Narrative:

Upon passing about 20;000 feet to 21;000 feet in the vicinity of ZZZ VOR; both the first officer (first officer) and I heard an unusual 'popping' sound coming from behind the door; then a steady loud 'hissing' sound. Before we finished asking each other what was that; one of the fas (flight attendant) called; saying the noise is coming from the main passenger door. I had immediately said to the effect; for them to sit down and get buckled just in case there is a door failure; and we will be descending to a lower altitude. My first officer must have heard me say about the descent; as he appeared to hit the altitude button on the flight control panel; and scrolling 10;000 feet. Just to be clear; I said to the first officer; emergency decent and I'm requesting priority handling with ATC. I called center; [requesting priority handling] for a probable pressurization and main door issue; initially needing 10;000 feet as our safe altitude. Center gave it to us. The first officer; PF (pilot flying); performed the rapid descent.a few moments into the descent; I noticed the cabin pressure was increasing; but not rapidly. I checked the doors page; and all doors indicated 'green;' including the main passenger door; but without being more certain about any damage yet; we descended at our current airspeed. Around 16;000 feet; I gave center the souls on board count; asked direct to ZZZ; and would get back with them. The first officer continued PF duties; while I was talking with center; talking with fas about their status; pulling out the QRH for passenger door with no-EICAS message (none; with closest being passenger door warning); and ACARS dispatch being a [priority] aircraft for the passenger door. In my peripherals while doing these things; the average decent rate was about 2;500/minute holding current airspeed; pressure was stabilized; going lower; with less possibility of masks deploying or sudden loss of pressure.during the initial ACARS messages; I informed dispatch we were an [priority] aircraft; descending to 10;000 feet with passenger door issue; pressure was stable/stabilizing; doors are indicating 'green' and we could continue to ZZZ. In hind-sight while writing this; I should have asked dispatch if to continue to ZZZ; or divert somewhere closer and suitable. I learned later with a call from on-duty pilot in [dispatch]; I had not included [maintenance control] with the initial couple ACARS; and this could have also aided in the decision-making process to continue as we did; or divert.while cruising at 10;000 feet direct to ZZZ; I continued to write ACARS; talk to fas as needed; and center as needed. Talking with the flight attendant's was difficult for us to understand each other with the continuous hissing sounds. I had informed the fas; that we are continuing to ZZZ and expecting a normal landing; therefore it's a yellow level; they seemed to verbalize a confirmation understanding yellow level and continuing to ZZZ.shortly after talking with the fas about the yellow level; I proceeded to make a PA to all the passengers. I informed them; we had descended to a lower altitude for an abundance of caution; at that time we were continuing to ZZZ; expecting a normal landing there along with the expected time of arrival; and apologized for the discomfort the sounds may be causing.approaching ZZZ; I gave the standard in-range PA to the passengers; with gate information; arrival time; and again stated expecting a normal landing at this time.during the final approach and landing; the hissing sound stopped at about 2;000 feet. Upon landing; we double check the doors page; asked the fas if the door was physically normal; and if they knew anyone needing special assistance. Once they gave a hurried yes indication; I notified tower we would terminate the emergency. We taxied to the gate as normal. At the gate; I learned the forward flight attendant; was complaining of terrible headache; and difficulty hearing. I asked her directly; if she needed medical attention. After a couple times asking; she said she should get checked out by medical personnel. I asked the first officer; to call operations as our forward flight attendant needs to be checked by medical personnel. No other passengers or crew needed medical attention. Because I was completing the discrepancy log; talking with maintenance; and then phone call from on-duty pilot; I am uncertain if she received medical attention near the gate; in the jet-bridge; or anywhere else in the airport. What I can say; is she was talking on the phone with likely dispatch saying about needing to be checked out; and the same with the gate agent. Myself; the first officer; and aft flight attendant continued on to the [next leg]; with a new flight attendant taking the other's place.maintenance met aircraft at the gate; and discovered approximately 4-6 inch area of the door seal had separated from the door. The seal itself was still serviceable from what the mechanics said when they had invited me down to see for myself.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: CRJ-900 flight crew reported entry door seal failure inflight; resulting in a diversion.

Narrative: Upon passing about 20;000 feet to 21;000 feet in the vicinity of ZZZ VOR; both the FO (First Officer) and I heard an unusual 'popping' sound coming from behind the door; then a steady loud 'hissing' sound. Before we finished asking each other what was that; one of the FAs (Flight Attendant) called; saying the noise is coming from the main passenger door. I had immediately said to the effect; for them to sit down and get buckled just in case there is a door failure; and we will be descending to a lower altitude. My FO must have heard me say about the descent; as he appeared to hit the ALT button on the flight control panel; and scrolling 10;000 feet. Just to be clear; I said to the FO; emergency decent and I'm requesting priority handling with ATC. I called Center; [Requesting Priority Handling] for a probable pressurization and main door issue; initially needing 10;000 feet as our safe altitude. Center gave it to us. The FO; PF (Pilot Flying); performed the rapid descent.A few moments into the descent; I noticed the cabin pressure was increasing; but not rapidly. I checked the Doors page; and all doors indicated 'Green;' including the main passenger door; but without being more certain about any damage yet; we descended at our current airspeed. Around 16;000 feet; I gave Center the souls on board count; asked direct to ZZZ; and would get back with them. The FO continued PF duties; while I was talking with Center; talking with FAs about their status; pulling out the QRH for Passenger Door with No-EICAS message (none; with closest being Passenger Door Warning); and ACARS Dispatch being a [priority] aircraft for the Passenger Door. In my peripherals while doing these things; the average decent rate was about 2;500/minute holding current airspeed; pressure was stabilized; going lower; with less possibility of masks deploying or sudden loss of pressure.During the initial ACARS messages; I informed Dispatch we were an [priority] aircraft; descending to 10;000 feet with passenger door issue; pressure was stable/stabilizing; doors are indicating 'green' and we could continue to ZZZ. In hind-sight while writing this; I should have asked Dispatch if to continue to ZZZ; or divert somewhere closer and suitable. I learned later with a call from on-duty pilot in [Dispatch]; I had not included [Maintenance Control] with the initial couple ACARS; and this could have also aided in the decision-making process to continue as we did; or divert.While cruising at 10;000 feet direct to ZZZ; I continued to write ACARS; talk to FAs as needed; and Center as needed. Talking with the FA's was difficult for us to understand each other with the continuous hissing sounds. I had informed the FAs; that we are continuing to ZZZ and expecting a normal landing; therefore it's a Yellow Level; they seemed to verbalize a confirmation understanding Yellow Level and continuing to ZZZ.Shortly after talking with the FAs about the Yellow Level; I proceeded to make a PA to all the passengers. I informed them; we had descended to a lower altitude for an abundance of caution; at that time we were continuing to ZZZ; expecting a normal landing there along with the expected time of arrival; and apologized for the discomfort the sounds may be causing.Approaching ZZZ; I gave the standard in-range PA to the passengers; with gate information; arrival time; and again stated expecting a normal landing at this time.During the final approach and landing; the hissing sound stopped at about 2;000 feet. Upon landing; we double check the doors page; asked the FAs if the door was physically normal; and if they knew anyone needing special assistance. Once they gave a hurried yes indication; I notified Tower we would terminate the emergency. We taxied to the gate as normal. At the gate; I learned the forward FA; was complaining of terrible headache; and difficulty hearing. I asked her directly; if she needed medical attention. After a couple times asking; she said she should get checked out by medical personnel. I asked the FO; to call operations as our forward FA needs to be checked by medical personnel. No other passengers or crew needed medical attention. Because I was completing the discrepancy log; talking with Maintenance; and then phone call from on-duty pilot; I am uncertain if she received medical attention near the gate; in the jet-bridge; or anywhere else in the airport. What I can say; is she was talking on the phone with likely Dispatch saying about needing to be checked out; and the same with the gate agent. Myself; the FO; and aft FA continued on to the [next leg]; with a new FA taking the other's place.Maintenance met aircraft at the gate; and discovered approximately 4-6 inch area of the door seal had separated from the door. The seal itself was still serviceable from what the mechanics said when they had invited me down to see for myself.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.