We have all heard the babies who cry upon descent when their ears start hurting on the airplane. It can happen on take-off too, but the descent is often the roughest part. In fact, having a baby with ears that hurt during the flight is one of the number one concerns of many traveling families. That is why it is highly recommended to have the baby drinking from a bottle, from a sippy cup, nursing, etc on both takeoff and landing. The sucking can help with getting their ears to pop. If your little one has a cold or other sinus issues, then the risk of ear problems while traveling greatly increases.
However, this time it was thankfully not my kiddo who had ear problems on the flight, it was me. As you may know, Little C and I traveled to Disneyland last weekend, which I plan to start writing about very soon. You may also have noticed me mention in some of my recent posts that I was sick before we went on the trip, was sick on the trip, and have continued to be sick since we got home. My kiddo blessed me with bringing home some upper-respiratory crud from daycare last week, and it just isn’t going away quickly. I hate being sick, hate going to doctors, hate medicine, etc, so I just do my best to pretend I am not sick (like moms really have any other alternative), and continue on with life. That was all well and good until we were landing back in Texas after our time in California.
On descent the pressure in my ears got super intense. I totally wanted to be one of those crying babies because it seriously hurt and just kept getting worse and worse. Of course, I couldn’t really focus on that too much since I had to attend to my own little one, but it was not fun at all. Once we landed, I kept trying to get my ears to pop, but they wouldn’t. I figured I would reluctantly take some medicine for my respiratory issues that night and by the next morning all would be fine. Wrong.
Fast forward four days to today, and my ears still have not popped. They still have pressure and fluid and are driving me bananas. So, I ended up at the ear, nose, and throat specialist today to have them looked at. Please tell me I am not the only one who has gone to a doctor because their ears haven’t popped four days after flying?! He confirmed there was fluid behind both ears, and he tried to get them to pop by blowing/sucking air with this syringe type thing. He also watched my ears as I pinched my nose and blew. No luck with either attempt. He confirmed with a hearing test that my hearing is diminished in one ear right now due to the fluid. Gee, I could have told him that. 
One of the main reasons I went in is because I have a flight again early next week and wanted to make sure that I’m not going to cause further damage while flying with my ears still having trouble from the last flight. The doctor said that it will probably really hurt again, but that the risk of damage is incredibly low, especially since my ears are not fully blocked with fluid. I know, this sounds super gross. I was given a prescription for antibiotics, steroids, and other junk I don’t want to take, and was told to come back in a month. A month. This better not be going on in a month! He also said to take Sudafed and Afrin right before my next flight.
I share this story for two reasons. First, it is an issue that traveling families are likely to face at some point. With little ones in daycare, someone is seemingly always sick when it is time to travel. Eventually that will likely mean fluid and ear issues while flying for someone in the family. So, at least you know now what my experience has been like. These issues really can go on for days, and while doctors can look at your ears, they don’t seem to have a magic cure either. Second, I would love to hear others’ stories about ear problems and flying. I know there are about a million home remedies out there for this sort of issue, but I would love to hear what has worked for you or your kiddos. Oh please Lord, let me ears pop soon!
My left ear still hasn’t popped from Monday’s BRU-YUL-LGA-SAV.
I’m grounded and will send positive joo joo that your ears pop. —->(ear) (POP)
@Howie, then you are on day four too. Are you grounded b/c of the ears?
Add in scuba diving to the mix and it’s even more fun
. Become very aware of your ear drums!
@Curtis, ugh. Diving sounds super painful right now!
I find that having a warm or hot wash cloth on the ear thats clogged while the plane is landing helps. Also, you should give ear planes a try, they really help me when I travel with a cold. Sorry you have the problem,I perforated and eardrum on takeoff flying from HKG-SFO a long time ago, it made for a long flight.
MP:
Thanks for your reply earlier. Hope you get to feeling better.
Easy steps: chew gum + drink lots of fluids.
The rest depends to on Doctor’s finding (e.g. flu, sinus infection, middle ear infection). Lacking that diagnosis, the following is merely food for thought.
Home remedies to consider: sleep with head slightly elevated, inhale steam through nasal passages.
Meds: Mucinex-D will drain your sinuses. Nasonex will reduce inflammation of sinus tissue. If you only have a blocked eustachian tube, that may be enough.
If you have a bacterial infection, then consider antibiotics. Steroids have side effects to consider. As with all treatments, read the instructions (especially for Afrin).
Disclaimer: I may sound like a medical professional, but I’m not. Hope you feel better soon.
I’ve been to the ear nose and throat hospital upon landing from the pressure. Recently, I’ve been sick for about 3 weeks now. Still on a plane every week. I ALWAYS carry sudafed. When I fly and I have any chance now of having ear problems, I premedicate with sudafed. It’s probably kept me out of a few hospitals. I hate taking it, I hate going to the hospital more. I feel so bad for kids who fly when they are sick. My guess is there have been more than a few ruptured eardrums that parents aren’t even aware of.
Hi MommyPoints,
I love traveling (obviously why I’m here, and that means flying a lot). Unfortunately, I’ve often experienced the excruciating pain from the pressure especially during descent. Where others feel only discomfort or popping noises, I feel pain. Not all the time, but probably 80-90% when I fly.
I had gone to a ENT specialist once after a flight (like you), but not much can be done. I went to my regular doctor who had once prescribed me some fluid-inhaler like thing to take (to clear the nasal path) before flights. That doesn’t seemed to work for me.
What’s worked for me *most* of the time is a earplug like product called EarPlanes, which helps your ear adjust to the in-cabin pressurization. Of course, it’s not going to be as helpful until your ears pop, but it’s a precaution I always take because the pain otherwise can be almost unbearable.
What works really well for me is ear wax removal fluid even though I don’t have wax build up in my ears. I usually start dosing my ears a couple days before flying then put a few drops in about an hour before take off. The solvent really does a good job as it fizzes down your ear canal and seems to open things up. I started doing this after 2 or 3 flights where my ears uncharacteristically were getting plugged up.
Have you tried holding your nose while blowing air?
So sorry to hear that you are still suffering from this. Sending white light your way for your speedy ear pops! Wish I had a home remedy (I normally swallow hard deliberately when that happens).
I know, right? I picked up a cold in England over the weekend, and flying MAN-LHR-ORD was absolute torture. MAN-LHR wasn’t so bad because the plane didn’t go all the way up to maximum altitude, but descent from 36000 ft on approach to ORD made me grip the sides of my seat in despair because the pain was so bad.
I think this has something to do with clogged or infected sinuses. Flew SIN-PER 10 years back with a cold, same problem. Took about 6-8 days to clear IIRC. When the sinuses can’t drain the fluid I would assume that the ear canals, being somewhat connected to the sinuses, would end up being unable to drain too. Google the locations of sinuses on your face – if they feel sore when you give them a gentle rub, the soreness suggests an inflammation i.e. fluid will not drain easily through them.
My only suggestion would be to take some anti-inflammation, anti-flu or decongestant meds… just that once the effect of the meds wears off the clogging might return.
No advice for after the fact, but after perforating an ear drum 10 years ago while flying with the beginning of a sinus infection, at a doctor’s advice I also always carry Sutafed (the original, not the PE) with me and take if I’m the least bit congested. I don’t like taking medicine, but I also didn’t like the pain that came along with the injured ear drum and the loss of hearing that lasted for a couple of months.
If the cold is really bad, and I still must travel, I’ve also been known to use Afrin (again at a doctor’s recommendation and only for a very limited period of time).
Since using these preventative measures, I’ve had a decade of frequent flying without a repeat incident.
I cast another vote for EarPlanes
EarPlane Air Pressure Regulating Ear Plugs- Adult and Children sizes
and for sucking hard ourselves on flights descending. I suck on one of those sports water bottles and, while I had great problems with ears before, now have minimized them considerably.
having similar ear problems with takeoff and landing on transpac flight. pain in the ear and the audible weeee sound is painful until a day or so after I landed.
suggest NOT clearing your ear wax a week or so before takeoff/landing…this prevents liquids from accumulating in your ears.
now…open your jaws very wide and see if that helps.
Yikes, that sounds awful! A guy I know was suffering terribly during one flight when the flight attendant gave him two cups with pencils sticking through each one. She told him to hold them to his ears. He reported that it worked instantly. I keep wondering if she did it for a laugh…
Anyway, we use earplanes.
I like the wax removal idea too. I’m not sure how it would help, but I can definitely imagine the fizzing doing something useful in there.
This is right up my alley. It happens almost every cold. You’re in luck though, considering the next flight is so soon. Upon ascent, that’s the key moment to get them to un-pop – the decrease in air pressure is your magic opportunity to do your best Valsalva maneuver and jaw movements to open the eustachian tubes. The doc is spot on with the oxymetasomething (afrin) and psuedoephedrine – get the generics for both and don’t get the 24 hour versions. Also, earplanes just before descent.
have your ent prescribe your some Rhinocort AQ (nasal steroid)
also take 60 mg Sudafed every 4-6 hours (the real pseudoephedrine hcl – non prescription product you must show your id to the pharmacist behind the counter). Be careful there is a new formulation that is also OTC but not behind the pharmacist but it not as good.
I had a similar problem 10 years ago.
After a week, I found on google a description of how divers equalize ear pressure. There are many techniques but each one only works on a fraction of people.
The valsalva maneuver did it for me.
A chiropractor once told me that kids ears move easier than adults. (Well, really everything on a kid moves easier than on adults, doesn’t it?) So, drinking during take offs and landings usually suffice for them. If you know a good chiropractor, I’d recommend seeing him and having him adjust your ears before your next flight. It has worked wonders for us and our children in the past with stopped up/infected ears. In fact, we avoided tubes in our younger sons ears by going this route instead.
As a personal note, in the 5 years I flew for the US Air Force in the 1970′s, I NEVER had a problem with my ears on hundreds of flights. On commercial flights during that same period, I averaged valsalva problems 40-50% of the time. Never could figure that out. All that being said, I haven’t had that problem in years on commercial flights.
If you live in a state regulating Sudafed be sure you get the kind you have to ask the pharmacist for. The kind with psuedoephedrine as the active ingredient. Take some the night before and the morning of your flight. Don’t shower the morning you fly. (I shower the night before).
During many international flights I have felt like a balloon was being inflated inside my head and pushing my eyeballs out. This lasted for many hours of the flight and was absolute torture. As you are experiencing, the problem can persist for days after flying. I ended up having surgery for my persistent sinus problems, but prior to that. Earplanes and Afrin were a godsend. A nothing word of warning, when you ears do eventually pop, it can be quite dramatic. It will quickly and severely momentarily mess with your equilibrium. The NeilMed sinus rinses do help with this. I would recommend doing it twice a day. Sorry for the long reply.
Thank you all so much for the stories and recommendations. I’m sorry to hear how common of an issue this is, but am glad to have a centralized place for some things to try! I’ll keep you posted on how it goes. Still clogged up now, but I am planning to try a few things tomorrow.
Sounds too simple but chew gum BEFORE DURING and AFTER takeoff. BEFORE is especially important. Hard for very little ones but essential for adults. And, yes, it can be VERY painful.
Afrin + Saline = My two best friends
I’ve had them hurt so bad sometimes that I felt dissy.
Ugh, I went though exactly the same thing in 2006. Not. Fun. My doc did exactly what your doc did, and it worked. I also picked up something called ear planes and they helped (google it). I now do the pinch your nose and blow thing several times as the plane descends as a matter of course just to keep everything wide open. Seems to prevent a complete plug-up. Hang in there!! Check out the ear planes.
Now our kids are past the feeding during take off and landing stage, I put a few lollypops in my carry on for them. Works for two things, a treat to distract them and helps to clear the ears.
I’ve had ear problems ever since a turbulent flight into Russia when I was 16. A doctor suggested I take Benadryl to help clear my ears on flights, and it usually helps if not prevent it altogether.
Unfortunately, I had to fly home yesterday with the beginnings of a head cold. I thought that it was just a sore throat, but here I am 32 hours later and my ear is still plugged up. I figured it was probably because of my cold, and I’m glad to see that I’m probably right. This will save me an unneeded trip to the doctor!
@Sarah, yuck. Sorry to hear that! Hope yours clears up quicker than mine. I am at 11 days and counting.
[...] that was really relevant to post or not, but I figured if I am going to post about things such as my ears not popping after my flight (which, by the way, still have not popped after almost two weeks and three more [...]
PLEASE run out to a store that sells earplanes, and use them for your next flight. They are the best things ever to help prevent such hideous things like that from happening to your ear during a flight. I had to take a flight with a lot of fluid behind one eardrum, and the earplanes earplugs DEFINITELY helped, no doubt about it. I speak with confidence, as I won’t fly anymore without them. Normally, my ears are very bad and won’t unpop, etc. but WITH the earplanes, pressure builds up more slowly, AND it is easier to unpop your ears, I find. Without them, I hate how much it hurts! Anyway, when I had the really bad case of fluid behind my eardrum, I wore earplanes and though my ears still crackled and popped, a lot more than usual, the pressure was always such that I could still unpop them. Good luck with your next flight! You can google earplanes to see what they are. You can buy them at well.ca, I know, too.
P.S. I forgot to tell you – if you use earplanes, I highly suggest wearing them for the entire time of the flight, rather than just take off and prior to descending, the reason being, we really don’t know when the pilot begins his descent.
@Jory, thank you for the info. I think I will need to try those out.
Wow! I love that I found this thread. I thought I was the only one out there that had the SUPER INTENSE pain because whenever I tell anyone they look at me strange.
Quickly I’ll add a point to those who suggest plugging your nose and blowing to fix or release the pressure. This is not good for the people who feel the agonizing pain like myself. that is the last thing I would do. My ears don’t release at all and I when I even remotely attempt that suggesting the pain goes up 5-10 fold.
Actually it is so bad sometimes my ear whistles on the descent. Almost like when you let the air out of a balloon really slowly. It’s crazy. I’ve also experienced this pain. I jumped in the pool the next day after landing in Mexico and my ear exploded and all these bubbles came rushing out into the water. It was nuts how loud it sounded to me. I could finally hear people and I didn’t need to shout.
So, I have figured out over the years that you need a combination of things. I currently chew gum, yawn, take antihistamines, use nasal spray (nasonex and avamys) and cups with the hot rags in them. that last part works the best. So far it has. I think the E tube being so small plus having the moisture from the hot water rags is what allows or helps the whistle sound from my ears. Funny when others look over.
Well I’m going to try these earplanes. I fly to Ft L Florida tonight. Hopefully it won’t be a painful one!
Thanks all!
hi momma,
i am a flight attendant and sometimes i come across these problems with myself and passengers. at the moment i am dealing with an unpopped ear. I am now going to boil garlic skin and slowly sip it. also while i am on a flight and I am secretly in pain during descent..i sip some hot water…sucking a mint helps as well. once i had it really bad and my doctor prescribed ciplox-d .. i had to put a few drops in the ear and lay down for 30 minutes on one side. this helped me and i always recommend it to my co workers when they are recovering.. i hope you feel better and your ears starts popping soon!
I have been stress out this couple of months now and my doctor told me to relax. If I relax my ears will pop and the ringing will be gone. How do I relax? I’m a very stress out person.
Several people say not to use wax removal liquids before flying, even up to 7 days before a flight. Is that all products, or hydrogen peroxide in particular (doc favors that over store-bought remedies). I’m getting over a sinus infection with seemingly no more fluid behind eardrum, but I do have a big plug of wax.
Yeah, I’m experiencing ear popping issues right now. Just got back from a round trip from Minneapolis to Jacksonville, Fla. and back. My ears popped upon landing both times, but they are much worse since I returned to Minneapolis. I did have a cold for about a week while I was in Jacksonville, and I’m just now getting over it, but my left ear is still bothering me. You might say it’s very “earitatting!” (No pun intended!)
I see this is old but I have this issue a lot when flying…I use rubbing alcohol..it usually loosens the fluid and makes my ears pop within a couple hours sometimes repeated use is necessary
I am very lucky. At christmas, when I flew home, my ears started to hurt so bad during decent. I have flown many times before, but this is the first time that it happened. I had a sinus infection and cold so thats probably what did it. When my ears started to hurt I was like “oh my god, oh my GOD, OH MY GOD” I started to freak out because I didnt know if it was normal for them to hurt that BAD. My 16 year old daughter said “Mom, hold squeeze your nose and blow”. I was kind of scared to do it because what if I damaged my ears more and made them hurt even more! My daughter says “it wont, just do it”. So I squeezed my nose and blew hard and omg, it WORKED. Now I know that some of you didnt have that luck but I did THANK GOD. It felt good too because when I squeezed my nose and blew, My ears whislted and I felt the pressure blow right out of my ears. I had to do this a few times through out the decent of the flight but each time I squeezed and blew, it would relieve itself INSTANTLY. I thought that worked for everybody but apparently not after reading this story and now I feel EXTREMELY lucky because it was PAINFUL. When we landed my daughter said “I’m glad it worked for you because if I were you, I’d be to scared to do it”. Gee thanks! But it did work and it felt good on top of it.
HI i have just come across your page and wanted to share how i have always suffered from ear and vertigo issues from a young age unfortunately.
back on dec 26 after landing from a flight from disneyland with my 3 year old and husband the following day i had a fever and long story short contracted the horrible influenza virus of 2013…i am still suffering with my ears popping plugged and pressure to the point it makes me drive on roads that don’t have the slightest incline as this even causes horrible pressure and discomfort in my ears…i too am so afraid of popping my ears by blowing my nose and holding it as it didn’t work the last few times and i felt more pressure and felt couldn’t heaR IT WAS HORRIBLE…
i am worried it won’t go away although seems slight bit better since the sinus infection and severe symptoms of flu have subsided but living with this is becoming debilitating.
I am curious did your MD ever order a CT scan of sinuses or did i miss that?
seems like many are having ear and pressure issues this flu season…i am stuffing my nose with afrin steroid nasal sprays, steroid ear drops, guaifenesen oral tabs, sudafed, ibuprofen and i don’t know what else i feel like a toxic waste site…
hope you feel better the weather seems to really affect my condition as in high pressure and low pressure and change in barometric pressure how aBOUT ANY ONE ELSE?
BEST REGARDS,
I’LL POST ABOUT THE CT SCAN FINDINGS…
Today I flew from Omaha with a stop in St. Louis and then to Orlando. On our descent into St. Louis I experienced excruciating pain/pressure in both ears. I had been chewing gum the entire time but I also have a pretty bad head cold (day 2.) The pain & pressure was better once we got back up to our cruising altitude, but once again on the descent into Orlando same story. It’s now 5 hours later and still no pop. I have yawned what must be 1,000 times, I’ve tried holding my nose shut while I “blow”, I’ve tried pulling on my ears when I yawn, nothing is working. I’m online searching for remedies – I’m in a hotel room without the comforts of home so I’m going to try a hot shower/bath, relaxation, and hope for the best. I do have a nasal decongestion medication so I hope to wake up feeling better. I’ve read all of the comments, it scares me that this could last more than overnight. I have to talk to customers at a trade show for the next three days – I can barely hear! Wish me luck!
Hi, I’m so sorry you had to go through that. THE PAIN SUCKS! Anyway I always used to plug my nose and blow, but this is now unsuccessful for me. I remember I flew to LOG (Boston) from SFO (sanfrancisco) straight and my ears popped fine. But driving to Lake Tahoe and back was a killer.