In a normal human middle ear, there is a tunnel that connects to the back of the nose. When pressure builds up in the middle ear such as going up in an airplane, an individual is able to "pop" the ear thereby releasing the pressure and alleviating the clogging sensation. When this tunnel, called the eustachian tube, becomes swollen shut, an individual is unable to pop the ear causing a persistent clogged ear sensation . This particular scenario is called Eustachian Tube Dysfunction…
