Flying and Ear Pain

[laurenk]

I know that I have seen this topic before. What do people take to lessen ear pain when flying?

Thanks!

 

[Pixiedust34]

Buy some Earplanes. You wear them in your ears and they help your ears deal with the change in pressure. Also take some Benadryl or Sudafed before take off. Drink frequently, and/or chew gum or have a lollipop. Swallowing frequently helps with the pain. If your sinuses are very bad, you might want to try a nasal spray about 30 minutes before take-off. In general, nasal sprays are not good for long term use. Flying is the only time I use one.

I took all of the above precautions and had a GREAT flight going to MCO, but a painful landing on my return flight. My sinuses are bad and it's hit or miss on whether those precautions will work on me. I hope you have a good flight.

 

[goofy4tink]

I always take a Tylenol Sinus Pain tablet (or 2) about an hour before I fly. If I have any kind of congestion, due to a cold or allergy attack, I will use a squirt or two of Afrin about 20 minutes before boarding.
I also give my 13 y/o dd the Tylenol Sinus Pain tablet as well. It has worked quite well for us as a preventative measure.

 

[Lewisc]

Sudafed about an hour before take off and again about an hour before landing. Check with your doctor if you're concerned about exceeding the dosage on the package.

 

[Miffy]

I take about 1000 mg of vitamin C before the flight and sometimes another 500 during the flight, depending on how long the flight is. That and drinking loads of water before and during the flight seem to help me.

 

[DizkneeDenna]

I have terrible ear troubles when flying and this is what I do....

EarPlanes....can't stress this enough, they say you can take them out and put them back in before landing but I don't. I leave them in for the entire flight. This has the added benefit of not being able to hear people!

Before the flight I use Ponaris Nasal Emollient. I get it at CVS Pharmacy - they have to order it. It's not cheap, I pay $13.00. This stuff is great. NASA uses it in their medical kits. It's all natural....oils of pine, eucalyptus, peppermint, cajeput and cottonseed. This stuff smells like eucalptus and it really works. Clears up my sinuses immediately.

Hope this helps!

Denna

 

[ro80]

I am so glad someone thought of posting about this. A couple of times, when landing, I was literally sobbing I was in so much pain. I felt bad for the lady on the side of me but I couldn't help it. This is a big problem for alot of people. Thanks for the good advice !!!

 

[disneymiss]

Well I too have sinus problems, so I use Halls Blue Ice cough drops, works great! I do not fly with out them

 

[laurenk]

Thanks everyone for all of the great tips!

ro80- I was on a flight once where I was sobbing too due to the pain. I have never felt anything like that.

 

[ro80]

I'd rather go through childbirth - that's how bad the pain was!!! No joke...

 

[Dopey Sharon]

When I feel my ears starting to clog up, I hold my nose, shut my mouth and blow until my ears pop. I have to do this a few times from when we start descending until we land.