When my sister travels by plane, as soon as she gets off the plane and for about 24 hours her ears are plugged and extremely painful.
She wears earplugs which helps on the descent, but then is in quite a bit of pain.
She does not have Lyme...but pain is pain.
Posted by sammy (Member # 13952) on :
She could try wearing some EarPlanes on the airplane. They are supposed to help slow down/regulate the pressure changes so that you don't have the ear pain afterwards.
I also heard that you are supposed to leave the EarPlanes in until the cabin door is open. I guess the cabin pressure is not released until then?
You should be able to buy them at walmart or similar pharmacy type places.
She could also try chewing gum constantly and sipping on water during the flight. Those things always help me deal with the pressure changes.
Ear pain hurts, I hope she finds something to help for this.
Posted by linky123 (Member # 19974) on :
You may want to check my reply in randi's thread:
"can flying hurt people with lyme?"
Am getting a headache or I would rewrite it for you.
Take care.
Posted by Lauralyme (Member # 15021) on :
She should be drinking/swallowing during the entire descent.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- Magnesium and another nutritional anti-inflamatory. Avoid gluten, dairy, corn, soy.
Stinging Nettle would be excellent to take before and during. Ginger capsules, too.
Maybe use Seagate OLE nasal spray for a few days prior to flying to help clear out sinuses that can intensify ear pressure.
Bose noise cancellation headset with EarPlanes helps. Regular ear plugs can make the problem worse. EarPlanes allow for some decompression.
As other say, yawn, etc. More detail here about the noise cancellation headsets, etc.:
Topic: TINNITUS: Ringing Between The Ears; Vestibular, Balance, Hearing with compiled links - including HYPERACUSIS -
Posted by Rumigirl (Member # 15091) on :
Ear Planes work! You need to put them in either before the ascent and keep them in until the cabin door is opened, or at least put them in before descent. But there can be problems with ascent, too, just not as badly as descent.
It's not "natural," but also using a spray nasal decongestant before the flight can help. Drug stores have generic versions of these.
I have always had terrible ear problems with flying, so I at least use the Ear Planes, and sometimes do both.
Of course, one should NEVER EVER fly with a cold or ear infection. I did that once . . . OMG, I was crying and begging for a dr, but there was no one to help. I was lucky that I didn't burst the ear drums.
Posted by hopingandpraying (Member # 9256) on :
My teenage son uses the earplugs each time we fly for treatment/doctor visit(every two months). He puts them in before we board and removes them when we land.
They have helped my son with the ear pain. He used to have excruciating pain from the pressure in the cabin, but this method helped.