Does gum really work?

[xxWDWfreak]

When your on the plane and you chew gum to stop your ears from popping, does it really work?

 

[DVCsince02]

Yep, and lollipops, candy, juice, mints.... you get the picture. Anything that will make you swallow. While it won't stop the popping, it makes it happen more often and lets the pressure off faster to keep it from building up.

 

[Our 2 Princesses]

Yes, it does. When our dds were younger, I used to give them small Tootsie Rolls. Those worked great!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

And don't forget the little ones...you can either nurse or bottle feed at take off and landing. Or give them a pacifier if they aren't hungry.

 

[chickie]

I also used "earplanes" for my dd on the plane. They are earplugs, but the kid's sizes are hard to find. You can find them at Walgreens, etc where the eye and ear care stuff is. I don't know if they really work, but she says they do. Maybe now it's just a security blanket thing; she thinks she needs them all the time now.

 

[karliebug]

gum never works for me. I vote for the earplanes, they have helped me tremendously. I've even seen pilots wearing them.

 

[PrincessRora]

Gum works pretty well, but I'm another definite vote for earplanes. They worked so much better and weren't at all uncomfortable. We don't use them much anymore, but when my brother and I were younger, they were a definite life saver.

 

[Perditamarie]

yawning works too

 

[all4fun]

Gum causes you to generate saliva, which causes you to swallow, which eases the air pressure in your ears. It always works for me but as pp's have said, it doesn't work for everyone. I think if you don't have ear problems (like a really bad cold would cause) you shouldn't have any real problems. Personally the only time the pressure ever actually Hurt was when I had a bad head cold.

You'll have more trouble on descent (landing) than ascent (take off). Start chewing gum (or whatever) about 45mins before your scheduled to land. It's about the time the FA's make the last run through the cabin to pick up garbage and take care of anything they need to before landing.

hth

 

[heimlichfan]

Chewing gum and gently yawning always works for me!

 

[kpmdjm]

I use earplanes and they work great!!!

 

[graygables]

We whisper in "whale" (a la Dory in Finding Nemo) DDs always get a big kick out of "speaking whale" and the movement of the jaw helps the ears tremendously. My 12yo has terrible problems and earplanes have NOT worked for her. I've flown enough that I know how to move my jaw forward to pop mine, but she hasn't mastered it yet.

 

[miksilver]

We whisper in "whale" (a la Dory in Finding Nemo) DDs always get a big kick out of "speaking whale" and the movement of the jaw helps the ears tremendously. My 12yo has terrible problems and earplanes have NOT worked for her. I've flown enough that I know how to move my jaw forward to pop mine, but she hasn't mastered it yet.

That's a great idea. I think I'll try that with my next flight with my DD.

 

[lisaland]

I bet that is hilarious to watch!!

 

[graygables]

I bet that is hilarious to watch!!

It is...giggling also helps