A domestic research team has developed a system that precisely controls pressure inside the ear so users can realistically feel atmospheric pressure changes in virtual reality (VR). This is the first time a VR experience has implemented the sensation of ear fullness caused by pressure.
Kim Seung-jun, a professor in the Department of AI Convergence at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), and the research team said on the 13th that they developed a new technology, "EarPressure VR," which attaches to a VR headset and reproduces ear fullness caused by changes in atmospheric and water pressure by finely adjusting pressure inside the ear.
Until now, realistically implementing pressure changes in VR faced significant technical constraints because it required adjusting the air pressure of an entire space. The research team solved this problem by adapting tympanometry, a technique used in clinics to test eardrum and middle-ear pressure. Tympanometry is a clinical test that measures eardrum movement and the pressure condition of the middle ear by injecting air into the ear canal.
EarPressure VR monitors the internal ear state in real time with a pressure sensor and reproduces pressure changes within a 40 hPa (hectopascal) range in 0.57 seconds through a built-in motor and a medical syringe. This is similar to the speed a person actually feels when descending with depth in water.
To verify whether users can clearly perceive changes in ear pressure, the research team conducted experiments by separating the direction and intensity of pressure. As a result, when a pressure difference of about 14.4–23.8 hPa or more was applied, users could distinguish whether the pressure acted inward or outward. Differences in intensity of 14.6–34.9 hPa or more were also identifiable. This aligns with existing medical findings that the eardrum is highly sensitive to pressure changes.
In experiments applying scenarios of depth change or environmental movement, conditions that provided pressure feedback delivered much higher realism and immersion than those that offered only sound effects. Participants who felt the technology's effects said, "It feels like I'm actually under the sea," and "It was a completely new sensory experience."
Kim Seung-jun said, "It is an innovative technology that enables direct experience of environmental pressure changes that were previously difficult to implement by controlling pressure inside the ear," adding, "It will fundamentally change the user experience across future technologies such as VR, augmented reality (AR), remote work, and training simulations."
The research findings were presented at ACM UIST 2025, one of the world's top academic conferences in user interface and interaction technologies.