Voluntary Eustachian tube opening

How it works

The Eustachian tube runs from the middle ear down to the back of the throat. It is normally closed. It opens briefly each time you swallow or yawn, to keep the pressure behind the eardrum equal to the pressure outside¹.

Two small muscles in the soft palate pull it open. They are the tensor veli palatini and the levator veli palatini²⁴. It is a common mistake to credit the tensor alone². The tensor is run by the trigeminal nerve⁴. The same nerve runs the tensor tympani, the muscle behind ear rumbling⁵.

Most people open the tube only by swallowing or yawning. Some divers and freedivers learn to open it directly, by tensing the palate muscles alone. The method is called voluntary tubal opening, or BTV from its French name². It is gentler than pinching the nose and blowing, which forces air up the tube from below³.

When the tube is held open, your own voice and breathing sound loud and hollow inside the ear. The effect stops when the tube closes.

How common it is

No study has counted how many people can open the Eustachian tubes on command. The skill needs control of single palate muscles. Divers rank it as more advanced than pinching the nose and blowing². Georges Delonca first described the technique in 1970². One nearby figure has been counted, but it is a different thing. Patulous Eustachian tube, where the tube stays open by itself, is reported in 0.3% to 6.6% of people².

Try it

1. Swallow and listen for a small click in each ear. That is the tube opening.
2. Start a yawn with your mouth closed. Stop halfway, at the point where your ears feel open.
3. Try to hold that pulled-up feeling in the back of the roof of your mouth without the yawn.
4. Breathe in through your nose. If you hear your own breath loudly inside your ear, the tube is open.
5. Practise on a plane or in a lift, where a pressure change tells you at once whether it worked.

Is it a problem?

No. Opening the tube on purpose uses no forced air pressure. This means less risk of ear injury than pinching the nose and blowing². It is a useful skill for diving and flying, not a health risk. See a doctor if your ears feel open all the time, with a constant loud sense of your own breathing and heartbeat. That can mean the tube is not closing properly, a separate condition².