It is pretty common for everyone to doze off while travelling on a plane, however,  a recent study conducted by Harvard Medical School has revealed that snoozing during a flight can actually damage your hearing ability.

Usually many people on board feel like their ears are about to pop, which happens due to a change in altitude. Researchers have now made a discovery that people can have hearing impairment if this change in altitude happens while they are sleeping at that time.

This can occur when the outside pressure of the ear does not match that of the inside, while mostly in planes the outside pressure often drops severely when the aircraft is landing. Generally the situation everyone faces is eased within few moments after the flight and this pressure can be equalised by opening a thin canal in your ear - the eustachian tube - by either yawning or swallowing. This is usually why many air hostesses or stewards’ hand out chewy sweets before landing.

None the less, this little problem can cause severe damage if the person is asleep because the pressures remain inimitable, the eustachian tube can become blocked and ear barotrauma can occur, according to Medline Plus, a health website produced by United States National Library of Medicine.

In severe cases, when the tube stays blocked for a prolonged period of time, an infection can develop that causes fluid to build up behind the eardrum, which can cause pain and hearing difficulties. However, this can easily be avoided if the passengers try not to doze off and wake up during landing, no matter how sleep deprived.