Child with severe ear pains when flying...

mumof2

Does anyone know how to help alleviate the pain? On short trips of say one to two hours, she has so much pain she sometimes cries and this is not a good start to her holiday. (She turns 9 in a few weeks and has had this problem from very young, and has flown several times).

I have tried all the tricks - yawning, sucking sweets, drinking, sudafed and calpol for pain relief before hand, but other than double dosing her I don't know what to do, and it puts me off taking the kids on holidays with flying involved.
Please help!!

Fad

mumof2 wrote: »

Does anyone know how to help alleviate the pain? On short trips of say one to two hours, she has so much pain she sometimes cries and this is not a good start to her holiday. (She turns 9 in a few weeks and has had this problem from very young, and has flown several times).

I have tried all the tricks - yawning, sucking sweets, drinking, sudafed and calpol for pain relief before hand, but other than double dosing her I don't know what to do, and it puts me off taking the kids on holidays with flying involved.
Please help!!

Ear plugs?

mumof2

I'll be honest, I don't believe they'll work. Ive wondered about the special flying ear plugs that apparently reduce pressure - has anyone tried these??

foxinsocks

I've never tried this, as my daughter has never had trouble with her ears when flying. I'm not even sure what brand its available here, but friends have recommended Benadryl for this problem. It contains Diphenhydramine hydrochloride (a sedative antihistamine)... I know this sounds HORRIBLE, but really its just an allergy medicine. It relaxes kids, many of them to the point of sleep. It could help in a few ways. Firstly, it would be relaxing, so tension related pain would be relieved. Also, it could clear up some congestion that may be causing extra pressure problems with her ears. Ultimately, she may even sleep through the bad bits.

I'll be honest though, I'd only use it as a last resort. I can say this because I've never had problems with a miserable child on a plane. I would imagine most antihistamines would help, provided that they don't say 'non drowsy' on them. Talk to your GP about it, see what's available, and what might be suitable. Your pharmacist may be able to help too.

The_Minister

Before I give **** advice, could you clarify exactly what she has a little.

When I was younger, we were descending, and I got a pain in my head, like a pressure. It suddenly exploded, and I ended up jamming my palm against my head and roaring (in my defence I went from fine to oh-my-god-my-head). I even saw little lightenings inside my lids.

Does that sound anything like what happened?

mumof2

The_Minister wrote: »

Before I give **** advice, could you clarify exactly what she has a little.

When I was younger, we were descending, and I got a pain in my head, like a pressure. It suddenly exploded, and I ended up jamming my palm against my head and roaring (in my defence I went from fine to oh-my-god-my-head). I even saw little lightenings inside my lids.

Does that sound anything like what happened?

It is pressure related, as it appears as soon as we are off the ground climbing in altitude. Even when decending she says. She is fine when flying level at whatever height that may be....

She says its only a pain in her ears - and she cries with the pain as it hurts so much.

TBH im not keen on giving her Benadryl, at least not until I check it out with the doctor. Is this a prescription remedy?

luckat

Talk to the doctor. Could be that she has constant low-level sinus infection or something.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

This may be a silly question but have you actually ever taught here to equalise the pressure in her inner ear?

You can manipulate the eustachian tube my moving the jaw and this will allow the pressure to balance out.

mumof2

Sean_K wrote: »

This may be a silly question but have you actually ever taught here to equalise the pressure in her inner ear?

You can manipulate the eustachian tube my moving the jaw and this will allow the pressure to balance out.

Yes Ive tried that too:(

Mr Magnolia

Get 4 plastic cups, the type they give out with soft drinks on the plane. Pour some hot water onto some tissue paper and trap between 2 cups, do the same with the other 2. Get her to press the 2 cups with trapped tissue over her each ear during the assent and dessent. I have to thank an air hostess for that, I could have kissed the face of her and I was also very grateful :-)

While we're on the topic, my daughter is suffering from some fluid on her ears, she's been with the doctor a few times and is on an antibiotic. She's wakening at night since december has anyone any tips or advice. She's normally fine during the day but if it goes on much longer I'll seek to speak to a specialist.

Fad

mumof2 wrote: »

I'll be honest, I don't believe they'll work.

Try them before you rule them out.

dreamers75

I get the same thing, sometimes i want to jam a pen in to stop the pain.

only thing that works for me is to try pop my own ears, hold nose close mouth and blow.

Doesnt always work and usually makes me a cranky person on planes.

Monkey61

I was the same for years but I eventually grew out of it. Sucking sweets was no good to me at all, but I did find constantly sipping and swallowing water helped. The cause of the problem (well partly anyway) was that I was walking around with a burst eardrum that took years to properly heal. Other ear problems could be the same.

The pressure alleviating ear plugs might work. I tried them once and it was slightly better, but it may just have been my ears improving anyway.

My favourite agonising childhood moment on a plane was the first time the ear pain started. We didn't have any sweets or drinks because we weren't expecting it. I was crying my eyes out and had my head between my news, clutching my ears. An air hostess walked by with a bowl of sweets and my desperate mother asked if I could have one. "Oh no" says the woman, "these are only for 1st class passengers. I'm sure she'll be fine soon." Nice.

MariMel

I also suffer very badly with my ears when flying and can almost lose my hearing for a few days afterwards......seems to worse when coming into land at certain airports more than others....
2 things work for me.....Earplanes.....special ear plugs for flying, they come in adult and kid sizes.....I wear them for the whole flight and make sure my son(7) does for about a half hour before landing.....theyve helped greatly in the past.
The other thing is.......getting the plastic cups they use for your tea.....getting the hostess to put a napkin with a little boiling water in the bottom....only enough to dampen the napkin.....hold these over each ear....the slight bit of steam can equalise the pressure....plus you can have a bit of fun looking like an alien too.....
Must say...some airlines are more helpful with this than other....one budget irish airline(you know the one) would only give me the cups not the napkin/water....which didnt work for me at all.

They could be worth a try if the doctor sees nothing wrong with your childs ears.

MariMel

Btw...Earplanes can be bought in most decent chemists incl Boots.

luckat

Monkey61 wrote: »

My favourite agonising childhood moment on a plane was the first time the ear pain started. We didn't have any sweets or drinks because we weren't expecting it. I was crying my eyes out and had my head between my news, clutching my ears. An air hostess walked by with a bowl of sweets and my desperate mother asked if I could have one. "Oh no" says the woman, "these are only for 1st class passengers. I'm sure she'll be fine soon." Nice.

your first moment of class consciousness. a thousand flowers will bloom.

BigCon

I find chewing gum far better than sucking sweets.

mumof2

BigCon wrote: »

I find chewing gum far better than sucking sweets.

Tried that too!!:(

But the idea with the cups sounds wonderful - I can see that working with her!!

You'd have to buy a tea/coffee for them to even consider giving you extra's like cups napkins and water!! Thanks Mr Magnolia and MariMel for that idea - wonderful.

Thank you to all of you for being so kind and helpful.:)

Mr Magnolia

No probs, hope it works. Let us know how she gets on

mumof2

Not going till Easter because I put off flying during mid term because I needed advice first:o Thanks again.

Lady_North

my 15 yr old was suffering terribly last week from this. Asked a friend of mine, she's a nurse, and she recommended sudafed or another such decongestant. (sp?) It worked. Fluid in the ear caused the pain, the decongestant cleared it up. Non drowsy too.

tk123

Earplanes FTW!! I put them in once they say the plane is starting its descent and they always work for me.

Rebel021

Ear plugs
I use them myself and my daughter as well and find they work brilliantly

collgal

My 8yr old has has the same prob since she was small - though I think it has improved with age.
What works best for us are the spongy earplugs that you twist up small and let them expand to fit your ear. My doc gave me this advice. We put the ear plugs in her ears as soon as she sits in her seat on the plane and definitely before takeoff. The earplugs stay in place all through the flight, until the plane has landed and cabin pressure is back to normal. Half an hour before the flight she gets calpol (max dose for her age) for pain relief and a decongestant (again max dose for her age) to "expand her ear/nasel passages". Doc said you need to minimise pressure changes in the ear so the plugs should do that and the medication should ease any discomfort.

This has worked for us - only minimal if any pain at all (usually if an earplug has come loose ). We found that the ear plugs specially designed for flying that come with a built in valve were no good at all. But I think this is one of those problems where everyones experience is different and what works for one person may not work for another. Hope my advice helps someone out there!

T-Square

This pain is caused by a blockage in the Eustachian tube,
which connects the inner ear to the back of the throat.

Seek a medical pro.

abi2007

I get pains in my ears when fyling and believe it of not yawning actually works, duno why but it does

yaya*

Hi mumof2,

A friend of mine suffers very badly with this problem when flying - often it used to ruin the first few days of her hols cuz the pain would take so long to subside. Anyway, she went to her doc who prescribed something that she takes before she gets on the plane (cant remember the name of it now-its something she inhales anyway!?), alongside a decongestant like Sudafed and now she has no problems flying so if possible, I'd suggest a trip to your doc to ask for a prescription for something to help.


Good luck!

mumof2

yaya* wrote: »

Hi mumof2,

A friend of mine suffers very badly with this problem when flying - often it used to ruin the first few days of her hols cuz the pain would take so long to subside. Anyway, she went to her doc who prescribed something that she takes before she gets on the plane (cant remember the name of it now-its something she inhales anyway!?), alongside a decongestant like Sudafed and now she has no problems flying so if possible, I'd suggest a trip to your doc to ask for a prescription for something to help.


Good luck!

Am going to take a trip to the doctor as well, because I don't want her to suffer for 4 hours on a plane. Just came back from a short flight myself over the weekend and noticed a young boy was crying the whole way through the flight. Maybe he suffers from the same.....

lostinnappies

mumof2 wrote: »

Does anyone know how to help alleviate the pain? On short trips of say one to two hours, she has so much pain she sometimes cries and this is not a good start to her holiday. (She turns 9 in a few weeks and has had this problem from very young, and has flown several times).

I have tried all the tricks - yawning, sucking sweets, drinking, sudafed and calpol for pain relief before hand, but other than double dosing her I don't know what to do, and it puts me off taking the kids on holidays with flying involved.
Please help!!

She may need grommets in her ears. Some children have trouble getting rid of excess fluid in the inner ear. This causes the pressure in the ear to be higher. When you add a flight on top of that you could get very painful ears. Just a thought

lilx3betzler

hey, I'm 15 and have always had the same problem as your daughter.

i'm not promising it's going to work... but it does normally for me.

you can either take two, or ask the filght attendent for two cups..

hold them on her ears when it gets bad, and it should go away.

it may come back, but just do it again.

it evens out the pressure.

a stewardest told my mom it when i was realllyyy young..

give it a shot!:)

mumof2

lilx3betzler wrote: »

hey, I'm 15 and have always had the same problem as your daughter.

i'm not promising it's going to work... but it does normally for me.

you can either take two, or ask the filght attendent for two cups..

hold them on her ears when it gets bad, and it should go away.

it may come back, but just do it again.

it evens out the pressure.

a stewardest told my mom it when i was realllyyy young..

give it a shot!:)

Thanks so much for your reply, im going to give it a go next time:)