Ear Popper relieves middle ear pressure discomfort
posted September 20th 2005 3:45PM
Aside from the tasteless food, bad movies, and whiny children, the worst thing about air travel is the uncomfortable sensation of middle ear pressure changes during take-off and landing. While homebrewed solutions like chewing gum sometimes do the trick, nothing works better than the Ear Popper (at least according to the NIH) in relieving your discomfort or in making you look like you're working your ear drum with your wife's back massager. This handy device blows pressurized air into your aural cavity and forces it up your Eustachian tube when you swallow, which experts claim to be quite effective. Fortunately for Wrigley's and Bubblicious, the Ear Popper is only available by prescription, so their monopoly on in-flight remedies is safe for now.
[Update: Thank you to the reader who pointed out that this is inserted into the nose, not the ear. All jokes still apply.]
Don't you mean "your wife's 'back massager' (nudge nudge, wink wink)"?
The device blows air into your nasal cavity (nose), not your aural cavity (ear).
This would be a godsend for anybody who travels internationally a lot. I can't tell you how many times I've been on an international flight with major sinus congestion and my ears would not pop for anything. You just sit there with pressure built up in your middle ear feeling like you're heads going to explode.
The most effective way I've found to releave the pressue (not 100% full proof but it works most of the time.) is to plug your ear with your finger, hold your nose closed with the other hand, close your mouth and blow (pressurising your inner ear) If you got a good seal on your outer ear and you press hard, the pressure from both sides towards the middle ear can cause the blockage to be temporarily cleared and pressure equalized.
This is from a person that traved over 20K miles in a week with having an ear infection. The most misserable trip in my life.
TAZ
The best thing I have found is to take some severe cold/sinus medication about 30 minutes or so prior to landing.
Do lots of diving. You'll learn to control you ear pressure without a problem
Whoa, once on a flight I got pressure building up not just in my ears, but in my sinuses too. It was the scariest experience I've ever had on a plane. I thought I'd either pass out from the pain or my eyeballs would explode. It lasted for about five minutes. I think I had a slight headcold at the time, which was probably the cause.
Maybe airlines should keep emergency disposable versions of these things onboard.
I can't explain the way I equalize the preasure in my ears. It's like forced-yawning, without the yawn.
try blocking your nose with your fingers and then try blowing air through your nose. this should relieve pressure buildup in your ears. works every time.
#7...finally! someone else that can do this too! flex the muscle mulitple times rapidly, hear the rumble, clear your ears. i've never known anyone that could do this too. anyone else?
This is prescription only because???
What a silly thing to make presciption only. I hadn't heard that people were abusing presurized air. Now in order to get one I gotta drop $50 for a doctors appt.
Not even worth my time, or the 50.
#7 and #9 - me too.
Wow, the internets - bringing (very strange) people together since the '90s.
Bonus points for anyone who knows what "gleeking" is...
#9, yeah, that's what I do too. I thought everyone did. It's sort of like thrusting from the back of your jawbone. Actually, #7's description is quite apt. My ears don't always pop with that technique, though.
This device is useless as you can pop your ears manually by sending what i think is air? I dont know but if you have ever taken a swim you would know what i'm talking about. wide open your mouth and do that thing... i dont know how to explain it! its like teaching someone to walk!
Divers would understand.
#7,#9,#12, me too.
As for gleeking...my brother can do it. It's just weird.
#7,#9,#12,#14, me too!!! weird...
I can do the jaw thing, but gleeking? I give up, what's that?
I'll chime in, I do the yawn-thing too, I hardly ever see anyone else do it. And, I could never gleek, despite many attempts as a youngster. :) It always happens by accident, and I still, today, go, "Okay, how the heck did I just do that?"
#16- It's like.. forcing your spit glands to go off.
STREAMS of spit, flying out.
it's really creepy.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gleek
I use EarPlanes available at drugstores (without a prescription)
They look like ear plugs but allow the pressure to adjust slowly.
They work great and help prevent ear pain and temp defaness after landing.
I have sinuses that hate me, and I've blacked out landing on the coast at sea level after spending weeks at 3000 feet above sea level in dry weather. The pain is unbelievable when your sinuses feel like they're trying to explode through your forehead. All I could do was picture my forehead exploding, or that I was having a stroke or something...
That and "sticky" Eustachian tubes that I have no end of trouble with (I often have to equalize the pressure after going up in the elevator... sometimes the jaw trick is all I need, but more often than not it's the hold-your-nose-and-blow method that a scuba diving friend showed me when I was in junior high.
So, when I fly, I drop a couple Dayquil or similar sinus decongestants, and an antihistamine, just to avoid a spontaneous allergy flareup which would complicate matters. I also grab an attendant and see if I can't get my hands on a hot towel about 20 minutes before landing... that or just hot water on paper towels in the bathroom... apply to forehead, and inhale steam from tea, or hot drinks...
All that helps ensure my head doesn't explode. A bit of dizziness from a whacked out ear? Cry me a river. This is a silly tool for something that any toddler could be taught to do; the hold your nose approach.
Newer airplanes such as 767-500,600 and 747-400s have climate controls that manages air pressure far better than older planes. You might have noticed that your ear get overpressured far less today than 10 years ago.
Good idea, but I would still feel weary shooting air up my nose when Its just as easy to do it yourself.
#7,#9,#12,#14,#15 and others, I too can pop my ears without much effort. I can do it just by stretching my jaw / the back of my throat. If I really need to help it along, I plug my nose, close my mouth, and push air up into my nasal cavity. I don't really "blow" air into my closed nose, I use my mouth to push air up there. It's hard to describe.
Most references here to divers being able to do this are speaking of the Valsalva maneuver. Don't know where I learned to do it, but when I started diving I had no trouble equalizing my ears as I descended - just seemed to be easy for me. And I use it when I fly as well. Very handy. There are a number of methods to equalize the pressure - some of them hands-free, and some people have more success than others.
I had bouts of random-but-severe dizziness a few months back, and went in to an otolaryngologist (ear nose and throat guy), who, aside from being 175 years old and actually having one of those Looney Tunes reflective disk doctor headbands, had as his major tool of the trade a floor-mounted device that produced vibrating pressurized streams of air through various attachments designed for the orifices of interest. It didn't help my dizzeiness (which turned out to be BPV, one of those thigns that "just goes away",) but it sure did blow some snot out of various places down my throat. For only about $60!
Hey, I too do the "fake yawn" thing to pop my ears... Most of the time it works, but sometimes it doesn't, and I just sit there thinking my ear drums will rupture (which can actually happen...) A trick I learned: SUDAFED. Trust me, pop a dose and 1/2 of regular Sudafed (none of the wacky allergy/cold/hangover kind... just the original pure Sudafed kind). It dries out your sinuses, preventing pressure build up. Oh, and I've "gleeked" too, very strange, but I can't do it on command.
This thread is weirding me out. Yet I am drawn to it like a moth to flame.
Good luck to those who are able to pop their ears. I just cannot do it on an airplane. I've tried blowing my nose, I've held my nose and swallowed, and I've tried gum. I've used plugs and I've even used warm towels. Nothing really works. If and when I'm successful I end up with a headache and I need a lot of Tylenol. I'm certainly willing to give this device a try - LOOKS GOOD to me. Does insurance pay for this?
Jill, I agree with you. I also have trouble popping my ears. I'm definitely willing to try this new device!!
It seems like most of you are talking about equalizing the pressure as you go from higher elevation to lower. Blowing air up your nose by holding it closed works quit well. My problem is going from lower to higher elevation. My right ear will not equalize most of the time and I get very dizzy and everything starts spinning and I have severe pain in that ear. This is very unconfortable when your at 30,000 ft in a plane. Blowing air up your nose in this situation makes the problem worse because you are actually increasing the inner ear's pressure when it is trying to be equal to the lower pressure outside of the ear. Does anyone have this same experience? How do you deal with it? Sometimes holding my nose and taking a big swallow will help but not always.