Do you hold in your sneeze? Reasons why you should not

Ruptured Eardrum

The building pressure that occurs when you try to hold in a sneeze can’t be released from your nose, but it has to go somewhere. One of the places this extra air tends to travel is into the ears via a tube called the eustachian tube that connects the nasal passages to the middle ear and eardrum.

When too much pressure builds up inside the eustachian tube due to trying to hold in a sneeze, one or both eardrums can rupture.