So I'm 27, but have never flown until this past week. I'll be honest I was pretty nervous. I don't like heights, so this is kind of the extreme of that. I don't feel so bad about it now, & would be fine with doing it again, but my ears were absolutely fucked this week until yesterday. I had about 60% of my hearing in my right ear all week until then. Is this common?

I hate flying. No problem with heights or ear popping, I think the claustrophobic aspect is what really gets to me.

I've absolutely experienced some inner ear trouble after flights, not unlike what you describe. Still though, wouldn't hurt to have a doctor take a quick look.

It's a pretty common problem brought on by the change in cabin pressure usually during take-off and landing. With most people it dissipates fairly soon after landing, some people have lingering effects. There's tons of info written about this problem here's one article to get you started. http://www.usatoday.com/travel/columnis ... sman_x.htm
Good Luck! And yes, if the problem lingers then see a doctor it may be all you need is something as simple as ear drops to relieve the pressure and unblock your ears.

hey bro

it's all good, glad you were able to experience flying

basically what everyone above me said
you'll get used to it tho, there are a few tricks to popping your ears after take-off and landing...I do this odd lower back jaw movement thing that helps pop my ears (I dunno where I learned it but been doing it all my life)

i've flown numerous times, and this one time my ear was clogged and hurt like heck for a few hours after we landed. i was so relieved when it went away

i got it the first time flying when I was 10, but you can request eucalyptus which (in my experience) either comes in liquid or sachet form. You just sniff it a lot in descent, the vapors help keep your ears unblocked. Also chewing or sucking a lolly is really good, which is why they used to give 'em out. I haven't been bothered for years by it though, although if I were sick w/ cold or sore throat it would probably be bad

I love flying!
I would totally be a jet setter just for the flying, I'd even be happy never to get off the plane.

It's a one time thing . . . same happened with all my kids, now they have no problems even on the 8-10 hr flights over to US.

I've flown a lot (150 or so flights) over the last 20 years or so of my life (since I was .

My sister was also a flight attendant for 5 years.. and we both found the best cures for coping with the change in pressure was to:

a: Chew gum or yawn a lot to stimulate your inner ear to release the pressure.

b: breath through both your nose and mouth at the same time.

c: do NOT fly if you have a head cold or blocked sinus.. your ear drum can literally explode.

Now if only they could get bigger seats in economy so my knees dont die from being hard up against the seat in front.

Chewing gum has always helped me a lot with the ear popping thing. I also get the ear pops when I take the NJ Transit trains into NYC.

Interesting subject, I had no idea it was as common as this. I once had this happen to me on a flight back to the US from Venezuela and I just thought it was a case of a serious air jockey descending too quickly. When I was back in NYC my head felt as though it was going to explode and I couldn't hear out of one ear for 2 days. I felt like banging my head against a wall to relieve the pressure! Now I know to always bring gum on flights.

C.

A big +1 on that. Had no choice and had to fly with a head cold and it literally felt like someone shovin an ice pick in yer ear!
Didn't regain normal hearing till a week later. On top of that, I hate flying.

Thank you for the info all. I'm glad that it seems to be pretty common. I actually did have a head cold on the return flight & that is when it felt really bad. Take off was fine, but landing it just kept getting worse.

I have also seen them put cups over little kids ears to help prevent it from happening.

Brooks, did you take anything for the flight? I have a friend who is freaking out because we're flying to Japan and I would really like to help him out in anyway I can.
He was nervous on a flight from Chicago to Louisville ~1hr flight.

Not sure if this is the best idea, but it's always worked for me --

When the pressure builds up in your ears to an uncomfortable degree, pinch your nostrils and gently breath outward. This will usually get your ears to pop/equalize. You may need to do it a few times.

Another thing is try to move around, especially your legs, over the course of the flight. You can swell up and it can even be dangerous, if a blood clot forms and goes to your lungs/brain/whatever. Very rare, but do try to move around, do some leg exercises every 20 minutes or half hour.

I don't like airports too much but I kind of enjoy flying, it's pretty mind-blowing when you think about it. I like to keep in mind that for probably hundreds of thousands of years man has dreamed of flying with the birds through the sky, and just in the last few decades has it become totally commonplace. Kind of lucky!

I hate flying, and it sucks that I will be doing a lot of it next week.

My flight was only an hour too. Kansas City to Chicago & back. I didn't take anything. I did Soduku & a crossword puzzle to take my mind off of it.

Flying freaks me out. This is really bad because you basically have to fly to get anywhere when you live in Hawaii. I don't take any medication to cope with the anxiety, but I do have an occasional beer/cocktail on long flights (e.g., 8 hour flights to Japan). This settles me down to the point where my heart does not start racing every time the plane experiences turbulence.

As for the ear-popping thing, Nicky G's advice is probably my solution as well. Plug your nose and close your mouth and blow.

I don't mind flying but turbulences still freak me out. 'What if shit happens' will always linger somewhere in the back of my mind but luckly I'm easily distracted by food, movies and portable games. If we had net access to Skullbrain that would solve everything.

Don't blow too hard tho, imo feels like it gets plugged the other way when you do that heh
Chewing gum is the classic way of overcoming it, so it wouldn't hurt to try the simple stuff first

On the very long flights (to Japan for example) I'm not sure if all carriers have em(I haven't flown domestic or in an american airline in 15yrs) but there are entertainment systems built into the seats that helps keep the brain focused on something else aside from the turbulence

If you need a little bit extra help, like akum6n says...a nice drink will do wonders to calm down nerves and on international flights it's free so

For jet-lag to Jpn...I HIGHLY recommend you completely stay up the night before and pass out on the plane the whole ride if you can... it Totally helps lessen the jet lag(specially if your on a tight schedule)

I tried this method on my way to japan and I gotta say that it didnt work for me. I dont have any problems flying and It just made the entire flight a daze, not in a good way. If you have any problems flying I dont really recommend this method. You'll just be tired + freaked out, and that's not really a good combination.

I prefer the drink method

The best method of course is to save up all your loose change and spring for business or first class

I prefer day flights westbound, stay awake and just make a cruelly long day of it before crashing at an appropriate local time. (The hard-but-critical part is resisting the midday nap when you arrive at the hotel - Just keep moving!)

OTOH, I always try to get the overnight redeye eastbound. Get on the plane in SF around 9 or 10 PM, have 3mg of melatonin, crash and wake up in Miami.

For me, these are virtual necessities to sleep on planes -

1 - Foam earplugs - To me the orange ones are best balance of comfort and silencing, look for 28-30 dB of silencing (or Bose silencing headphones, if price is no object).
2 - Sleep mask - any one is fine, I've even used a (clean) sock, in a pinch.
3 - This pillow/collar - The one linked below is much, much better than the curved C-shaped ones you see everywhere. I know lots of folks here do some loooong flights, and if you haven't tried this I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. They also make a memory-foam version, but it's a) really bulky, and b) $60.
http://www.magellans.com/store/In_Flight_Comfort___Pillows_and_BlanketsIF383?Args=

Good idea on the earplugs, I've used both foam ones and noise cancelling headphones which were great but the batteries were quick to die in them!