If you’ve ever experienced truly painful “airplane ear,” welcome to this awful club. It’s not just a bit of popping or temporary muffled hearing — it feels like your head is going to explode. The stinging makes you wonder if your ear drum is finally going to burst. You can’t hear, you can’t think, you can’t even focus on your in-flight entertainment to distract yourself. I know.
I’ve tried what feels like every single remedy now, and haven’t found a miraculous cure-all. However, some tricks have made flying much more bearable, and they’re all worth exploring so you can find what works best for you.
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I used to get the worst airplane ear
I used to dread flights. And I know we all like to fly direct, but the idea of an unnecessary stopover would stress me out because it meant more ear pain, too. I’ve now found a few different solutions that I use in conjunction to enjoy a more comfortable flight.
K, I say “used to,” but I still battle with airplane ear to this day. For people like me — and probably people like you, if you’re reading this — it isn’t something that ever miraculously disappears. One doctor said I had small ear canals? Which there is no cure for, but I was like
Tips for avoiding painful airplane ear
You’ll likely want to try a combination of a few of these things at the same time for the best results. Let me know if you’ve found any other good ones!
Avoid flying when sick or congested to avoid airplane ear
This is always the worst contributor. If I’m at all sick, especially if I can feel my glands are a bit sore, I know it’s going to be a rough flight. If at all possible, don’t fly if you’re feeling under the weather! Book changeable flights, or take decongestants leading up to the journey if you can’t adjust your travel plans.
Get noise cancelling headphones
Average price: $200-600
I can’t find anything that explains why this works, but I swear it does. Ear buds certainly aren’t comfortable when you’re going through inner-ear pain, but it’s so nice to have some music playing to try and relax. My Apple Airpods Max are wireless over-ear headphones. I don’t know if it’s the noise-cancelling feature or something about the way they sit that slows the pressure, but I swear it helps.
Also useful when your flight is delayed and the terminal is full of screaming kids
Try "Earplanes" for airplane ear
Average cost: $20
Earplanes are specially designed for this exact affliction. I’ve used them a few times and they worked great, but they also failed me once (probably due to my own human error). They’re not super comfortable and you can’t listen to music or watch anything, so it’s not ideal.
They recommend putting them in an hour before takeoff and an hour before landing. When you have a 3 hour flight, it’s hard to determine whether you should just leave them in for the whole thing or not. But they have an app that measures cabin pressure and tells you when to insert/remove them. Technology is wild. There really is an app for everything, eh?
Grab an over-the-counter nasal spray
Average price: $10
You can get a simple saline spray from your local pharmacy, and it isn’t even technically medicine. But the salt helps to clear your sinuses. Or, rather, the “swollen lining of the nose and eustachian tube” when you’re congested.
Alternatively, I use Sudafed (pseudophedrine) and it has been a blessing. I just shoot it up the ol’ nostrils an hour before take-off and voilà! No pain. This has been the most effective solution for me.
Bring water, gum, candy, or anything chewy on board
Average cost: $5
Ah the ol’ classic. You know when normal people are like “oh I get ear pain too, you just have to chew gum.” And it’s like, k you don’t know what true ear pain is if a bit of gum chewing sets you straight. They don’t know how lucky they are!
It certainly doesn’t magically fix everything, but there’s no doubt it helps to keep your jaw moving to open those earways. I also treat myself to a little bag of mixed Haribo gummies to switch it up.
Get your ears cleaned
Average cost: $80
Another trick that isn’t scientifically proven but seemed to work for me. I got my ears vacuumed a week before a long-haul flight and had no pain during my journey. (I also used nasal spray, my headphones, and chewed gum.)
There’s a type of ear cleaning where they flush out your canals with water, which I did years ago and it was super uncomfortable. The vacuuming was wayyyy more chill and just feels refreshing even if you aren’t about to fly! I do it once a year now. Gotta keep these dainty little ear canals clear.
Put your faith in styrofoam cups with paper towel soaked in hot water
Ok so I’m not so convinced of this one, but I did tell you I’ve tried everything, and I meant it. On a flight from Lima to Buenos Aires I was suffering hard with my ears, and the flight attendant (bless her) brought me this DIY cure: Two styrofoam cups stuffed with paper towels she’d dipped in hot water.
It was kinda too late to tell how effective it was because I was already in pain, but it didn’t get any worse so I can’t totally knock it! The science behind it? A mystery. My main issue with this method is that it isn’t very practical or easy to prepare yourself before takeoff. And… I looked pretty silly.
Read more: Free Things to Do in Buenos Aires, Argentina
My ideal combo for dealing with airplane ear
I always board the plane with my bag of tricks: gum, candy, a full (reusable) bottle of water, nasal spray, and my noise cancelling headphones. And I now get my ears vacuumed annually.
This is just what works for me, but you might find some of these methods bring you more peace. Good luck out there. And hit the comments section if you’ve found any solutions for airplane ear so I can give them a go!
Thanks for the tips! I suffer from this as well and am thinking about getting ETD surgery finally.
I use Mometasona steroid spray and the same headphones + Iliadid nasal decongestant and I still have pain. I land with an awful migraine and serious ear pain. Does it hurt a lot when you land?
Best,
I.
Oooh I’ll try the steroid spray, I’ve never even heard of that!
It’s definitely always more painful on the descent, but never escalated into a migraine — that must be particularly awful 🙁
But the ear pain lingers for an hour or so after the flight. I can’t hear anyone, and just have to wait for my ear to eventually pop, which will happen randomly and usually gives me quite the jump scare lol.
Thanks for the tips I’ll try them on my next flight 🙏