Earplanes, do they work?

[PRINCESS VIJA]

DD had a terrible time on the airplane during landing, someone suggested earplanes. Have you used them, and did they work for you? Any helpful tips? One thing that a website mentioned is put them in just prior to landing, another said during take off and during landing. HELP!

 

[brasswillow]

My dad had a really hard time with airplanes and I bought him earplanes. He used them and said they really help.

Sorry, but I don't know when he put them in/took them out.

 

[Pixiedust34]

I have horrible, horrible sinus issues. Plane rides can be a nightmare. I use Earplanes, which help *somewhat.* I still have ear and jaw pain when I fly, but the pain doesn't last as long with the Earplanes. Sometimes after landing, my ears are OK when I wear the Earplanes, and I consider that to be a near miracle!

I wear the Earplanes for a whole flight, putting them in before take-off and taking them out after the doors to the plane are opened at landing. If you're going to use them for only part of a flight, landing time is usually more brutal than take-off. Put them in before the plane starts to descend to land.

I also chew gum or use a lollipop, and I swallow a lot of water during the flight. During landing time, I guzzle down the water! I also start taking Sudafed around the clock about 48 hours before each flight.

One more thing I do is use a nasal spray about 30 minutes before take-off. My doctor said that overall nasal sprays are not good, but for flying they are OK to use. I use them only when I fly. Remember that they are a liquid and must go in your "liquid baggie" at the security check if you bring a nasal spray on the plane.

 

[ducklite]

I've been using them for years now during both take off and landing. On some shorter flights I never even bother to remove them.

Anne

 

[ZanneMarie]

They made my son nauseaus. Within 5-10 minutes of putting them in he felt like he was going to puke so we had him take them out. We then relied on taking a decongestant and chewing gum. That worked well for him.

 

[SeaSpray]

Hi Princess Vija!

I use Earplanes all the time when I fly. I used to get terrible piercing pain in my ears during descent and landing, but now I never do. I only wear them for landing; but you still need to insert them an hour before you land. It actually tells you right on the package exactly how to insert them, and when to insert them.

Also, I can still use headphones (external headphones, not earbuds that would go inside the ear) even after I've put the Earplanes in. My headphones aren't tight, so the light pressure against the Earplanes doesn't bother me.

Sometimes my ears hurt from the pressure of the Earplanes themselves right after we land, but once I remove them, I'm totally fine and pain-free

Earplanes come in adult and children's sizes.

 

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

The night before I flew to London for a school trip I ended up in the er with an ear infection in both ears and a sinus infection. The er doctor recommended earplanes and I have been using them ever since when I am congested while flying. They are AMAZING!!!!!!

 

[Meriweather]

I use them all the time. Some landings are worse than others. My "home" airport is the worse!
Take offs aren't nearly as bad, but I use them still. I put them in on taking off, take them out when we are up....put them back in when we start descent.
they help a lot....not all the way, but so much better.

 

[Chris2597]

yes they do work

 

[GotFids]

I used them for my son who had tubes in his ears that had already come out by the time we had to fly. He still complained and I was very careful to follow the directions. The flight home, I gave him one sudafed about 30 minutes before takeoff and that seemed to help him much more.

 

[DawnA401]

My daughter uses them every time she flies. It really lessens the pain she has in her ears.

 

[poohandwendy]

I used them two days ago and they really did work for me (also my DD and Dh used them with success). I was really worried because two days before coming home, I developed an earache (maybe swimmers ear, I dunno), but I knew that I have issues without an earache so I was concerned tha the flight home would be horrible. We bought a few sets at MCO (a newsstand place) and followed the directions, they worked really well. My DH did insert one of his too far and I had to remove it, LOL. (I also took sudafed 1 hr before takeoff)

One thing though, I already have moderate to severe hearing loss in both ears, the earplanes made it virtually impossible for me to talk to anyone or understand what they were saying. It was almost dead silence. It made for a peaceful flight, LOL, but was annoying when my DH was trying to talk to me and had to write what he was saying. (I should have taken them out mid flight, but I was worried that I would forget to reinsert them at the right time)

 

[swilphil]

It is hard to know when to put them back in. It usually seems to be about 45 minutes before landing. They have helped me quite a bit.

 

[ducklite]

Sometimes my ears hurt from the pressure of the Earplanes themselves right after we land, but once I remove them, I'm totally fine and pain-free

Earplanes come in adult and children's sizes.

Try the childrens size! I used to have the same problem, I have small ear canals. Since I switched to the childrens size I no longer have that problem.

Anne

 

[cybrkitn]

One more thing I do is use a nasal spray about 30 minutes before take-off. My doctor said that overall nasal sprays are not good, but for flying they are OK to use. I use them only when I fly. Remember that they are a liquid and must go in your "liquid baggie" at the security check if you bring a nasal spray on the plane.

Pixiedust34, what type of nasal spray do you use? OTC or Rx? I have an Rx spray that I use, but it can take up to two weeks before it starts working.

I have the same problem you do and last year had no problem with the flight from NY to FL, but the trip back was a totally different story. I was in so much pain while we were landing back at Islip, MacArthur airport that I was in tears. I have never experienced so much pain in my ears! The pain lasted about a week . Now I know to use Earplanes.

 

[SeaSpray]

Try the childrens size! I used to have the same problem, I have small ear canals. Since I switched to the childrens size I no longer have that problem.

Anne

Thanks! I will definitely try the children's size the next time. I'd been wondering if trying the smaller size would help!