Plain English Meaning
A way to clear your ears when pressure changes during climbs and descents. You pinch your nose, close your mouth, and gently blow — that pushes air into your ears and relieves the pressure.
Full Definition
A technique used to equalize pressure between the middle ear and the surrounding atmosphere by closing the mouth, pinching the nostrils shut, and gently blowing as if to exhale through the nose. This forces air up the eustachian tube into the middle ear, balancing the pressure on either side of the eardrum.
Context Anchor
Pilots encounter this term when learning about ear pain or pressure changes during climb and descent.
Derivation
Named after Antonio Maria Valsalva, a 17th–18th century Italian anatomist who studied the ear and described this technique. Knowing the name comes from a person, not a Latin , helps why the term sounds unusual — it is simply someone's name attached to the they described.