Avoiding Ear Pain on Airplane for kids

[Hemlock]

My son is hesitant about our upcoming flight to Orlando due to the ear pain that he experienced on our last trip. I tried giving him gum and telling him to swallow, but he didn't seem to get much relief from either. Any tips?

Thanks

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

Ear plugs work well for me.

 

[SC Minnie]

I always gave DD skittles or something harder to chew on than gum.

 

[blana]

Earplanes earplugs. Work wonders for me & for my 2 kids.

 

[dnoyes]

I've had the same problem my whole life. Get him a Vicks Inhaler and have him use it about twenty minutes before landing.

 

[Kae]

We use sudafed. We start taking 1 pill a day 2 days before we fly & then one the day of.

Kae

 

[onelilspark]

Oh I have the same problem, literally tears running down my face because I'm in so much pain. Earplanes, sudafed, and a prayer help me. Earplanes really are a lifesaver, I noticed a huge difference with them. And the sudafed clears out the sinuses which helps a lot. I just take it about a half hour before I board. ...then I just start praying that the pilot lands the plane quickly instead of bringing it in sloooooooooowly. OMG it kills me!

 

[gifchick]

I give my guys gummy bears, as soon as we get on, and then when we are landing, they have no choice to chew and then swallow...

 

[laughinplace199]

Earplanes earplugs. Work wonders for me & for my 2 kids.

This. My DS9 is the only one in the family who experiences ear pain when flying. Once he started using Earplanes, he's never had any pain. They come in adult and kid sizes. In my area, the kid ones are harder to find, but CVS usually has them.

 

[stevenpensacola]

http://www.cirrushealthcare.com/EarPlanes-C8.aspx

my mom swears by these.

 

[golfgal]

While I don't get pain, chewing and swallowing do nothing for my plugged ears when flying. I have yawn to clear them.

Your kids have a lot of problems with travel (motion sickness, ear pain), are you sure it is worth it??

 

[cybrkitn]

Thank you to the OP for starting this thread and to those who suggested Earplanes.

We went to WDW in 2006 and I had no problem with our flight until we were enroute home. When we were close to the airport (ISP - Islip, NY) I had the most excrutiating (sp?) pain in my right ear that had me in tears. My ear hurt for about a week afterwards.

We're going again in December and after reading about Earplanes, I'll definately get a box to use. I DO NOT want to experience the pain I had last time.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Since he's going to see Mickey, I've got to share a tip one flight attendant used with a child (seemed to work). Tell him he's getting Mickey ears. Take two styrofoam (or plastic) cups. Take two paper towels, dip in very warm water, squeeze out, place folded up inside the cups, then put the cups over his ears (KWIM?). The humid warmth inside the cups will help his ear pressure. It looks a little strange, but since he's going to see the Mouse, it should be pretty fashionable.

 

[bettymae1121]

One trick is to try to "blow" through your nose while you pinch it shut, with your mouth closed. This builds back presure and can clear your ears. Depending on how bad your ears are, you may have to "blow" kind of hard.

For less severe pain/discomfort, yawning can do the trick. And of course chewing gum or swallowing something as others have mentioned.

 

[FredinFL]

We use a nasal decongestant spray 15 minutes before take off, and gum.