If you ever been at high altitudes you’ve experienced your ears pop like everyone else does but the things is do cat experience the same thing when they are also at high altitudes? The answer is yes. Since a cats ears are very similar to a humans they will pop just like ours do when pressure changes. If you want the long answer keep reading on.
Why Do Cat Ears Pop?
To give you a more scientific answer to ears popping or (ear barotrauma, barotitis media, aerotitis media or simply airplane ear) is when the pressure in your cats middle ears is different from the pressure in the environment. The popping happens because your cat was in high altitudes and was brought back into normal altitude or vice versa and thats what creates the popping. It can happen in one or both of their ears.
Do Cats Ears Pop On Planes?
Since planes fly at high altitudes cats ears will pop when they are on a plane with you. This usually will happen when your taking off or landing on a plane.
How To Pop A Cats Ears?
Cats can’t really tell you if they have “airplane ear” but something that you can do is give them some type of chew toy when you are flying with them. The chewing action will help them pop their ears and equalize pressure if they do have this problem. Your cat can also alleviate this problem by yawning or swallowing so bringing food or treats might be wise.
Complications Of Ear Popping
Although rare if the airplane ear is severe it can cause complications in your cats ears. Some of them include:
- Pain
- Ruptured eardrum
- Moderate to severe hearing loss
- Vertigo
- Bleeding from the ear
Conclusion
Ear popping in cats isn’t anything to worry about and rarely causes complications. Eventually your cats ears will return to normal in time. If something seems off with your cat a vet visit is probably a good idea.