Air Pressure and Ears...

Fabio

Does anyone here have experience of using ear plusg such as those you can buy in Boots to ease the pressure on your ears during landing and take-off?

I have burst my ear drum before (waterslide accident in France, 2005), somehow managed to make the ear canal swell up limiting my hearing in that same ear (after diving into a swimming pool, Cyprus, 2006) and again water did the same to me swimming in the sea (being caught by a wave in Spain, 2007).

All in the same ear!!! And all foreign too!!!

Anyway I've never had real trouble long term and flew home from France and Spain with no problems a week after the incidents but I'm wondering so these ear plugs work?

Wouldn't they want to be making the area behind them airtight to stop pressure changes affecting you in a plane?

tracker-man

I find that sucking a sweet or chewing gum during a flight is good enough for me, i don't mind the ear popping sensation really but sometimes I do have to hold my nose and swallow.
Its good to use a decongestant to keep your airways all clear too. I'd imagine these "plugs" are cumbersome for an entire flight but I've never used them.

Fabio

They say use them at takeoff and landing but I'm skeptical cos they look the same as the noise-reducing plugs thye sell next to them!

I'll do the sweet chewing (I like the sweet chewing for obvious reasons haha!) and the decongestant sounds like a good idea too.

You know, years and years ago airlines handed out free chewing gum for this type of thing. Or so I've read.

tracker-man

A quick google search...

As you ascend in an airplane and the air pressure decreases, the air trapped in your inner ear will cause your eardrums to push outward. This expansion causes not only the discomfort you feel before your ears "pop," but also a decrease in hearing ability, because the pressure on your ears drums makes the sound harder to transmit.
Your body can equalize the pressure between your inner ear and the atmosphere by allowing some air from your inner ear to escape through the Eustachian tubes, two small channels that connect the inner ears to the throat, one on each side. When they open, you feel the pressure release and you hear the change because it’s happening in your ear. This equalization of pressure is the "pop."

So if you are chewing a sweet or gum, the channels between your inner ear and throat are "open" and basically more active with the chewing, the pressure will equalise quicker... or so thats the theory!

Fabio

Holds more weight than the ear plug thingy!

Steyr

lol bring a pack of "Fishermans friend" sweets, you can still buy them in Pharmacies i think, take one or two when ARR and you will chew like mad because they are so strong and you wont have any ear problems but you might have photography problems if snapping away ! :-)

highlydebased

Pressure only really becomes an issue at 10,000 feet upwards as the cabin becomes pressurised enough to cause an effect......once at cruise (Average 34/35000 feet) aircraft is pressurised to an altitude of 6000 feet on average

Around 10 mins from landing cabin will again be very lightly pressurised as pressure will have reduced in descent

IRLConor

Fabio wrote: »

You know, years and years ago airlines handed out free chewing gum for this type of thing. Or so I've read.

Now you're making me feel old. I used to love getting sweets from air hostesses when I was a kid.