What to Do If You Have Ear Popping When Flying

Ear popping during flights can affect your hearing for up to a week after the flight ends.

Flying Hacks: What to Do If You Experience Ear Popping While Traveling by Plane

Eliminating seemingly minor discomforts like ear popping during flights will help you have a perfect vacation.

Causes

The sensation of ear popping or pain during a flight occurs when there is a difference in pressure between the inside and outside of the ear. This causes the Eustachian tube to close or compress, leading to unbalanced pressure inside the middle ear. Air trapped inside the ear is absorbed, sucked, and stretches the eardrum inward, resulting in ear popping or pain. If the Eustachian tube does not open but continues to close, fluid will seep into the inside through the membrane layer to fill the space, causing dizziness and hearing loss.

However, there's no need to worry as there are numerous ways to put an end to this phenomenon. Here are some solutions:

Nasal Decongestant

While there's no specific evidence to prove that taking nasal decongestants can alleviate the discomfort of ear popping and pain during flights, it tends to be effective for many. Taking a nasal decongestant in the form of tablets, spray, or syrup before takeoff for 30 minutes can help shrink the eustachian tube and reduce ear popping and pain. However, frequent use of these medications is not recommended.

Swallowing

Swallowing helps stimulate the opening of the eustachian tube. Therefore, increasing swallowing by chewing gum or sucking on hard candy during flights can help prevent ear popping.

Yawning

Yawning can also cause the Eustachian tube to open, allowing air to enter the middle ear, thereby balancing the pressure on the other side of the eardrum. However, make sure you're not asleep when the plane takes off or lands because during sleep, yawning activity will not occur frequently enough to balance the pressure inside. This will worsen the condition of ear popping and pain.

Frenzel Maneuver Technique

Perform the Frenzel Maneuver technique by: closing your nose, then inhaling air into your mouth until both cheeks are puffed. Close the epiglottis by preventing the air you just inhaled from going down your throat. Next, move the soft palate (the soft tissue above the throat) to an intermediate position in the mouth and use your tongue like a piston to push air back into your throat. This way, ear popping and pain when sitting on a plane will be resolved.

Balloon

Prevent discomfort and clear your ears on every flight by blowing a balloon attached to a small tube. Close one nostril, then place the small tube with the attached balloon into the other nostril and start blowing with that same nostril. The balloon inflates and then deflates as we inhale air. Repeat several times with the other nostril and the ear canal will be cleared, relieving ear popping and pain.

According to Vnexpress

***

Reference: Travel Guide by Mytour