Originally Posted by
Tewlsy
That's just the thing though. The internet is filled with stories of how horrible the pain is if you attempt to fly with an ear infection. I'm asking because I already have a ruptured/perforated eardrum. There's already a large hole in my eardrum. I know it hurts like hell to fly with an ear infection in a normal, unperforated eardrum and I know it's nice to fly with a perforated eardrum because it means there are much less if any pressure issues within your ear. What I'm not sure of is if an ear infection would still cause you that same supposedly unbearable pain on a flight regardless or if the perforation remains unblocked and will allow the air to flow like normal so that there are no pressure issues and thus no pain. It seems no one knows. I guess I really will have to try to speak with him. Thanks for the reply though.
Having sufficient personal experience of flying with ear problems, I would guess the pain from the infection could be incredibly intense. I did rupture both eardrums on a TATL flight years ago, and it was probably a decade before I flew without ear pain. The fact that yours are already ruptured is no guarantee that you won't experience an astounding level of pain.