time (if only they would)? Which side of your eardrum is experiencing the higher pressure when you are taking off? -- when you are landing? Can you do anything to help resolve this?
