Children's Ears and Flying

[judykay53]

We are flying with two children ages 9 and 7 who have never flown before. We have no idea how their bodies will handle it i.e. ears, headache. What does everyone do to help prevent problems that they might have. The one and only time I flew (many years ago) I got a migraine which was probably more from stress. Recently, two different times my adult daughter flew she got a headache in the same spot. One was bearable and the other was severe.Any suggestions?

 

[DiscussDisney]

We used ear planes (can be purchased almost anywhere) and Sudafed. Worked like a charm.

 

[goofy4tink]

We have used the earplanes also. They worked very well. My dd now knows to take sips of her water and keep swallowing..that helps also. We also try to take a decongestant before we get on the plane...about an hour before. Just in case there is any type of congestion since that can be a real pain.

 

[PartyOf5]

Unfortunately, earplanes have never worked for my daughter. However, our pediatrician recommended taking sudafed starting 48 hours prior to take off (to dry out the sinuses). We tried this last month and it worked quite well.

 

[judykay53]

What are earplanes?

 

[DiscussDisney]

Visit http://www.earplanes.com/

 

[nicdanh]

benedryl works well and have them chew gum or drink from a straw at take off and landing.

 

[Aliki]

I travelled extensively as a child. The only thing that worked for me was sucking on lots of candy.

 

[judykay53]

Thanks everyone.

 

[DawnCt1]

benedryl works well and have them chew gum or drink from a straw at take off and landing.

I'll take the little one, on the left.

 

[kimmbagley]

Also wanted to note that earplanes come in a childrens size.

 

[kleubanks]

I know it sounds a little strange but here's another trick. If your kids (or you) have ear pain on take off or landings, have them hold cups over their ears. The air between the ear and the cup stays equilized preventing the pressure on the eardrum. Admittedly it looks a little strange but really helps. I told a very grateful father to try it when he flew with his 3 kids and one was really in pain. I'm an audiologist and saw a flight attendent recommend it once.

 

[CarolynNC]

I know it sounds a little strange but here's another trick. If your kids (or you) have ear pain on take off or landings, have them hold cups over their ears. The air between the ear and the cup stays equilized preventing the pressure on the eardrum. Admittedly it looks a little strange but really helps. I told a very grateful father to try it when he flew with his 3 kids and one was really in pain. I'm an audiologist and saw a flight attendent recommend it once.

Now we have a new way to identify DISers! We just look for people on our flights with cups on their ears!

All kidding aside, makes perfect sense.

 

[vacanut]

My ears usually block when I fly, I cannot hear out of them after the flight, usually takes hours sometimes overnight for them to unblock.
Will these earplanes help?

 

[aquaticmom]

Great tip, I may try this for our October trip. I'll have to try to find DIS green cups though. LOL - All kidding aside thanks for the tip.

 

[soccer mom]

My doc recommended a dose of sudafed and a hit of Afrin about 45 minutes before flight time. It works great! Before I tried this I use to end up with an ear infection on every vacation as well as not being able to hear very well during the trip. I would think dosage could be adjusted for kids.