Ear Pain on Flight – Here’s a Solution!

Ear pain caused by air pressure is unbearable, and has been known to make even grown men cry and strongest women cry. It also doesn’t discriminate – even first class passengers are reduced to tears.  This is why it is best to take one or more of the following preventive measures to reduce it if not avoid it,

1. Swallow, chew or yawn

When you Swallow, Chew or Yawn it stimulates the muscles that open your Eustachian tubes, which can alleviate the pressure in the inner ear. These simplest solution can work wonders, Yawning can't happen on purpose, but try to pretend as close as possible.  A Sikkimie girl taught us this when we were on a high altitude at Himalayan peak.  

2. Valsalva manoeuvre

This technique is known as the valsalva manoeuvre commonly practiced by deep sea divers, I learnt this technique while doing Sea Walking in Coral Island. This helps unblock your ears when pressure starts to build up. 

Pinch your nose closed, close your mouth and slowly do the same as when you're blowing your nose. Repeat until the pressure equalises. This is also fun to do. Try it and thank me and my sea-walking trainer later.

3. Earplugs

Making sure you have earplugs is helpful. We suggest you use filtered earplugs as this will help stagger the external air pressure and reduce discomfort.

4. Wake up Before Landing Starts

If you’ve taken the precautions and had a great take off with no pain, don’t wake up too late to prepare for landing. Ask a flight attendant to wake you up in time to prepare your ears for landing. We suggest you to be prepared atleast 10 min before landing.

5. Choose when to travel

When planning your trip, consider your health. If you are suffering from a sinus infection, cold or nasal congestion, change your flight dates if you can. These conditions can be multifold increase when flying. But the dates are not in our hands, we understand.

6. Decongestant 

If you have nasal congestion, take a decongestant 30 minutes before take-off. Nasivion and Autravin are names of few popular decongestants.

7. Allergy medication

Take your allergy medication as a precaution one hour before your flight. This can reduce the chances of ear pain to minimum.

Usually these self-care steps mentioned above can prevent or correct the differences in air pressure and improve airplane ear symptoms. However, a severe case of airplane ear may need to be treated by a doctor.

Take care of yourself and get set to fly, Coz what is life without WINGS?