If you think it’s more ear related, then I think the vibration is causing their ears to tickle on the inside, and yawning helps relieve that for a second or two.
Like when you have a tickle in your ear and you put your finger in your ear to make it stop.
Do they continue yawning excessively when they are at a distance away from it?
If they are sitting directly in front of it when they do this?
Another possibility is that they are yawning because of the sound or the vibration of the air caused by the air cooler is making their ears feel...