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I wouldn't say I trained it, but I learned to control it. I do find myself pricking up my ears to hear better, not always consciously. FWIW, I can raise my ey
by RajT88 2y ago
I wouldn't say I trained it, but I learned to control it.
I do find myself pricking up my ears to hear better, not always consciously.
FWIW, I can raise my eyebrows individually, flare my nostrils, twitch my nose, and also flex some muscle which pops my ears. Useless human tricks. Except popping my ears; super useful on airplanes.
- kstrauser 2y agoIf you can’t will your ears to pop, here’s the manual way: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valsalva_maneuver https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valsalva_maneuver
- abdullahkhalids 2y agoThe method involves closing the mouth and pinching the nose shut and trying to "exhale". As the wiki notes further down, this can cause damage to your hearing if you do it too forcefully, so use other methods first.
- kstrauser 2y agoTrue, but it's really, really easy to not do it so hard that you blow your eardrums out. Scuba divers do this all the time.
- abdullahkhalids 2y agoIt doesn't work for me, and there is a definitely a voice in my head saying blow harder.
- shkkmo 2y agoThat's a way, and perhaps the most common, but far from the best. In particular, it has to be used preemptively before pressure builds up. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_clearing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_clearing
- Alex-Programs 2y agoI have a lot of trouble on airplanes. How did you learn to do that?
- RajT88 2y agoI don't know? I was really young, and as far as I can recall I just did it one day. I always thought it was a muscle in my ears, but I remember looking it up, and it's actually farther back like behind your throat or something. I can't do just one ear at a time, it's all or nothing.
- abdullahkhalids 2y agoSomeone linked this wiki page [1] in the thread. This might be it. > The effectiveness of the "yawning" method can be improved with practice; some people can achieve release or opening by moving their jaw forward or forward and down, rather than straight down as in a classical yawn,[6] and some can do so without moving their jaw at all by activating the tensor tympani muscle, which is heard by the individual as a deep, rumbling sound. > During swallowing or yawning, several muscles in the pharynx (throat) elevate the soft palate and open the throat. One of these muscles, the tensor veli palatini, also acts to open the Eustachian tube. This is why swallowing or yawning is successful in equalizing middle ear pressure. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valsalva_maneuver https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valsalva_maneuver
- Alex-Programs 2y agoThanks!
- NitpickLawyer 2y ago> and also flex some muscle which pops my ears. Useless human tricks. Also useful when you're diving. I can equalise without holding my nose for the first 10-15m, just by doing the thing with the ears. Doesn't work all the way down tho...
- yabbs 2y agoThe first 10m is the hardest. The last 10m is a cakewalk.
- saltcured 2y agoOn the other end, I have the ability to voluntarily move my big toe away from the other toes in the horizontal plane of the foot. Like splaying toes, but just swinging the big toe sideways while the others are at rest. But, I can only do this on my right foot. It's like I have awareness of a muscle and tendon there that is just absent on the other foot. It was weird to realize this asymmetry at first when I was young.