If some being did design that particular organ, there was absolutely nothing intelligent about it.
The ability to cope with pressure changes depends on the speed and direction of the change. If air needs to travel out via the Eustachian tube (eg. the pressure outside has dropped), this happens quickly and easily. If air needs to travel from the throat to the inner ear, in small amounts (eg. the pressure change is gradual), this also works pretty well in most people. But if external pressure is suddenly much higher than in the inner ear, this tends to force the opening of the Eustachian tube closed (on the throat side) -- the greater the pressure difference, the harder it is to open the Eustachian tube to equalize it!
...so the sudden pressure difference of "there's a hole in the plane" is a reduction in pressure, and most people's ears will handle that OK... it's the "landing" part that would be the problem. |
