Should we expect "ear" trouble on plane?

[April76]

Should we expect our 2 1/2 yr old DGD to have a problem with her ears on the plane (2 hour flight)? Is there anything that we can do to help avoid problems? She doesn't have any known ear trouble, just curious about how most kids handle the pressure changes? I'm not sure she'll wear earplanes. I think I read once about giving children a dose of med (sinus med??). What's your experience??

 

[tinaluis]

My daughters (now 5 and 2) have taken several flights and have never had any trouble. I usually bring some juice in a sippy cup and have them take a few drinks to alleviate any pressure that may be building. Be warned, though, that the non-drip cups drip due to the air pressure.

 

[allicat]

We flew with DD age 5 for the first time in Dec. I bought the earplanes, had gum, juiceboxes etc. I thought I was ready for any ear trouble. 20 minutes before landing, the ear problems started. DD screamed in pain for 20 minutes with all the other passengers glaring at us, might I add.
It was just awful. However, I think she may have had an undiagnosed ear infection or the beginnings of a cold.
We are flying in 2 days and im worrying about it now. I have been told Benadryl may help but I really dont want to have DD drowsy since we will be arriving at WDW at 9 am.
I am in pain everythime I fly, and those earplanes didnt help me a bit.

 

[Dancind]

We used to give my DD chewing gum when she was that age, it helps pop the ears. When she was younger, I nursed her. We never had a problem.

 

[wdwnutze]

Just went to WDW with 2 1/2yodd. I gave her a lollipop on take off and landing. She did say her ears bothered her a little but didn't seem to be in too much discomfort. The older kids had gum to chew.

 

[dandelion]

My dd is 4 and has always had some ear pain on descent, sometimes to the point of screaming despite having sippy cups. So we got the Ear Planes for her recent trip to Montana (multiple transfers). Dh said she was fine all the way, on her flights home she fell asleep and the Ear Planes fell out of her ears. At least she was ok.

Anyway, I found the child sized EarPlanes at Kmart for a good price. Locally, Walmart or the drugstores didn't have them.

 

[April76]

We have a very early flight and I'm expecting (hoping) that she will be asleep most of the flight.... if she is, should I expect that she'll be able to sleep through any discomfort or will it wake her up?

 

[Jen D]

My daughter (almost 4 years) has a lot of discomfort, with the descent. If she is asleep, she will sleep through it, but awake, it upsets her. The great trick that every flight attendant will know: Two coffee cups, stuffed with wet, hot napkins. Creates steam. Cup them over both ears (but be careful they aren't so hot that it burns.)

My daughter knows now when she needs "the cups." However, just to warn you, when she was about 2 1/2, she wouldn't sit still for the cups. She was so angered by the pain she wouldn't sit still for the remedy.

 

[April76]

Wow -- how did anyone ever come up with that remedy??? It's great that you've found something that works so well! I don't know if she would sit still for that at her age.... and I'd be afraid to try -- she's got a very good throwing arm and I'd hate to see another passenger get a cup of hot towels in his face .


Crossing my fingers that she'll make out okay... still hoping she'll be asleep !

 

[pentex]

It all depends on the particular ear structure of each person....I am 38 and still get awful ear pain. My doctor says it is due to the structure of my ear tubes. But trust me, those who have that pain...it is so bad. When I was a child, it was just horrendous so I always feel so sorry for kids when I hear them crying.

Drinking, chewing gum, yawning, etc. only brings on the pops and then my ears filled right back up again and the pain starts over again.

What I learned for myself and later for my one daughter who does have ear pain:

* Take sinus medication about one hour before you take off. This is a proven fact to help. You don't have to take something that makes them drowsy if you want them alert. This relieves about 1/2 of the pain.
* Bring the EarPlanes. Try to show them to her beforehand and explain that they help keep boo-boos away. They are an absolute miracle. For the first time in my life, I felt zero pain, and had 100% clear ears upon landing...no waiting for the pops. If she won't use them, at least you'll have given her the sinus meds. (my daughter used these when she was 3)

I rarely give my kids medicine and can probably count on my fingers the numbers of times they have had either Tylenol or cold meds, etc. but when flying I do the sinus med all the time because I know all too well of how bad that pain is if your body is subject to it.

 

[js]

Everyone is different but like the above post, my ds (3) has terrible ear pain on planes.
He has had "tubes" in his ears and still got infections. He has had fluid and no infections, etc. On our last flight to WDW last Oct. my ds was 2 1/2 and would not put the ear planes in his ears for our flight to MCO. My doctor did suggest the sinus medicine and we used it. He would not drink from a cup or eat to help with the pain. Upon our decent to MCO, he was screaming for about 45 minutes, sweating, etc and he was too bothered to do what would make him feel better. Finally, we landed and everyone, yes, I mean EVERYONE, knew us from the time we got off the plane to picking up our luggage, everyone knew we were the ones with the screaming child. By the time we picked up our car at National's EA, my ds started to begin to calm down and then was fine for our 9 day stay. Upon takeoff and landing back to NY he was fine. He had a well visit at the doctors the week we came back and the doctor looked and looked at his ear again and told me it was torn (a small hole). It had to be the plane since this poor child screamed for one hour and I thought he was really going to pass out. He didn't have any pain on our return since there was no pressure since the ear drum had a hole in it. It healed itself after about 6 months but took our trips to his ENT and audiologist visits to monitor his hearing and ear.
We are going to WDW this Saturday but my ds and I will be taking Amtrak and my dh and dd will be flying in on Sunday. This is not the norm, but just my story since you asked.
I am sure you will be fine.

 

[pentex]

JS, your poor son, that's awful. Reading your post reminded me of my DD when she was 2, with the sweating. She was tossing her head back and forth, holding her head, sweating...it is just terrible. Thank God it doesn't happen anymore with the EarPlanes.

In any case, he will probably love Amtrak as much as Disney. It is soooo much fun. We did it for a few years and my kids still talk about it. It has gotten a tad expensive compared to the competitive airfares which is the only reason we stopped. Have a great time on the train!

 

[sorlando]

You should talk with your child's doctor prior to the trip to see what she/he recommends. With my 9
year old nephew, we did use the sinus medication. He had a little pain on the way out, so on the way
back about an hour before the decent (we had one layover), I gave him some children's sudafed. He
needed enough time to get it in the system and it seemed to work fine. You especially want to make
sure you have a solution because some of those decents take about 20 to 30 minutes and that is a
long time for a child to feel bad.

Other approaches like a sip cup, sucking on a candy or pacifer can work, but not if there child has any sinus
problems.

 

[skeezixspud]

If it does happen, you will hate yourself for not having been prepared for it. If she gets real ear pain, it will almost surely wake her up, and it will be very hard to deal with. BTW, if it happens on final descent, the FA's will be in their seats already, so you won't be able to get cups at that point until the plane has landed.

I would at very least have a drink sippy ready for her to drink from on ascent and descent, and if she has any trouble with the ascent, you should medicate her for the descent, just to be safe. Sudafed should not make her sleepy, and is usually effective (you need decongestant, not antihistamine.) Earplanes are a good idea if she will tolerate them, but many kids this age will not.

 

[js]

Thanks pentex. I am very happy we are taking the train on Saturday and meeting my dh and dd on Sunday when they fly in. My ds got a runny nose over the weekend (gone now) and all I kept thinking was thank goodness we are taking the train since sometimes if he gets a cold, he will get fluid in his ear (not necessarily an infection) and you shouldn't/can't fly with fluid or it can be VERY painful. Just be prepared to have your own cup and things to chew on.

 

[Yeabower]

We have flown about 3 or 4 times to WDW. We always chew gum when we take off, and when we land. It helps a ton! Othrwise, our ears would *POP*!!