I've never been on an airplane before; whats the deal with popping your ears?

Question

People say that your ears hurt when you fly cause of the air pressure but some ppl say they just sit through it, some say they chew gum, and some people say they hold their nose and blow. Is it true that your ears hurt? what would happen if you just sat through it. oh and when does it happen? if i wanted to chew gum, when should i do that? i am flying for the first time in a week....pretty nervous haha. oh and i am 15...maybe the ear thing hurts more for kids than adults...yikes

Answer 1

chew gum.........lol

serious  

Answer 2

Oh, it doesn't hurt that bad. Kinda feels like when you have water in your ears after a shower. Chewing gum helps, so does the hold nose and blow thing, a big yawn also helps to get rid of it.

It doesn't really hurt. It's more uncomfortable than anything.

Answer 3

I guess it all really depends on your ears cause the first time i got on an airplane i was like 12 and you can just chew gum or hold ur nose and blow. If people have told you dat it hurts it doesnt really

Answer 4

Def. chew gum when taking off.

It's kind of like when your driving up a mountain.

That's how your ears feel.

They dont ever hurt in the first place.

Answer 5

ever been up a really tall skyscraper on those really fast elevators?

it's the same feeling

and same feeling when you yawn and your ears suddenly hear clearer

don't need to hold your nose and blow, just chew gum, and try to yawn as much as possible

Answer 6

You can often get the effect by just working your jaw, but chewing gum just makes it easier. If you swim down about ten feet below the surface of a swimming pool you will feel the same effect.

- If you do nothing it will be irritatingly painful. All the babies usually start crying because of the pain, but the crying actually forces air into their nasal passages and relieves the pain.

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The problem is that the airlines keep the air pressure in the plane equivalent to being on top of an 8000' mountain. The reason they do this is because to keep the pressure equivalent to sea level would require a much stronger airplane that would be a lot more expensive to fly because of the extra weight.

When you are flying you lose a lot of water and get dehydrated. Minor headaches and some swelling of the feet are common side effects. When the plane lands you get back to the higher level of pressure very quickly since there is no major airport in the USA or Canada with a runway at 8000' or higher.

Answer 7

Trust it doesn't hurt.

It's just like when you drive up a high hill.

Just swallow every so often... so take water and sip on that you'll be fine.

Answer 8

if you do a yawning motion it works too, but the gum seriously does work

Answer 9

I swear by chewing gum; but some times, I also need to do the "hold your nose and gently blow" to pop my ears.  Actually, what you are really doing is to try to readjust the equilibrium between your inner ear and the pressure in your ear canal.

The only thing I would point out is that going up (ie take off) isn't when I suffer; it's more when you descend... well (at least) that's true for me.  I don't know about anyone else.  The minute the plane starts dropping (ie landing) that's when the plane begins to depressurise, and that's when my ears start to play up.  So in go a couple of pellets of chewing gum; and I'll keep chewing until we're well and truly down.

Have a great flight.

It's great fun!