Air/Ear Travel

[mumineedu]

Does anyone have any suggestions or hints about the ear popping when traveling by plane. My 7 year old is dreading the plane to Disney because his ears hurt the last time we flew. Nothing we had at the time helped (gum, candy etc.)

 

[PhillyDisnynut]

don't know if this will help, but i use them, they sell ear plugs that you put in about half hour or so before you land or take off, i am not sure if they have them for kids though. i know rite aid , walgreens, cvs all have them, they helped me i had to fly 2 times within a week with a head cold. one time was a plane change too. and they helped alot.
good luck,
i am taking mine just in case next month.

 

[trayletha]

They do have them for kids - they are called Ear Planes, they worked great for my 3yo DD last year.

 

[Lisha7]

I'm so glad this thread is here! I didn't know where to post this. My friend is going with me and she has problems with the pressure and her ears even with the Ear Planes. Does anyone have any other, maybe less heard of suggestions?

 

[vhoffman]

I've used air planes and tried chewing gum with some degree of success. Here's something I read that seemed to help on my last flight--take an over the counter decongestant about 1/2 hour before takeoff. I used Sinutab, which is a decongestant with an expectorant, which thins out mucus. Or Sudaphed is another brand you could try.

 

[plutosmyfav]

Ear Planes and sipping a drink during take/off and landing will help dramatically. Drinking is actually better than chewing gum because the swallowing is what really helps keep the passages clear.

Good luck!

 

[mad4themouse]

Another vote for the EarPlanes! I used to suffer through air travel because of the pressure that would build in my ears. With the EarPlanes, I have not had a problem at all! You do look a little funny with them in (they are blue and do poke out from your ears) but the comfort factor far outweighs the strange looks you might get.

Also, during the course of the flight, I will pinch my nose shut and gently "blow" to clear my ears a few times. The trick is not to blow too hard and I'm not sure that I would recommend having a young child do this. However, for older kids and adults it can really help. I got this advise from a flight attendant.

 

[Lisha7]

Thank you so much!

 

[kcatoir]

On my dd's last appointment, I asked her ENT Dr (ear, nose, and throat specialist) how to handel the plane trip (dd is on her 3rd set of ear tubes) he said to have her take Afrin 1hr prior to flight because it opens the drainage tubes (don't ask me to spell the word) behind the ear drums.

Going to give it a try,
Hope that helps

 

[Bowman]

We just returned on Aug 31 from 8 days down at Disney. We flew and this was our son and daughters 3rd time flying. On the previous 2 trips my kids had no problems with their ears. They are now 8 and 10. I gave them gum to chew when we took off going down. Everything was fine until we started to descend to land. My 8 year old son started to complain about his ears so I gave him another piece of gum. It did not help. He was to the point where he was just about crying because they hurt him so much. We were telling him all kinds of things to do but nothing seemed to help. The stewardess saw him and told him she was going to give him something to help but it might look silly. She gave him 2 styrofoam cups (like for coffee). She told him to put them over his ears. Believe it or not this really helped him. He was kind of embarassed but we just kind of made silly jokes and it worked great. He was alittle nervous to come home but on the way home he had no problems at all. So just keep this in mind if ever this happens.

 

[Canadian Kelly]

Wow! That's something to remember. My daughter has had 4 sets of tubes and also has summer allergies. We went on Aug.23 and came back Aug. 30. We had EarPlanes, decongestant, gum, tootsie pops, tylenol. Nothing worked...she is nine years old and held my hand tightly while tears streamed down her face for most of the flight. It was awful. I would have did anything to take her pain away. Instead, we ended up forgetting her teddy bear on the plane and United found it 2 days later after I called. They held it for me and I picked it up at Orlando Airport. So, I will indeed try the styrofoam cups next time!

 

[melindaandrob]

Earplanes worked for us, until our last trip. The pilot was changing altitudes trying to avoid turbulence. You couldn't feel the change but dd and I sure did! Our ears were popping! Dd was in tears! If we experience this again we'll try the cups over the earplanes! Thanks for the tip!