What happens when the plane drops suddenly?

It sounds terrible, but it's not as dangerous as you think!

Just recently, the Ryanair FR7312 flight quickly lost altitude and had to make an emergency landing in Germany, more than 30 passengers were taken to the hospital. Some passengers have bleeding in their ears, while others suffer from headaches, earaches and nausea.

So why can this make us bleed?

Any change in pressure in the cockpit, either slowly or suddenly, can cause some health problems.

Few people know that the cabin pressure when measured accurately equates to air pressure at an altitude of about 6,000 - 8,000 feet (1.8 to 2.4 km) above sea level.

Although it may sound high, the altitude is much lower than the normal flight altitude of 36,000 - 40,000 feet (11 to 12.2 km). So there is a big difference between the air inside the cabin and the outside of the plane.

Any change in pressure in the cockpit, either slowly or suddenly, can cause some health problems. A slow leak may lead to symptoms of hypoxia such as nausea and headache; But the ear bleeding requires a more complicated explanation.

Chris Brennan-Jones, a pediatric audiologist, said the middle ear is mostly airtight and protected by the eardrum.

However, air can enter and exit the ear through channels that connect the ear to the back of the throat, called the Eustachian tube .

Brennan-Jones said: "In the middle ear space, there is only a small amount of air. And the rest of the air is outside the eardrum. Normally the air pressure inside the middle ear and in the atmosphere very similar, or at least not different enough to cause trouble.

When you increase the altitude, the atmospheric pressure in the atmosphere decreases, making the air "thinner", while the air pressure in the middle ear is still relatively constant. "

When rapid increase or decrease of pressure, this can also cause the eardrum to perforate or cause ear injury.

This can put pressure on the eardrum, making it harder to hear, and causing discomfort in the ear.

When rapid increase or decrease of pressure, this can also cause the eardrum to perforate or cause ear injury. Symptoms include ear pain, water leakage from the ear - may include blood, nausea and dizziness.

Fortunately, eardrum perforation and spinal injury can be eliminated within weeks to months. So in this frightening situation, no one is seriously injured or permanently. All passengers were discharged after 2 days of normal health.

However, this is also a reminder for you. Be careful not to admit, pay attention to listening safety instructions when flying. Especially when you finish reading this lesson, you know exactly what to do with the oxygen mask if it floats in front of you suddenly.