Whenever you go up an elevator or descend during a flight, the atmospheric pressure either goes up or down, and this creates either positive or negative pressure in your middle ear. With very slight pressure changes, you'll feels a bit of fullness and hearing loss, but with severe pressure changes, you may even have pain and discomfort. If you keep swallowing, then you'll keep popping open your ears. As a result, you'll feel anything from fullness, hearing loss, popping, clicking, buzzing, or even ringing. This is why it's recommended that you chew gum during descents in flights, or give the baby a bottle to feed.
Causes Of Inflammation
However, if you have any degree of inflammation in your nose, then additional swelling can prevent proper equilibration of air between your middle ear and nose. A number of different causes can aggravate swelling, including viral colds, allergies, weather changes, and even acid reflux.