Intense ear pain during flying, will be flying for about 13 hours so cannot wear Earplanes the entire time.?

Question

I suffer intense ear pain during flying. So chewing gum and drinking liquids help very little.

The last few trips ive discovered Earplanes - and these have been a god send! They are the best!

But, those were very short flights 3 hours at the most. This time i am flying from Atlanta to Hawaii 13 hours total flight time (this includes a stop in Phoenix)

Wearing Earplanes the entire time of the flight will drive me crazy due to boredom. Im going to have to listen to music or watch a DVD with such a long flight.

What can i do? Do i have no choice but to wear the Earplanes the entire flight if i do not want to suffer ear pain?

Ive heard Sudafed works to alleviate pain, anybody have any experience trying this?

Ive also read that i can put in Earplanes an hour before landing and that will aleviate the pain, is that true?

Answer 1

squize nose, close mouth and blow hard

Answer 2

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 pressure are to:

*Chew gum

*Drink something

*Suck on a hard candy or mints

*Yawn

*Pinch the nostrils shut, take a deep breath in through the mouth, then force the air into the back of the nose as if trying to blow your 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.

*Another trick that used mainly on babies and small children, but can be used on anyone, is to gently but with some pressure, rub your 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.

For more in-depth information, plus security rules and I wrote a small about flying that goes more in-depth, gives security rules and regulations for the US, EU, UK, and Australia, offers tips and tricks for the travel, etc.

http://www.angelfire.com/jamiehassen79/t...

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

Answer 3

The reason for the pain is that the air pressure behind your eardrum is different than the air pressure in front of your eardrum.  You need to equalize the pressure.  To do that, you need to get the tiny holes that drain your Eustachian tubes into your throat to open.  Ways to do that:

Close your mouth, pinch your nose shut, and try to exhale (not suddenly, but with a lot of force).  This is the easiest.

Yawn

Swallow

Easier for men than women, but make a "ya-ya-ya" motion with the floor of your mouth, to bounce your adam's apple (or, where your adam's apple would be, if you are a woman) up and down.  I may be spelling it wrong, but this is called something like the valsalva maneuver.

In addition to flying, this is also important to do while SCUBA diving, so you may want to look on SCUBA forums for more ways to equalize your ear pressure.