Question
I have a strange question. I have been traveling a lot over the past couple of days and with a terrible head cold. My ears have been getting painfully pressurized on the airplane and so I have been repeatedly plugging my nose, closing my eyes and blowing really hard to pop my ears. I know this is a common practice to pop ears, but I always feel like I am straining my eyes and am worried about the effects this could have on my vision. Could this have potentially damaging effects and if so, what could happen if someone does this a lot or if they blow too hard?
Thanks!
Answer
Dear Sara,
There is no serious damage when you blow your nose or pop your ears (although it is not a pleasant sensation) like in a cold, however, some cases have a rupture of the tiny blood vessels (nothing serious) but your eye can have a nasty looking red blotch which of course clears up on its own.
Blow slowly to pop ears, better just keep swallowing sips of water of saliva, this could work better.
Hope this helps,
Best,
Dr Shroff
