With the rapid development of China’s transportation industry, the railroad from the moving train to high-speed rail, the speed of the car is getting faster and faster. However, when you have a cold or sinus disease, you should be alert to the possibility of otitis media when you take this kind of transportation. Why do I need to be alert to the possibility of otitis media when I have a cold? Normally, the pressure inside and outside the eardrum of the human ear is balanced. When the pressure inside and outside the eardrum is different, and the pressure difference is large, people will feel stuffy in the ear. When a train enters a tunnel, the air is compressed by the suddenly shrinking space and the air pressure increases greatly in a short period of time, causing the pressure in the human external ear canal to increase, while the gas enters the tympanic chamber from the eustachian tube relatively slowly. This results in a pressure imbalance inside and outside the tympanic membrane, so we feel stuffy in the ear. In most cases, healthy citizens can gradually balance the pressure inside and outside the tympanic chamber because the eustachian tube is ventilated, so we feel that the stuffiness disappears after a while. However, if you have a cold or nasal sinus disease, the eustachian tube is easily blocked and cannot adjust the pressure balance inside and outside the tympanic chamber, which can lead to prolonged negative pressure in the tympanic chamber and even fluid accumulation, resulting in symptoms such as ear stuffiness, ear congestion, abnormal hearing and inducing exudative otitis media. This condition is also more common when traveling by airplane and is called “aviation otitis media” because it has a clear cause. Whether the otitis media is caused by air travel, high speed rail, or train travel, it is an acute otitis media. If you experience hearing loss due to stuffy ears and swelling while riding in these types of transportation, and if you don’t get treatment in time, it may lead to increased deafness and difficulty in hearing recovery. Therefore, when you have a cold or sinus disease, it is best not to take a train, high speed train, or airplane to avoid accidents that may trigger otitis media. If you have to take a ride and have symptoms such as ear congestion and ear pain, you can use the following methods to relieve them: 1) Wear ear plugs and do more swallowing actions such as chewing gum; 2) Pinch your nose, close your mouth tightly and puff hard to let the airflow open the eustachian tube and enter the middle ear cavity to relieve and eliminate the above discomfort. If you still have ear pain, stuffy ears, tinnitus or hearing loss after the ride, it means that you may have acute exudative otitis media, so it is recommended to go to the local hospital in time to avoid delaying the condition.