If you ever experience the following ear symptoms, it's important to see an Ear, Nose, and Throat physician: Your ear discomfort comes with other symptoms such as dizziness, fever, bleeding from the ear, or severe pain. Your ear pain and pressure get worse despite treatments you try at home.

Ear pressure (barotrauma) is common during flights or diving, but it becomes "serious" when it is accompanied by specific "red flag" symptoms. You should seek medical attention if the pressure is followed by sharp, intense pain, a sudden loss of hearing, or tinnitus (ringing) that lasts more than 24 hours after landing. More severe signs include vertigo (dizziness), nausea, or bleeding/fluid drainage from the ear canal, which could indicate a perforated eardrum or a "perilymph fistula" (a tear in the inner ear membrane). In 2026, doctors also warn that if "muffled" hearing persists for several days, it may not be air pressure at all, but "Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss," which requires immediate steroid treatment to prevent permanent damage. If the "Valsalva maneuver" (pinching your nose and blowing gently) or yawning does not equalize the pressure after a few hours on the ground, it indicates that the Eustachian tube is significantly blocked or inflamed, potentially leading to a secondary middle-ear infection.