auditory tube
nounUK /ˈɔː.dɪ.tər.i tjuːb/
US /ˈɔː.dɪ.tɔːr.i tuːb/
A small tube that connects your ear to the back of your throat.
When you swallow, the auditory tube opens to keep the pressure in your ear balanced.
RELATED WORDS
OTHER MEANINGS
2. A channel in the body that carries sound or air between the ear and the throat.
Doctors checked the auditory tube to see why her ear felt blocked.
3. The passage that helps drain fluid from the middle ear.
A cold can make the auditory tube swell and trap fluid.
4. An anatomical structure named after Bartolomeo Eustachi.
The auditory tube is also called the Eustachian tube after its discoverer.