jbrowne

Although my six year old daughter has flown several times since she was born,the last two flights caused her alot of ear pain, she was not able to "pop" them to release pressure. The pain continued on and off two days after each flight,although she did not have an infection. I tried the children's earplanes, they did nothing. Pediatrician had little advice.

We will be on a six hour flight in a few weeks and I am desperate for suggestions from parents that have found solutions.

ellen_griswold

Altho most of our trips are by car, i swear by Dimetapp when flying (and for high elevations when driving also)....for ALL of us. Its an antihistamine and somehow, really helps with pressure. We also chew gum and try to yawn alot

I also keep the Advil (and children's advil) handy, JUST in case...

Good luck!

Leona

Chewing gum & this question should be answered by a QUALIFIED Pediatrician.

mclaurie

Try not to let her lie down. I find sitting upright is much better. Also, have you tried chewing gum? Drinking also helps clear the ears.

emmeelee

Ouch! Been there, done that. All the above are great ideas because after copious conversations with our doctor, thats about all you can do.

jasper

my brother used to have the same thing, probobly still does...try a damp napkin/paper towel in the bottom of one of those plastic cups the airlines give you...put it over the ear(s). that's what the flight attendents used to give him. good luck!

jbrowne

To Leona, If you read my post you would see that I DID ask her pediatrician for advice.

To everyone else THANKS! There were some tips that I had not heard of before. That's exactly why I asked, sometimes its the unusual remedy that works, every child/person is different and anything is worth a try! Oh and love the screen name Ellen Griswold for the car travelor!
I welcome all suggestions!

ceg

My daughter used to experience this type of pain too. Chewing gum, drinking, etc didn't help her. Fortunately during one flight that was particularily painful for her a flight attendant suggested saline spray the kind you normally use for dry noses. Luckily I had some with me and put some in each of her ears. It works! The fluid relieves the pressure in the ears. On some flights we had to use more than once. The good news is that she eventually outgrew the need for it.

ejcrowe

If your daughter is old enough to know how to blow bubbles, let her be obnoxious and blow big bubbles on the plane. The act of blowing bubbles raises the "soft palate" in the roofe of the mouth, something that alleviates pressure, but teaching a a child to raise her soft palate is very difficult. (The same thing happens when you yawn, but you can't teach a kid to yawn, either. it has to happen naturally.)

For post-flight, a drop of hydrogen peroxide in each ear should help equalize pressure--it's the same principle that helps waterclogged ears after swimming.

ilisa

Try a hot, wet paper towel in the bottom of a styroform cup. Put the cups over the ears. It should pop them pretty quick. Looks funny, but it works pretty quickly!

cd

jbrowne
I relate to your child because I have the exact same problem. Gum chewing, yawning, nothing helped. The pain is extreme and does last for days after deplaning. What works every time for me is spraying Afrin in each nostril at least an hour before landing. (it's only landings that hurt) This is a decongestant and not appropreiate for children but perhaps your doctor could recommend one for a child.

milkeway4

Here's a third recommendation for a warm paper towel in a paper cup over the ears. This was recommended to me by a nurse and it alway's does the trick and yes, it is a great conversation piece!!

jbrowne

WOW, Thanks for all the great advice. The cups and towels sound like a great idea, however that will depend on a cooperative flight attendant. I was curious about the saline nasal spray that one poster mentioned, Ceg, how much of the saline spray did you use in your child's ears, did you use it like ear drops?

torontopm

Hi jbrowne:

I just want to mention that if your little girls ears do pop on the descent; check to see if any fluid comes out or if she complains of any fluid coming out of her ears. This could indicate a perforated ear drum.

This happen to me on my way to the Bahamas, I got a perforated ear drum from the descent and it was very painful. When I came back to Canada I mentioned it to my doctor and he told me; next time that I should avoid swimming and when I shower or wash my hair I should put cotton balls in my ears so that water doesn't get in and also to lessen the chance of infection.

DeeDee

Just reading through this thread, I feel I must comment on the saline spray. One poster asked about using this by dripping it into the ears.

The saline spray would be sprayed into the nostrils. It is just water and salt in a solution, not really medicine per se. I'm not sure that this would help, but if anyone tries it be sure to spray it in the nostrils.

Both my kids who are now in their teens had chronic ear infections and ear pressure in their youth. They both had ear tubes surgically placed into their ears to relieve the pressure on the eardrum.

In my opinion, ear pressure when flying that continues for a few days afterwards is caused by fluid on the ears that was present when flying. Many pediatricians will treat fluid in the ear as though it is an infection. I would suggest a visit to the pediatrican one week prior to the flight to check for the presence of fluid. If there is fluid present ask the pediatrican to treat it with antibiotics, decongestants, and/or predisone (children's steroid). Your child will travel pain free and you can feel assured that you won't end up with a perforated eardrum!

Hope this helps! No one should be subjected to such an uncomfortable situation and it can be treated!

BayArea

Just chiming in to recommend the use of a decongestant like Sudaphed.

Antihistamines stop allergic reactions
Decongestants dry you up

A combo children's medication okay'd by the child's pediatrician might fit the bill.

travellyn

We've been giving our (now 13 year old) daughter Sudafed on airplane flights for years, and it really seems to eliminate ear pain for her. She has an interesting reaction, though; it puts her to sleep, whereas most people fell a little hyped up, if anything.

theladyjess

One technique for releaving pressure on the ears is to hold your nose closed, close your mouth and then gently "blow" or try to exhale out of your plugged nose. I learned this trick when I was taking pilot ground school and it worked every time, just don't blow too hard. Sometimes it took more than once.
With regard to Advil: If your child is in pain you can give her Advil, Motrin or another ibuprofen product. These usually last 6-8 hours. To keep the pain from coming back alternate ibuprofen and Tylenol (which lasts 4-6 hours) every 4 hours. Example: gvie Motrin at 12, Tylenol at 4, Motrin at 8, Tylenol at 12. I used to work in a pediatric clinic and we recommeded this for kids with bad pain or high fevers.
If you want her to sleep on the flight, try Benadryl, that's what the doctors I used to work for recommened.

Cali

I also have had this problem several times and the Dr. recommended that I use earplanes ear plugs (sold at most drugstores and the airport) and also use some nasal spray and it works wonders. He also said my nieces and nephews could do this so I am sure it is safe for a 6 year old. Hope this helps - it is miserable to be in that terrible pain.

Cali

Oops, sorry I missed the part where you said you had tried the earplanes. Hope the nasal spray will help.