• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Any tricks to popping your ears when on an airplane?

I

Ilmater

Diamond Member
When we land, my ears get all plugged up, and I can't hear a fvcking thing for the next day or so. Does anyone have any sure-fire tricks to avoiding this? It's so freaking annoying.

EDIT: Oh, and I tried the holding mouth and nose thing as well to no avail. Should have mentioned that.
 
Have you tried pinching your nose and blowing with your mouth closed. That is one of the tricks they taught me when I did flight qual for Navy P-3s.
 
ywaning usually help. So does swallowing without drinking anything. Just have to doa ahrd swallow and you can usually feel the pressure equalize.
 
Originally posted by: nakedfrog
Wait, did you chew gum during the flight or do you do it after you land?
Click to expand...
Both. And for the record, I was doing the hold mouth and nose thing as well, and noted it in my OP.
 
Sounds like you have some bad plumbing, like me🙁 I am a pilot, so I deal with this all the time.
The high pressure leaks out of your inner ear while in flight, but does not leak back in when you descend and land.
When you try the valsalva manuever ( closing the mouth, holding the nostrils, blowing), blow really hard! If your tubes can pass air at all, it will work.
The big downside is when one tube passes air marginally better than the other. One ear equalizes, then over-equalizes. The other ear does nothing. This hurts, and it takes a while with yawning and swallowing to get the excess air out of the one ear.
 
Only problem with "forcing" the eustachian tubes to equalize by pressurizing is that drives oral bacteria into your inner ear...esp if you are sick.
...which is also why one should not "stifle" a sneeze. Better to sneeze unimpeded into a hanky or your sleeve....

To equalize tthe ears, the yawning and gum chewing, jaw thrusting maneuvers are best.

As skyking pointed out, certain activities like flying, and scuba divers (like moi) must do, at risk of blowing out tympanum if not equalized.
 
I'd have gotten the roto-rooter job done on my tubes when I flew more, but I heard so many horror stories about that backfiring. I figured I'd keep on working it the hard way.
 
I've had better results when actually drinking something over swollowing nothing.

That, and I try to go into fligths sleepy and tired just so that I'd yawn a lot.
 
Usually just yawning does the trick for me. But when yawning doesn't work, I've found that dry swallowing whilst opening my mouth as wide as possible works well.

You know, if someone were to take some of the things posted in this thread out of context... :evil:
 
am i the only person who can pop their ears without doing anything special to do it? its so easy there has to be other people that can just do it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top