Ear Popping

[natalie_1982]

Any good ideas to stop my ears from popping on the plane? It's what makes me really scared when I get on a plane cos it used to happen lots when I was little.

[becks]

You shouldn't stop them from popping - it's about depressuriseing or something - like when you go underwater, i find if i don't pop them them they usually go on their own anyway...

[natalie_1982]

I don't want to pop them! That means it hurts and I'm deaf for the first few days and when you go under water they get worse.

[emailer]

wear earplugs from boots during the whole flight. popping however is good, its if they dont pop that you'll be in pain

[natalie_1982]

But mine hurt when they pop? And when I land they sometimes take up to a week to go back.

[rachael_rua]

Chew gum or suck hard boiled sweets or drink. This will open up the ear canal (like when you yawn) and equalise the pressure - reducing the pain

[scubadiver]

Instead of waiting until the pressure has built up to such an extent that they hurt when you pop them, as soon as you are aware of the plane descending (or if you feel a slight buld up in pressure before this) pop them by pinching your nostrils shut, close your mouth and blow gently down your nose. This is the valsalva manoever and is by far the easiest way to equalise the pressure in your ears (similar to diving). The longer you leave it before popping, the greater the pressure difference between your inner and outer ear becomes and the more distorted your eardrum gets. It's this distortion that causes the pain.

[scubadiver]

FYI, I often pop my ears anything between 10 & 20 times on descent, to make it easier & less painful. If you don't, you risk permanent damage to your eardrums, which will cause distorted hearing

[zgma]

You could also take a Sudafed about an hour before the plane is supposed to land... that helps sometimes. Another maneuver for getting your ears to pop before they're really painful is to stretch your tongue by touching the tip of it to the outside surfaces of your farthest back molars on the top, both sides. Try to reach your gums if you can. It looks odd but is helpful.

[Philtaz]

I used to suffer with it a lot but now I continually yawn as wide as possible on the descent which I've found helps.

[natalie_1982]

Thank you so much for all your answers! It's silly that I'm not scared of crashing, terrorists, etc but terrified that my ears pop.

[zgma]

No, not silly at all. At least you're afraid of something you've actually experienced. I hate the ear pressure on planes. If I have a flight when I've got a cold, sometimes I can go a week hardly able to hear until the fluid in my ears clears up. That's how I know those tips :-)

[Smurfie]

Stuff cotton wool in your ears just when you know you are about to land. Also as mentioned, sucking sweets is good, as well as inhaling deep breaths through your mouth while closing your nostrils.