Toddler ears when flying

[la79al]

We have purposefully not flown with DD yet. She has never had any problems with her ears but DH and I have so we didn't want to risk it. Well DD will be flying in December and I thought that I was comfortable with it but today I ran into a coworker and she started telling me horror stories. I am intentionally not starting to wean from the paci until after the trip so she can have that the entire flight. Is there anything else I can do? Anything I should pack just in case? TIA

 

[Michelle1125]

I was very concerned about the same thing when we took our 2-year-old last year. She had no problems, but you can buy ear plugs just in case. There is a specific ear plug made fo flying call Ear Planes. I don't know if you can buy them in stores, but they are available online.

 

[AgentGabs]

I still do what my mom used to do with me when I was little (and i'm 23 now)

My mother would give me and my brothers something to eat during take off. Not only would the chewing and swallowing help clear the pressure in our heads as the plane took off, it also distracted us from the actual take off (which to this day freaks me off)

I actually just asked my mom and she said "Lollipop at take off and landing"
since when eating that you are constantly swallowing its fine for a toddler.
Older kids can either have some gum or M&Ms

but the lollipop should do it.

hope this helps.

 

[California Jenn]

We've flown a couple times with DS who is one -- we gave him something to suck on both for taking off and landing and he did fine (and I tend to have problems with my ears) -- Just make sure your little one is awake at least 45 minutes before landing as the pressure starts to increase earlier than you expect while flying. I'm sure you guys will be fine

 

[brymolmom]

My ds has very sensitive ears - I ALWAYS get a water after security and he drinks when his ears are hurt. A couple weeks ago - we tried EAR PLANES for the first time - and they seemed to do the trick. Unfortunately - he took them out to watch/listen to a DVD on the second leg and then we didn't get them back in with enough time - so I would recommend on short-ish flights leaving them in the whole time.

Now, MOST kids I see (and my own dd) are usually FINE, so I wouldn't anticipate issues - figure it'll all be fine until you find out differently. Expect the best but plan for the worst.

 

[ireland_nicole]

I think some people, like your coworker, probably enjoy scaring the bezeejus out of people, whether info is factual or urban legend. We were commuting back and forth overseas when DD was that age, and we just had her suck something, never had a problem. In fact, no one's child that I actually know has ever had a problem, maybe it hurt for a few minutes if they didn't yawn or swallow, but no damage done. If you're really concerned, the ear planes sound like a good idea, but I think common sense is probably the best approach.

 

[msmama]

I agree with the lollipop thing. I see you DD is 16 mos - that's a little older than when we gave my guy a lollipop. It was sticky so bring wipes.

If she still uses a bottle at all, you might want to bring one for the plane. I used the sippy cup that DS had to suck the hardest. Turned out I didn't need it, but I wanted to be prepared, just in case.

Someone also told me an ear bud (like for an ipod) in one ear (don't know if that's true of not).

 

[luvmy3jewels]

My ds has had more than his fair share of ear problems and he has never had any problems (other than minor popping) while flying. I always take gum and candy, particularly the fruit flavored Mentos, for the kids to chew on during take off and landing.

My advice would be don't let someone's horror story dictate what you do. They could be embellishing, or there could be circumstances that would not apply to your situation. I've heard Ear Planes work well, so maybe you could bring along those just in case there is a problem.

 

[2binak]

We flew last year with our DD just 3 hours after she had been diagnosed with an ear infection and she did just fine. She was 8 months old and still taking a bottle at the time so we kept a bottle of water and a bottle of juice in the seat pocket and continued to refill her bottle with a juice/water mix until we were at cruising altitude and did it again as we noticed we were starting to descend. This year, she'll be 21 months old and we plan to do the same thing, except using a sippy cup. We'll also pull out the paci if she isn't interested in drinking. She only gets a paci while napping or sleeping so she'll think it's a treat to get one while awake.

 

[Keishag]

I'm probably odd man out, but I did just the opposite and didn't worry about it at all (read: didn't worry doesn't mean wasn't prepared..I did bring stuff for them to eat, drink etc.) but none of what I brought worked and my daughter ended up with an inner ear infection and high fever by our 2nd day there. Had to arrange transportation to/from a clinic which took a whole day out of our vacation. It wasn't fun at all. She was also running a fever so the whole next day as well we just hung out at the hotel resting.

What could we have done to prevent it? I'm not sure. The dr. said alot of times if they are already having allergy issues (which she was) it's inevitable. The fluid gets trapped in there from allergies then all of the pressure from the flight causes the inflamation and eventually infection.

 

[brian2000boston]

I use to suffer to the point of tears, i really thought my ears were going to explode. I use ear planes every flight for take off and landing and never have any issues!

I would try them or bring them just in case. Think i bought them at CVS.

 

[bumbershoot]

DS's first couple of flights were fine, but at 3 he started to hurt. We got him the Junior sized Earplanes.

I am not sure if they are too big for a 13month old, but if you want to try them, get the junior sized, definitely.

With DS we don't have to use them on takeoff, but landing, most definitely.

 

[Stephen_Dowd]

Bottle of milk or a fruit juice with a straw at take-off and landing always helped our son. The sucking motion always helped - and he's flown several times without incident.

Good luck.

 

[Tisha_PA]

We used earplanes with our kids in March and we had no problems at all.