Ear Pain During Flight

http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=12444&...

These worked for us :) May be worth a try for you.

Hi I. -

My family flew around a lot with me as a small child, and I suffered with the same problem with ear pain (I was one of those children that had constant ear infections too). None of those homeopathic ear pain remedies worked for us either - but I have a solution for you!
Call your ped, tell him/her the situation and ask to be prescribed eardrops with lidocaine in it. Lidocaine is topical numbing medicine (they also inject it when you get stitches, have a n epidural, etc etc) that will numb her eardrum during the flight so that her ears won't be uncomfortable in ANY way. She'll still be able to hear, her ears just wont hurt!
Right as you take your seats on the plane, have a flight attendant bring you a cup of warm water and put the bottle of eardrops in it to warm (warm eardrops feel much better going into your ear than cold!) and put a few drops in each ear before takeoff - the drops should work for the duration of the flight.
Its a really simple prescription, often prescribed for children with ear infections to numb the pain. Since its topical, it won't effect her in any other way.

I. - give your kids' children's ibuprofen 1 HOUR BEFORE flying. Ibuprofen decreases inflammation and pain and this is the protocol my Ped recommends. Also, have them sucking on something (bottle, pacifier, lollypop) on ascent and descent. This way, they are swallowing and alleviating pressure on their ears. If you are the anti-medicine type Mom, please remember that the medicine is relieving real pain and also yours and the other flyers sanity.

the pain is caused by the pressurization change and sometimes it occurs too fast for childrens ears...my Dr. suggested having them take an antihistamine 30 minutes before take-off.

I am so sorry to hear about your little girl's ears. I have the same issue and I use the Ear Planes plugs. I know it sounds absurd to plug your ears if they aren't popping, but they have a filter inside the plug that adjusts the pressure on your ears. I have VERY small ear canals and usually use the child's size (hard to find) but I can use the regular size in a pinch. Try these out for her. Her ear canals may hurt a little bit if you are on the plane a long time (I keep mine in until after we land) but it is nothing lide the ear drum not releasing the pressure! Good luck and I hope this helps.

I.-
So sorry to hear about your daughter's pain during flight. I have had the same pain since I can remember and I'm now 40 years old. It's generally worse upon landing due to cabin pressure etc... It really feels like someone is stabbing your eardrums with an ice pick (quite the visual, huh?). I usually hold my nose & blow my ears out, although I've heard you can rupture an eardrum, so this method is not recommended... but I usually do it anyway since the pain is unbearable. I find, the longer the flight, the pain seems to level out, planes are bigger etc... I find that if I take a decongestant, it lessens the pain, especially on the short flights. They also sell EarPlanes earplugs that are supposed to help with the pressure but I haven't tried them?
Good luck with everything!

A couple of suggestions: (1) have her take a decongestant at least 20 minutes before the flight and during the flight if it is a long one. (2) Have her ears flushed by a pediatrician prior to the trip.

You can buy some ear plugs called Ear Planes that supposedly relieve the pressure as well, but I don't know that they make them small enought for children -- they sell them at Walgreens -- you could ask the pharmacist there.

Hi,
I have been a Flight Attendant for 23 years. I now have tubes in my ears so I can continue to fly.
They make ear plugs that help keep your ears clear during flight. Be sure your daughter does not have a cold before flying, also give her some type of sinus medicine 1 hour before take off and some nasal spray right before landing. The hot water in the cups does not help the ears. The warm air feels better, but does nothing for the clogged ears.
Maybe a E.N.T. Doctor could help you decide what is the best way to handle your daughters ears. I can tell you that it is one of the most painful things during landing. A wish you lots of luck and have fun in France.

I., try Earplanes ear plugs. They help regulate the pressure in your ear. They make them in smaller sizes for kids, too. They worked wonders when I travelled for work all the time. I think you can get them at most drug stores, but I know for sure you can Google them and order them online. It might help to get them now and have your daughter practice wearing them so she gets used to them and doesn't try to pull them out the whole flight. Good luck.

Hi again I.,
I looked through some of the other responses re: ear planes. They do not need to stay in for the whole flight (the pressure really doesn't change much once you're at cruising altitude). I don't remember the instructions precisely off-hand, but I know that you can remove them at some point after take-off -- perhaps once you get to cruising altitude -- and then you put them back in about an hour before landing (basically before the plane starts its descent) and then remove them after the plane lands *and* the cabin door is open. Have a wonderful trip!

Hi I.,
Earplanes sells a child sized version of their pressure equalizing ear plugs. If you follow the directions carefully, they work pretty well (better than the chewing gum, drinking, etc., anyway -- never tried the paper towel w/ hot water). The biggest issue is finding the child's size. Maybe a travel store or searching for them online would be your best bet. Our Walgreens used to carry them but now only carries the adult size. Perhaps it's just because our Walgreens is quite small. Is there any chance she has ongoing low-grade ear infections? Poor thing with all that pain! I hope you find something that works for her and that you enjoy your trip.

This is horrible. I have this now as an adult. the doctor prescribed mucinex d for me and the last time I flew I had no pain. call the doctor and see if there is anything that can be prescribed. I used ear drop pain reliever for my daughter when she had a ear infection. Not sure if that may work. Good luck

Look at onestepahead.com for a special ear thing for flying.
Dont know if they work but its worth a try....

I had the same problem when I was a child. I would chew gum before take off and use nose spray. I think I would give her a pain reliever too. I hope this works for you.

I have the same trouble everytime I fly as well... Drinking Juice through a small straw helps.
Sucking on a lifesaver if she is old enough have her suck and swallow.
Taking a Decongestant an hour before the flight helps (sudafed or Dimatapp whatever normally works for her)
Have her pinch her nose shut and blow at her nose - not too hard - but the air wont be able to escape her nose and it will fill into her ear canals and open them up a bit - this she can keep doing this until after the ears pop a few times... Don't worry my ENT (Ear nose and throat) Doctor taught me this trick - everyone had told me it would blow my ear drums - not the case it really really helps.

I.,
Hello, I too suffer from ear pain when taking off and landing. I have a loss of hearing due to ear infections when I was a child and have also blown out my eardrums on two occasions. My doctor has me use an nasal inhaler just before getting onto the plane, in addition, I take decongestants prior to any flight. It does seem to help releive some of the pain, but I can still feel it.I still chew the gum as well. Sometimes it is worse than others. I am not sure if the same techniques will help, but you might ask your pediatritian. It couldn't hurt. I really hope she finds some relief.
G. K

Ear pain during flight is generally related to the inability to equalize pressure on both sides of the ear drum. All the things that you have mentioned (eating, swallowing) are intended to open the Eustachian tube to allow the pressure to equalize. It could be that your daughter has a blocked eustachian tube or some type of deformity that is preventing this opening from occuring. Does she also have problems when you drive to high elevations? Plugs will not help, in fact, they will make things worse.

You could consider a myringotomy, which is a very minor procedure that will make a small hole in her ear drum which will close up after about six weeks. There will be zero problems with equalization while the hole is open. If your daughter has a problem with ear infections, the tubes that they place in ear drums will also work, in fact, we have adults with problems on planes who come to our clinic to have the tubes put in to avoid the plane problem.

I'm not a doctor, I just work at an ear clinic, so this is not medical advice, just info based on my personal experience.

When I was about 13 I was on a trip with my parents to Hawaii I ended up with swimmers ear and was in such pain. We were flying home in two days and my parents were worried about the pain and flying, especially because my father and I both suffered from horrible pain in our ears the same way your daughter does when we fly. The Dr. said to use Afrin nose spray(any similar spray would problably work) an hour before we took off and an hour before we landed. You can play with the times but take it at least a half hour before you take off and land. This worked for both of us and we have done this ever since. I dont know the reason this works you may beable to get the answer from your doctor. Anyway hope this helps.

What does the pediatrician say? Since your girls are older can they use a child dose of of decongestant, esp a nasal spray? Wish I knew more, good luck

i used to get ear pain on flights as well when i was a child. i used to put ice in a cup and put it to my ear. do't knw if it helped much but i think doing something made me feel like it was helping...like a distraction.

does it happen the whole flight or just during take off and landing? have you considered some benydryl to help her sleep? it might be worth it to get through the flight. good luck!