How does skydiving affect ear pressure?

Answer 1

• The higher you are, the faster your freefall speed is. Your speed slows down as you reach denser air.
• The aircraft also climbs faster when the air is colder and therefore at a lower pressure.
• If you have blocked ears (i.e. because you have a cold), you can get pain in them as it is hard for you to equalise.
• In terms of mental pressure, e.g. in a competition, pressure can make you give a bad performance when being judged.