So your eustachian tubes open up periodically to circulate air throughout your middle ear, equalizing its air pressure to the pressure in the back of your throat.Īnother function of your eustachian tubes is to allow any mucus buildup in your middle ear to drain out into your throat.Ī number of things can go wrong with your eustachian tubes and middle ear, including: To work properly, your middle ear should maintain the same air pressure as the air pressure around you. Your middle ear translates sounds that enter your outer ear into vibrations that can be understood by your inner ear and brain. Adult eustachian tubes are angled downward from the ear into the back of the throat, allowing for gravity drainage of middle ear fluids and mucus. They are typically closed, but they open with movements of the back of the nose and throat, such as those that occur when you swallow, yawn, or talk. Eustachian tubes are lined with the same kind of moist membrane that lines the nose and throat. ![]() What exactly is a eustachian tube? It's a small canal, about one and one-half inches long and only a few millimeters in diameter, that serves as a passageway connecting the back of your throat and nose to your middle ear, where your eardrum is located. But when sinus congestion from a cold or allergies blocks these tubes, you could develop a variety of problems, including ear infections. Eustachian tubes help maintain normal air pressure in the middle ear, in response to changes in pressure in the external environment.
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