Ear Aches on planes
 

How can I avoid having an ear ache ,clocgged ears and clicking in ears during and after a flight ?

Chewing gum or sucking on mints works for me.

I have found that a Sudafed helps prevent ear ache for me. I think my ear aches are caused by sinus issues when i am flying.

Hold your nose, close your mouth, try to breathe out and create a little pressure until you hear a pop. Not too hard though. Repeat as needed. I used to have to do this all of the time before I had surgery on my ear.

Ditto - but you really have to have good working clear sinuses to not end up in pain.


Sudafed (real sudafed, not the new "Safer" stuff) and nasal sprays.

Yawn.

I suffer from tinnitus so get earaches really bad, I wear flitemate earplugs when I fly.

Get tons of ear infections as a child so your eardrums are totally screwed up, then develop the ability to pop your ears by just exerting a bit of pressure with your cheeks. Works for me.

1) Nasal/sinus decongestant, e.g., Pseudoephedrine (found in cold medication like Advil Cold and Sinus).

2) The Valsalva Maneuver. "Just pinch your nose and close your mouth while forcibly exhaling through your nostrils. The popping noise you hear can help equalize the pressure inside your ear. Use the Valsalva maneuver periodically, he suggests, especially during ascent and descent." Used in diving and savvy airplane folk.

3) The combination of the Valsalva and moving your jaw every which way usually will equalize the pressure.

4) Yawn.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/colum...grossman_x.htm

If you have problems after the flight, that means you didn't properly equalize the pressure between the environment and middle ear and sinuses. When everything in your head works well, just swallowing and moving your jaw should be enough to take care of the issue (and for many people, even that is not necessary). When you hear popping noise in your ears, that's your Eustachian tubes opening and letting some air into the middle ear - a good sign.

But since you have pain, something is not working right. Could be sinuses, could be Eustachian tubes.

Solutions:

- learn to swallow and move the correct muscles to open Eustachian tubes during descent.
- use some good decongestant (my personal favorite is Aleve-D, the one that requires an ID to purchase - be aware that it includes naproxen, an NSAID, which may upset your stomach).
- see a doctor.

Omnivore mentioned FlightMate ear plugs. Another brand is Ear Planes.

In any event, there was a time when I couldn't fly without *MAJOR* ear problems. Yawning, chewing gum, drinking sips of water, taking a decongestant all helped somewhat...but, since the very first time I tried Ear Planes or FlightMates, I've *never* had a problem.

(I joke now with friends that I won't even drive past an airport without them!)

If you use this kind of ear plug, the trick is, IT MUST BE IN PLACE IN YOUR EAR BEFORE THE PLANE LEAVES THE GROUND! It does absolutely no good to wait until you have a ear problem to put them in.

Good luck!

There is extensive discussion about ear pressure among FTers. See if these threads help:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...heir-ears.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...-pressure.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...treatment.html

Earplanes--a special kind of pressure relieving earplug. Get them in any airport. Would not fly without them.

Yep put them in before it leaves the ground. I do it as soon as I'm settled in my seat, that way I know they're in, and I won't take them out until the plane is cruising, on a short flight (less than 2hrs) I'll usually just leave them in the whole time.

I have NEVER had a problem wearing these but have had immense suffering even after doing the other things.

I hear you about wearing them in other situations, I sometimes consider wearing them on my train trip to Sydney (lots of tunnels). I went up the Eureka tower in Melbourne with a friend, and the lift went fast so got to ear popping territory, my friend said to me "you should have brought your earplugs with you"

If your pain happens while you are ascending try wiggling your jaw, yawning, chewing, swallowing, etc...

If your pain happens while you are descending, try holding your nose and blowing through your nose just firmly enough until your ears pop. Repeat as you descend.

If you think that nasal/sinus congestion is playing a role in your ear pain, try taking sudafed as it's a miracle drug. Make sure you get the stuff from behind the counter that has pseudoephedrine as the stuff they sell on the shelves now is no better than placebo.