Any suggestions for ear pain for a 5 yr old on a plane?

Question

I was curious if anyone found a great solution. My daughter had chronic ear infections as a baby and now her ears are very very sensitive and flying is painful. The gum does not work and she can not figure out how to "pop" her ears yet.

Answer 1

since gum doesn't work, maybe try giving her something to drink while you are going up in the air - mainly you need to get her to keep swallowing.  It's always worked for me.  Good luck!

Answer 2

try ear plugs for her or have her drink water while in the air and take off and landing.

Answer 3

I'm 16 and I've had that problem all of my life. I haven't found anything that is fool-proof. A lot of people say that yawning or chewing gum helps, but for me, if they will put a hot towelette in a styrofoam cup and put those on her ears so the steam will go in her ears, that helps a lot more. Also, when she gets a little older, you might try to see if she has nasal problems as well, and if that's the case then a simple surgery can help.

Answer 4

Not all children have a problem with the pressure changes in their ears. Here are a few tips on how to help in case your daughter does though.

For take-offs and landings (the WHOLE way up, and starting from the BEGINNING, or TOP of descent -about an hour before landing), the best ways to alleviate ear pressure are to:

*Give her something to drink (milk, water, juice - it doesn't matter)

*Tell her to yawn

*Give her gum to chew

*Give her hard candy or mints to suck on

*Pinch her nostrils shut, have her take a deep breath in through the mouth, then tell her to (gently) blow as if trying to blow her nose

*Place hot damp towels (usually like the ones distributed to first and business class before take-off and landing to freshen up with - just ask a flight attendant for them) or paper towels that have been soaked in hot water and wrung out, at the bottom of two paper or styrofoam cups, then hold the cups over the ears

*Gently but with some pressure, rub her neck repeatedly from the chin to the base of the neck. This will cause a swallowing motion that will relieve pressure build-up in the ears.

I've been flying internationally & domestically with my children since they were each 2 months (now 8&6,&6 months). At least three trips a year are the children & I traveling internationally (14+ hours each way) alone. We do another 8-10 international and domestic flights a year as a family. I have never had any problems with my children.

I wrote a small article about flying with children that goes more in-depth, gives security rules & regulations for the US, EU, UK, & Australia, offers tips & tricks for the travel, etc. http://www.angelfire.com/jamiehassen79/f...

If I can be of any more help or assistance, please feel free to contact me.

Answer 5

try this:

give her fluid that way she swallows. this should help relieve the pain.

or...

Take a breath in. Then, try to breathe out gently with your mouth closed and pinching your nose (the Valsalva manoeuvre). In this way, no air is blown out but you are gently pushing air into the Eustachian tube. If you do this you may feel your ears go 'pop' as air is pushed into the middle ear. This often cures the problem. Repeat this every few minutes until landing - whenever you feel any discomfort in the ear.