Elias knew the drill. He remembered his doctor telling him once, "The air pressure outside is rising rapidly as you descend, but the air behind your eardrum is still trapped at 'cruising altitude' pressure. You have to equalize it, or that pressure difference is going to push painfully against your eardrum."
He squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed hard, visualizing the muscles in his throat pulling on the Eustachian tubes—the tiny canals that connect the middle ear to the back of the throat. He waited for the pop . how to pop ears after plane
He chewed rhythmically, moving his jaw side to side, exaggerating the motion. He swallowed the excess saliva. Pop. Pop. Elias knew the drill