Ear pain while flying

[dedex13]

My 15 yo daughter has problems with her ears when we flew before. Pain, of course, and then her ears didn't "pop" until she was sleeping. She was chewing gum, but it didn't really help that much.

Any advise on what else might help?

 

[goofy4tink]

Try taking a good decongestant a few hours before you fly....then take another one 30 mins before flying. Just don't take too many!! I take the first one so that I can take the second one at the gate. That way, the first dose is working in my system and the second one overlaps it a bit for the actual flight.

 

[kristenrice]

EarPlanes!

I have horrible sinus problems and often ended up with a migraine for a day after flying. Nothing seemed to help until someone here suggested EarPlanes. I used them for several flights and they worked great. The only time I had a problem was my own fault. The first two flights, I put them in just after they closed the door and didn't take them out until we landed and I had ZERO ear pain or sinus pressure problems. The third time, I thought I would try taking them out during the flight, which is OK, but you MUST put them back in before you START descent. By the time I noticed, we had already begun our descent. I quickly put them back in, but it was too late. I had sinus pain for a few hours, which wasn't as bad as it would have been without the EarPlanes, but I learned my lesson. Now, every time I fly, they go in after I put on my seatbelt and they don't come out until we are on the ground. I also take a decongestant about 30-60 minute before the flight. That seems to help too.

 

[elric186]

earplanes are a must for my DW. and yes she has found its best to just leave them in for the whole flight.

 

[OKW Lover]

My 15 yo daughter has problems with her ears when we flew before. Pain, of course, and then her ears didn't "pop" until she was sleeping. She was chewing gum, but it didn't really help that much.

Any advise on what else might help?

If your daughter was stuffed up before her last flight (from a cold or allergy) that might have been a one time thing. If it is a regular problem, then a visit to the Dr would probably be in order.

 

[mommyrosa2]

We swear by Earplanes.... myself and my oldest DD have a lot of problems with our ears and after our ENT recommended we try this years ago, we found they are a godsend. We both take a decongestant before we fly and then pop the Earplanes in and we're good to go. Even though my oldest is 19, she has smaller eardrums, so she does better with the kids size Earplanes... I'm fine with the adult size.

 

[peimikes]

Earplanes are a must for me, they are found and any drug store or big box store with a pharmacy. Ask the Pharmacist for help some times they are hard to find in the displays. And they usually sell for under $10. I have even made the mistake of forgetting them in my checked bags once and found them at an airport news stand and they were only $12, I now keep a back up pair in my carry on or laptop bag. Worth every cent, in the past I would loose my hearing for a week or more when I flew. After I started using Earplanes no issues. I get 1 set for my out going flight and 1 set for my return, they don't not work as well if you reuse them, as I recall the instructions say the are a 1 time use. They also come in Child and Adult sizes you want a tight fit, at 15 depending on the person you may want to try both and see which fits best.

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

Ear Planes are an absolute must for me, too. I buy mine at CVS. As soon as I hook up my seat belt, I put in the Ear Planes and leave them in until I exit the plane. I am a 60 year old woman, and the kid's size fits me better than the adult size. I cannot take decongestants because of high blood pressure, so it also helps me to take a couple of Motrins before the flight.
Without the Ear Planes flying is just about intolerable.

 

[rimomma66]

I have had two sinus surgeries and flying is a nightmare because I get those awful vacuum headaches and ear pain. I always take two Sudafed (the real, have to show your ID, promise your first born etc. stuff) about a half hour before take off and also use earplanes. It seems to be worse on longer flights, I suppose because of higher altitudes for longer periods. Flying to Puerto Rico from Boston about killed me. (before ear planes)

 

[VLee]

so glad to read this thread about the EarPlanes. I always try to chew gum and yawn, but still many times end up with awful ear pain. Will try this out real soon!

 

[goofy4tink]

Sorry, I completely forgot about Earplanes.. I've used them with good success.

 

[NJmouse]

I also use Earplanes I purchase them in Walmart they are where the ear wax removal items are I paid between $5-$6. I cannot use earplugs for my Nook but I have earphones that work well over them.

 

[BuzzLiteyear]

I can't fly without EarPlanes. They are great.

 

[MartDM]

Another vote for Earplanes here! Gave my husband a new lease on plane travel!

 

[dedex13]

Thank you, everyone! We'll be trying the ear planes for sure!

 

[kappyfamily]

Great tip thank you! I just read the instructions on the website and says they can be taken out during flight but must be put in 1 hour before start of descent. Taken out when the cabin door is opened. So obviously for a shorter flight I would just leave them in the whole flight. Cool!!

 

[clanmcculloch]

My 13yo has to wear EarPlanes as well. We tried all sorts of different things before these but none of them worked.

Make sure you get the right size. At 13 years old she still needs the child size ones. Last year I forgot them and had to buy some a the airport. They only had adult size ones so that's what she used. I had to buy the child size ones during out trip for our return flight because she suffered on the outbound flight even with them in. She's pretty small. If your 15 yo is small then try the child size ones.

 

[bfamily5]

This may look a little funny, but if you forget or lose your earplanes, I read a tip on another forum somewhere. Just ask the flight attendant for 2 cups and put one over each ear - it'll work in a pinch

 

[Mkrop]

Earplanes dont work for us. We use Sudafed (which is a decogestent, make sure you get in from behind the pharmacy counter, the stuff on the shelf doesnt work) and we also use Afrin, right at descent.

This was recommended by DS16 and DS10's allergist/asthma specialist.

 

[Pooh2]

Wish I had heard about Earplanes when my kids were little!
Gonna pick up some at Wally world this week to have on hand for next trip!