Earplanes for flying...???

[katefromny]

We're flying down in one month, yippee!

My 5 yr old son has frequent ear infections and I bought him some soft wax earplugs for the pool, so he keeps his ears dry. I am a little worried about the plane ride though, and saw these Earplanes for Kids in the groc store today, they are markedly different than the wax earplugs I bought for the pool.

Does anyone know if these Earplanes work, and if they work any differently than the standard pool earplugs?

Kate

 

[debster812]

I can tell you emphatically, that Earplanes worked FABULOUSLY for me . They do however, annoy the heck out of my DS, and he doesn't care to keep them in. He's 7 now, and I pack a pair in a carry on for each trip, so if it's bad, we have them, but he has tiny little ears, and I think they annoy him as much as they help.

I would get a pair, and try them at home, and see how he likes them. Just remember to get the Child's size and not the Adult.

 

[Earstou]

I'll never fly again without them!!! I'm so glad I read about them here two years ago. Have flown pain free ever since! My dd used them and had no problems, but she's a teen, so don't know how a 5 yr old will respond to wearing them. But they do work!

 

[nygrl]

i have to disagree my ds has really bad ears and the earplanes did nothing for him. we found something last year that did howevwer work great. they are called ear ease. they are cups that you fill with hot water and hold over your ear. the steam helps keep your ear from filling up with fluid. i too have horrible ear pain when flying and have tried everything and nothing worked until i found these. i dont think you can get them in a store i ordrered them on line. just type in ear ease in you search space and im sure they will come up good luck

 

[Gary M]

Earplanes have worked very well for me.

 

[CoolDisneyCat]

My daughter loves her Earplanes. She is 23, but has very small ear canals and gets terrible ear aches every time she flies. She uses the child size Earplanes.

The only problem is that she has a hard time talking because she can't hear herself. A child may not understand this and end up talking loudly the whole flight!

 

[sanibelover]

We bought them because my son got an ear infection 3 days before we left for vacation..........


He wouldn't even let me get them near his ears.............the joys of traveling with a 2 year old........

BUT, he had no problems on the flight. Your son will probably be OK - give him gum or a lollipop. Tell him to keep swallowing. Good luck. Have a great vacation!

 

[pdarrah]

Another vote for EarPlanes! I LOVE them and have been using them for about 8 years. Prior to finding these, I ALWAYS had ear pain and my ears would block up and stay that way for days. Back then I was traveling for work (about 10 trips per year) and it was becoming a major problem. I tried EarPlanes and will never, ever fly without them!

My DS5 has used them twice when we were concerned since he was flying with a cold. Although he didn't particularly like them, I think they did help since he didn't have any ear trouble.

You do not have to keep them in for the whole flight. Just for take-off (until you hit the final altitude) and again for landing. Sometimes it is hard to tell when to put them in for landing - I usually put them in about 30-45 minutes before we are do to land just to be safe. The only exception to this is if it is a very turublent flight. They will keep changing altitude trying to find "smooth" air and you need them in for all of that. I once had a terrible trip from Chicago to LA where I had to keep them in for the entire trip - they definitely became uncomfortable after the first 2 hours! (but still better than having blocked up ears for days.)

Hope that help,

pdarrah