Question about Earplanes

[Maggie'sMom]

DD and I are flying to Boston next week. She has a lot of problems with her ears on flights, and even with my coaching, gum, hard candy, etc. she struggles to "pop" her ears and relieve pressure during take offs and landings. On our last flight a year ago, she was almost screaming in pain during descent. Adding to my concerns about our flight next week is that she came down with a cold yesterday. It's not a bad one, and she was already feeling better today than she did yesterday, but I can only imagine how much worse her ears will be on the flight next week.

I bought some Earplanes for the trip, but she likes to watch movies or listen to music using headphones during the flight. Will the Earplanes work if we take them out during the middle of the flight and reinsert a 1/2 hour or so before landing? Or should I have her leave them in during the entire flight?

 

[kbgutknecht]

I don't have any experience with Earplanes, but I thought I'd mention a couple of things...

Did you ever have her hold her nose and swallow at the same time? *Even trying it now as I sit at my computer I can feel the difference.

Also, do you have any idea why she has such a hard time? *Do you think there are any other products out there that might help clear her ears out that would help?

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I don't have any experience with Earplanes, but I thought I'd mention a couple of things...

Did you ever have her hold her nose and swallow at the same time? *Even trying it now as I sit at my computer I can feel the difference.

Also, do you have any idea why she has such a hard time? *Do you think there are any other products out there that might help clear her ears out that would help?

Yes, I've had her try holding her nose and swallowing. I have no idea why she has such a hard time, and it's gotten worse as she gets older. I was really worried she'd be in pain during our first flight when she was 2.5yo, but it didn't phase her. Each flight since then has gotten progressively worse for her.

 

[bumbershoot]

DS doesn't need them in during the bulk of the flight. The main time he uses them are for descent, and so we put them in around half an hour before the plane *starts* its descent. So you have to pay attention to the time ( if you're flying on an airline with an inflight entertainment system with a way to look at where the flight is, like on Virgin America, that is extra-helpful).

But since you won't know if that'll be OK for her...I would get the biggest headphones, not earbuds, that you can find. The ones with "wells" for your ears to sit in. DS wears hubby's big headphones, and he's been fine with the earplanes in.

I would highly highly recommend that you buy more than one pair for each trip! Just in case one falls out and you can't find it (or don't want to re-insert it if it falls on the floor or even on the seat or in between the seats (ew)), it's helpful to have another at the ready. Especially if they are working for her and she becomes afraid of not having them in. Trust me on this.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

The instructions don't have them in the whole flight. I will say though that I had a hard time getting them into my ears, and they were very uncomfortable (worth it to avoid the ear pressure though). I would have DS try them on before the flight.

 

[3happydancers]

DD and I are flying to Boston next week. She has a lot of problems with her ears on flights, and even with my coaching, gum, hard candy, etc. she struggles to "pop" her ears and relieve pressure during take offs and landings. On our last flight a year ago, she was almost screaming in pain during descent. Adding to my concerns about our flight next week is that she came down with a cold yesterday. It's not a bad one, and she was already feeling better today than she did yesterday, but I can only imagine how much worse her ears will be on the flight next week.

I bought some Earplanes for the trip, but she likes to watch movies or listen to music using headphones during the flight. Will the Earplanes work if we take them out during the middle of the flight and reinsert a 1/2 hour or so before landing? Or should I have her leave them in during the entire flight?

My daughter, now 13, has been using Earplanes for 5 years and they definitely help. She does take them out during the flight and reinserts them about 1 hour before landing. This seems to work just fine.

**Just in case you did not know, the product comes in 2 sizes, adults and childrens. I did not know this when I first started looking into ways to ease my daughter's pain. I wish you luck and hopefully a painless flight for your daughter!!!

 

[Maggie'sMom]

DS doesn't need them in during the bulk of the flight. The main time he uses them are for descent, and so we put them in around half an hour before the plane *starts* its descent. So you have to pay attention to the time ( if you're flying on an airline with an inflight entertainment system with a way to look at where the flight is, like on Virgin America, that is extra-helpful).

But since you won't know if that'll be OK for her...I would get the biggest headphones, not earbuds, that you can find. The ones with "wells" for your ears to sit in. DS wears hubby's big headphones, and he's been fine with the earplanes in.

I would highly highly recommend that you buy more than one pair for each trip! Just in case one falls out and you can't find it (or don't want to re-insert it if it falls on the floor or even on the seat or in between the seats (ew)), it's helpful to have another at the ready. Especially if they are working for her and she becomes afraid of not having them in. Trust me on this.

All good ideas. We are flying SW so we won't have an inflight system to tell us where we are, but I'll keep a close eye on the time. She really is more bothered by the descents. The flight isn't that long so I may just have her keep them in the whole flight and buy some of the larger headphones. She uses the old style "over the head" headphones anyway, but they aren't the bigger ones with the "wells". And thanks for the tip of buying extra pairs of the Earplanes. I hadn't thought about that.

The instructions don't have them in the whole flight. I will say though that I had a hard time getting them into my ears, and they were very uncomfortable (worth it to avoid the ear pressure though). I would have DS try them on before the flight.

Also a good idea. Besides letting her try them out, it would be good for me to practice inserting them before the flight.

My daughter, now 13, has been using Earplanes for 5 years and they definitely help. She does take them out during the flight and reinserts them about 1 hour before landing. This seems to work just fine.

**Just in case you did not know, the product comes in 2 sizes, adults and childrens. I did not know this when I first started looking into ways to ease my daughter's pain. I wish you luck and hopefully a painless flight for your daughter!!!

I'll doublecheck that I have the kids' size.

Thanks!

 

[njmom76]

My ears do not pop (and yes I have tried everything under the sun). I have used earplanes for about 15 years now on every flight and I will not fly without them. I never keep them on for the entire flight. They go in once I am seated and them come out again once the main ascent is over. I put them in again once we are getting ready to start the descent (based on time and feeling) and take them out on the ground. They get rid of 90% of the pain. I still sometimes have to do some of the other "tricks" for popping, but they work if the earplanes are in. Definitely do make sure you have the children's size though. I am trying the children's size for myself this time around as I have small ears (earbuds hurt after a few minutes) and the adult ones are a bit uncomfortable on me after about 20 minutes.

Good luck and hope you have as much success as I have had!

 

[2binak]

I've used EarPlanes in the past and do not keep them in once we are at cruising altitude. Like the pp's have said, I put them in before we begin to descend. You could always ask a flight attendant when he/she expects descent to begin.

I'm not sure how old your DD is, but you could also try having her drink from a kids sippy-type waterbottle like Nalgene makes. DD has them and we take the valve out, but you still have to suck the liquid out of the holes in the spout, so that may help alleviate some pressure.

 

[chinchiller]

I use them for all flights (I lose hearing for half an hour after landing or take-off if I don't). With them, I don't have any trouble at all and I take them out once we're at cruising altitude (basically once the seatbelt sign goes off).

I think the biggest issue will be making sure they're in properly. They go rather far down the ear canal and may be difficult for little ones to get in or you to put in. The easiest way for me to tell if they're in properly is if all sounds around me get muffled and difficult to hear. Maybe try putting them in your ears first so you can better describe how correctly placed ones sound. I usually have to turn and twist them a bit to get them far enough down. It can be uncomfortable, but it's worth it to me.

 

[clanmcculloch]

My DD11 has really bad ear pain when descending and moderate ear pain when ascending. We put them in her ears as soon as we're settled into our seats, before take-off and then she takes them out around the time the flight attendants are preparing the drink carts or the seat belt sign goes off (whichever catches our attention first). She can FEEL when we start the descent long before I can and long before anything's announced so she asks me to put them back in the moment the pressure starts in her ears. Even with the earplanes she still has a bit of pain going down but nothing like what she used to go through even with gum, suckers, drinks, anything else we tried. We also give her a decongestant before flying hoping that'll help as well since she does have bad allergies and is prone to congestions.

 

[bumbershoot]

Also a good idea. Besides letting her try them out, it would be good for me to practice inserting them before the flight.

And try it in the position you'll be in on the plane. With her right next to you, limited ability for either of you to move, different way of putting it in for one ear vs the other....

She can FEEL when we start the descent long before I can and long before anything's announced so she asks me to put them back in the moment the pressure starts in her ears. Even with the earplanes she still has a bit of pain going down but nothing like what she used to go through even with gum, suckers, drinks, anything else we tried.

I really recommend putting them in at least half an hour before they START the descent. That way she can deal with the pressure of being up there, well before the pressure of descending starts.

 

[clanmcculloch]

I really recommend putting them in at least half an hour before they START the descent. That way she can deal with the pressure of being up there, well before the pressure of descending starts.

How long before landing is that? She feels it long before anything is announced and long before anybody else feels any change.

 

[ctink23]

Earplanes are basically the only way that I can fly! Before I discovered them, I would get very sharp pains in my ears. It was awful! Like others have said, earplanes do relieve a lot of the pressure.

I always find myself in the scenario at the end of the flight, the hour before landing, when I have to put the earplanes in and can't listen to music/watch tv anymore. On my last flight, I was very invested in the movie I was watching, so I decided to rest the earbuds of my headphones inside my ear and I could still hear.

Earphones with ear wells would definitely work. But I kind of think you could try to use the regular earphones (to save you some money!!!). I don't know about the child size earplanes, but in my experience, the adult ones don't still out so far that it would be uncomfortable to wear regular earphones.

 

[elilala]

I have tried earplanes, and they work pretty well, but the most comfortable things for me is swimmers earplugs. I know it sounds weird, but they work really well, and they come in kid sizes, so that's a plus when you wear them, you can also listen to your headphones or watch a movie, which is awesome

 

[momH2the4th]

We went to Disney this past June and the day before we left my daughter came down with a cold. Taking off was not bad for her, but once we started to descend, I thought we was going to lose it from all of the pain and pressure in her ears. She has a very high pain tolerance and I've never seen her in so much pain. We tried all of the typical remedies: gum chewing, holding the nose to pop the ears, etc. and nothing helped at all. One of the flight attendants took 2 coffee cups, put a napkin in the bottom of each one, poured hot water into them and then poured out what wasn't absorbed in the napkin. She then told my daughter to put one over each ear, much like big headphones. The steam that built up in the cups released the pressure in her ears. It was amazing how fast it worked!

 

[mrsmom]

My dd17 has terrible ears problems when we start to descend, she has had 7 sets of tubes . the ENT told her to take a benadryle 1/2 hour before takeoff and use afrin nose spray before takeoff and when descending. She had pain so bad she cries everytime and this has helped alot.I would call your dr and get advice on what to use.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

My dd17 has terrible ears problems when we start to descend, she has had 7 sets of tubes . the ENT told her to take a benadryle 1/2 hour before takeoff and use afrin nose spray before takeoff and when descending. She had pain so bad she cries everytime and this has helped alot.I would call your dr and get advice on what to use.

Thanks for all the advice, everyone! Unfortunately, DD has a very low tolerance for pain which adds to the problem.

I have given DD benedryl before a flight when she has had a lot of congestion. I tend to stay away from decongestants because they can make her hyper, whereas the benedryl puts her to sleep. The benedryl worked great for getting her through the flight, including landing. But it caused her to have a major meltdown when she woke up as I was carrying her off the plane. I've found she really can't handle the benedryl unless it's at bedtime and she has all night to sleep it off.

The coffee cup trick sounds really interesting. I'll keep that in mind in case the Earplanes don't work.

 

[mom2minniemouse]

I have ALWAYS gotten severe ear pain while flying and have a few times nearly screamed bloody murder on a plane (Luckily, I have thus far held it in and not created a national incident. ) The only thing that works for me is getting the cheapo earplugs from places like Walmart. You know.... the ones that you can roll between your fingers to flatten and they expand inside your ear? They are foam and look like the ones shown here. http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/penenifoea2p.html (I think the ones they sell at Walmart are peach or blue...) They

Earplanes, in my experience, were freakishly uncomfortable and did jack squat. And they are not meant for the full flight. Earplugs are also cheaper than Earplanes. (In both cases, you're supposed to use the product once before throwing them away.)

To get back to your original question, no, you can't usually hear ANYTHING with Earplanes in... and wouldn't be able to hear a thing with an earplug, either. However, pain vs. non-pain? I'd get her something else to do on the plain rather than something that requires hearing. Coloring maybe?

 

[johnnchristi99]

You have gotten some great suggestions, but I would add one more. Right before we get on the plane we give our DS a dose of tylenol just in case there will be any pain. He also takes dramamine for motion sickness and it doubles as an antihistamine. The non drowsy formula would probably be better than the benedryl.

Have a great trip!