Did you get a headache the last time you flew commercially?

No, we're not talking about the security lines... or the furious grab for overhead space for your oversized carry-on... or the screaming toddler kicking the seat behind you. We're talking about real headaches here, that can include sudden, severe pain.. even nausea, like a migraine.

Well, you're not alone... as Reuters reports that Drs. M. S. Berilgen and B. Müngen, of Firat University in Elazig, Turkey believe headaches like these could be caused by a phenomena called barotrauma... a sudden, and painful, change in air pressure.

Of course, airliners are pressurized... but the cabins aren't kept at the same pressure as the place you took off from. Typically, the standard airliner cabin is pressurized to the equivalent of about 8,000 feet -- and as the plane climbs, the pressure is gradually reduced relative to what it was on the ground.

The process reverses as the plane descends for landing... and while most people feel no ill effects from the gradual change in pressure, for some the process is not gradual enough.

Previously, doctors thought the severe headaches that many passengers complain of after flying were caused by being at a higher altitude... or from a pre-existing condition.

Instead, it could be the pressure change itself... and the only solution could be for the airliners to climb or descend to different altitudes more slowly, allowing more time for the air pressure inside the cabin to change.

Given the added costs in fuel and time associated with a slower climb to altitude, however... that is likely not an option the airlines will be wanting to explore.

FMI: www.firat.edu.tr