What are the best sweets for sucking for take off & landing?

wall

Hi All,
Would anyone have any opinions on what are good sweets to suck for take off & landing to help with keeping the ears clear. The last time I flew, I had fruit pastilles but found I went tru them quiet quickly, I used over half the packet on the way up so I had less supplies in the way down. I think they were too soft? Also, is sucking or chewing better?
Thanks in advance for any thoughts.
W.

b318isp

Any hard sweets should do. The swallowing action helps clear the ears, so I'd suggest sucking them.

fr336

http://www.werthers-original.co.uk/Products/Candies/Butter-Candies

pepe the prawn

Just open your mouth as if you were yawning, that opens the Eustachian tubes in your ears and prevents/solves popping ears caused by pressure differences.

arubex

pepe the prawn wrote: »

Just open your mouth as if you were yawning, that opens the Eustachian tubes in your ears and prevents/solves popping ears caused by pressure differences.

As pepe says; it has worked for artillery gunners for several centuries! Pressure wave passes through.

They were also taught to look at the muzzle as the FIRE instruction was given, so that the wave was perpendicular to and hence equalised across the ears. Perhaps not necessary on most aircraft, though

Source: ex-Royal Artillery ATC instructor, many years ago.

Upon further consideration, this also eliminates any choking risk involved with sucking a hard sweet, should something suddenly occur on take-off or landing.

wall

Thanks for the replies, I'll try all of the above. Sometimes I think I look like a mad man with the amount of time I'm there with my mouth open, my ear canals are narrower than normal so maybe that's why I have more of an issue with the ear clearing.

roundymac

I use sugar free gum, does the job perfectly for me, also a shot of a nasal spray before you fly helps as well.

Spanish Eyes

Shouldn't give "medical advice", so I'll be quick!

A product called Otrivine sprayed into your nostrils will open up the Eustachian tubes, if you are prone to that. Over the counter too. It's brilliant for those who have ear pressure problems. Straight after application, hold your nose and close your mouth, force a breath, and make your ears "pop".

Brilliant!

wall

Nasal spray! I'll try that next time. I'm currently waiting to board and had 2 gin & tonics to relax the mussels in the ear canals, I also have Werthers, hard fruit sweets, and I'll try to suck them while keeping my mouth wide open, if I had known about the spray earlier I could have squirted that at the same time.

Spanish Eyes

wall wrote: »

Nasal spray! I'll try that next time. I'm currently waiting to board and had 2 gin & tonics to relax the mussels in the ear canals, I also have Werthers, hard fruit sweets, and I'll try to suck them while keeping my mouth wide open, if I had known about the spray earlier I could have squirted that at the same time.

No chance you can dash back to Boots then?

They also have "earplanes" which are earplugs designed especially for those who have problems on a plane. They are also great, and cancel out a lot of noise too. Result! You only need them on take off and landing.

andy_g

Do what we do in work/when i go diving, wiggle the jaw pinch and blow on your nose or swallow hard.

devnull

Can't get earplanes in boots anymore, but WH Smith's have them.

Comhrá

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Shouldn't give "medical advice", so I'll be quick!

Straight after application, hold your nose and close your mouth, force a breath, and make your ears "pop".

Brilliant!

My GP advised me against this practise. He told me that if you force a breath too much (with cheeks puffed out like a trumpet player) it puts a lot of pressure on your eardrum and can injure or rupture them if you're really unlucky. He advised me to just keep swallowing repeatedly to help regain equilibrium in the Eustachian tubes

galwayjohn89

I always do the breath out when pinched nose. Never takes that much pressure at all, no puffed out cheeks. (side note I presume he means proper puffed out checks, trumpet players shouldn't be puffing out checks)

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

roundymac

wall wrote: »

Nasal spray! I'll try that next time. I'm currently waiting to board and had 2 gin & tonics to relax the mussels in the ear canals, I also have Werthers, hard fruit sweets, and I'll try to suck them while keeping my mouth wide open, if I had known about the spray earlier I could have squirted that at the same time.

I generally take Becanase about 2-3 hours before hand, taking it too close to flying I find it does not work so well.

ProfessorPlum

The beconase is probably a safer bet than otrivine in regular users (more than a few days in a row).

Also, be gentle with the valsalva manoeuvre as it can do damage if you're over aggressive with it.

Xpro

When the pressure builds up, hold your nose and mouth closed and blow trough your nose. Works 100% all the time.

You'll hear the air coming out trough your ears.

wall

Well I survived the flight, with all the chewing, sucking & swallowing my Fallopian tubes were grand.
I hadn't heard of those ear plugs, I must look into them.

billie1b

wall wrote: »

Well I survived the flight, with all the chewing, sucking & swallowing my Fallopian tubes were grand.
I hadn't heard of those ear plugs, I must look into them.

Bit of a typo??

arubex

wall wrote: »

my Fallopian tubes were grand.

I can only imagine the contortions necesary to check...

Pat Dunne

wall wrote: »

Well I survived the flight, with all the chewing, sucking & swallowing my Fallopian tubes were grand.
I hadn't heard of those ear plugs, I must look into them.

billie1b wrote: »

Bit of a typo??

More of a Freudian slip in my opinion

RogerWilco1982

I find airwaves chewing gum are great for the descent.

Even when I had a chance to fly in a The Pilatus Porter owned by The Irish Parachute Club, which decends at 5-6000 fpm, my ears didn't give too much trouble when I chewed two or three at the top of decent and all the way down.

As has been mentioned, the valsalva manuver should be used as a last resort, as there is a risk of forcing mucus into the inner ear (I'm not sure how great a risk or how often it occurs, but I've done it many times with no adverse effects).

If you find yourself in difficulty even while chewing/sucking your sweets of choice it is better to pinch your nose closed and swallow with a slightly open mouth (yawning will have a similar effect).

If that fails and you're in discomfort, then, and only then, pinch your nose closed and blow your nose until your ears pop (valsalva).

coylemj

devnull wrote: »

Can't get earplanes in boots anymore, but WH Smith's have them.

Boots sell travel (flight) earplugs, I bought a pair of them a few weeks ago in Dun Laoghaire.

They way they work is by slowing down the passage of air into and out of the ear canal when the plane is climbing and descending. When the plane is taking off and climbing, the air in your ear (which is now higher pressure than the air in the cabin) escapes very slowly so you don't notice the change in air pressure. By the time the plane has reached cruising altitude, you can take them out and you'd pop them back in about 30 minutes before landing. I can get by without them for trips to the UK but I use them on longer flights and they do what it says on the tin.

http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Flight-Earplugs-1-Pair-with-Carry-Case-_1129530/

Reoil

wall wrote: »

Hi All,
Would anyone have any opinions on what are good sweets to suck for take off & landing...

wall wrote: »

I'm currently waiting to board and had 2 gin & tonics to relax the mussels...

wall wrote: »

my Fallopian tubes were grand...

This is certainly one of the most bizarre threads I've ever seen in the Aviation & Aircraft forum...

JCX BXC

There are these hard sweets I buy in the duty free at Shannon whenever I'm embarking on a flight longer than 2 hours. They are in a metal, burger shaped tin. Can't think of the name.

Suck them whenever in takeoff and landing and whenever else you need.

syklops

wall wrote: »

Hi All,
Would anyone have any opinions on what are good sweets to suck for take off & landing to help with keeping the ears clear. The last time I flew, I had fruit pastilles but found I went tru them quiet quickly, I used over half the packet on the way up so I had less supplies in the way down. I think they were too soft? Also, is sucking or chewing better?
Thanks in advance for any thoughts.
W.

Sucking doesnt really work for me. I don't get enough liquid and after a couple of minutes I have nothing to swallow with. What works best for me, is gummy bears. Buy a big bag, a few chews and swallow, everytime you need to swallow.

I suffer from occasional synus problems so Im maybe more susceptible than some. Maybe its just as well, I was too tall to be a pilot.

eatmyshorts

syklops wrote: »

Sucking doesnt really work for me. I don't get enough liquid and after a couple of minutes I have nothing to swallow with.

That's what she said...

syklops

eatmyshorts wrote: »

That's what she said...

No it wasn't.

Edit: Just to clarify my point. A pack of fruit pastilles contains 14 sweets. A big bag of gummy bears contains approximately 180. A big bag of gummy bears can be bought for about 3 euros and I have seen them in airports all over the world.

Edit2: Only just got that now....

Reoil

eatmyshorts wrote: »

That's what she said...

Giggity giggity!

Reoil

billie1b wrote: »

Bit of a typo??

I hope the mussels survived the flight.

the raven 15

I know a stewardess who sucks on a pilot. But you can never get into the cockpit. Hahahaha

andy_g

Take it to after hours lads this is a PG forum thanks.

wall

Thanks to all for the replies.

Excuse my ignorance but what is a PG forum?

billie1b

Parental Guidance is my guess

Chuck Aaron

Fox's Glacier Fruits.