Ear pain during and after a flight, sometimes known as "airplane ear," is typically dismissed as a minor inconvenience. While hurtling through the air to your goal, it's a small price to pay.
On the other hand, those who often feel pain, pressure, or clogging in their ears know that the discomfort may easily ruin a whole trip. This can result in agony and hearing loss for the first few days following the landing.
While most ear irritation during plane travel is minor, what happens if you suffer from excruciating ear pain when landing? Unfortunately, ear discomfort and pressure can lead to severe pain and hearing loss in rare situations.
Keep reading for ways on how to avoid ear pain during flight.
If you’ve ever had the agonizing experience of air travel and you just couldn't get your ears to pop, you’ve probably asked yourself, “why do my ears hurt on a plane?”
Airplane ear (also known as ear barotrauma) is a condition in which the pressure in your ear and the air pressure in the surroundings are out of balance, causing stress on your eardrum. When you're aboard an airplane that's ascending after takeoff or lowering for landing, you could have airplane ear.
It all boils down to air pressure fluctuations. Usually, the air pressure inside the inner ear and outside the ear is almost the same, or at least not dissimilar enough to create problems. Even if you hiked to the summit of a mountain, the sluggish pace of ascension would enable the pressure to equalize along the way. Only when the change in altitude is so quick, as in what happens during take-off and descent, that the pressure inside the inner ear and the air pressure outside don't have enough time to equalize. When this happens, a problem will arise.
Airplane ear is an ailment that can affect one or both ears. The following are some of the most common indications and symptoms:
Moderate discomfort or pain
Stuffy or muffled hearing
Slight hearing loss
Symptoms of severe airplane ear include:
Severe discomfort
Ear pressure has risen
Varying degrees of hearing loss
Your ear is ringing (tinnitus)
The sensation of spinning (vertigo)
Blood leakage
Airplane ear is typically not severe and can readily be treated with self-care. However, you should consult a doctor when the pain is severe, protracted, or there is damage to the middle or inner ear structures. The following are examples of uncommon complications:
Permanent hearing loss
Tinnitus
Ear pain during flight typically goes away once you’ve landed, and in most cases, a formal medical diagnosis is not required. However, consult your doctor if you develop any of the following symptoms:
Prolonged pain
Vertigo
Bleeding or ear leakage
Your doctor will check your ears and prescribe an audiometry test or an eardrum pressure measurement (tympanometry). Next, a doctor may recommend treatment alternatives to ease the obstruction and discomfort sensations.
Anyone who travels by plane has the potential to get airplane ear. Anyone who has had recurrent ear infections or burst eardrums is more susceptible to ear troubles when flying. Those with very narrow or tiny Eustachian tubes (such as young children) are more susceptible and may have more severe symptoms.
It is essential to stay alert during the journey, especially during takeoff and landing, when a person is most sensitive to airplane ear. Chewing gum, eating, or drinking will keep the Eustachian tubes open during these periods. Decongestants taken before a flight may aid in opening the Eustachian tubes when the pressure changes. Here are some suggestions for avoiding earache when flying:
If you’re wondering how to prevent your ears from popping on a plane, you’re not alone. Many people experience ear popping throughout the duration of their flight. To figure out how to keep your ears from popping on a plane, it’s best to let them so you can equalize the pressure. Close your lips and clamp your nostrils tight with a mouthful of air. Force air out of your ears until they pop. The Valsalva maneuver is not recommended if you have a cold or allergies, as it can lead to a severe ear infection. Instead, attempt the Toynbee maneuver, which involves closing your lips and nose and swallowing numerous times until the pressure equalizes.
Gum chewing or hard candy sucking encourages frequent swallowing, which helps to balance air pressure.
Wondering how to make ear pop after flight? During climb and descent, yawn and swallow to "pop" your ears. They activate the muscles that open your eustachian tubes. A little bubble of air has traveled from the back of the nose into the middle ear via the eustachian tube, and you may hear a clicking or popping sound as you swallow. The eustachian tube ensures that air is regularly supplied in the middle ear. The inner ear membranes subsequently absorb the air, and the cycle begins again. The air pressure on both sides is maintained by this continuous air cycle. When flying, make sure your eustachian tubes are working overtime and opening more often to tolerate the difference in air pressure.
When you're awake during ascents and descents, you can use self-care techniques to relieve pressure in your ears.
Use a nasal spray 30 minutes to an hour before flight and landing if you have nasal congestion. Avoid using nasal sprays for more than three to four days since they might induce congestion.
If you suffer from hayfever or other seasonal allergies, take your medication approximately an hour before your flight.
So, do ear plugs help when flying? The short answer is yes if you use filtered earplugs. These earplugs gradually equalize the pressure against your eardrum during ascents and descents. However, to release pressure, you'll still need to yawn and swallow.
The shift in air pressure can be considerably more painful for newborns, whose eustachian tubes are much thinner than an adult's; hence a bottle or pacifier is suggested to aid swallowing, especially during descent.
Older children can eat a lollipop, drink through a straw, or blow bubbles through a straw to ease ear discomfort. You can also discuss the idea of pain-relieving ear drops for use during the trip with a doctor before the journey.
Ear injury can be detected by bleeding, dizziness, or drainage from the ears, which your doctor should evaluate. To rule out a more serious problem, the doctor may check your ears and prescribe a hearing test (audiometry) or an ear pressure test (tympanometry).
Now that you know the methods of how to avoid ear pain during flight, you will be equipped if the issue arises. If you find that your ears stay plugged, your hearing does not return to normal, or if discomfort persists many hours after landing, contact EarPros.
Schedule a free appointment with a registered hearing care practitioner today to find out whether you have hearing loss. They can help you find the best hearing aids for your specific needs.
