How to Clear Your Ears when Flying

When you fly, changes in elevation during ascending and descending causes fluctuations in air pressure. If you have a cold, congested nose or throat or sinus infection, it is possible for your Eustachian tube (the tube connecting your middle ear to the back of your nose and throat) to get blocked. This blockage means the air in your middle ear and the air outside cannot flow freely and cannot equalize. The resulting pain, discomfort or trauma is called barotrauma or barotitis.

Things You'll Need

• Gum or candy
• Decongestant pill or nasal spray
• Earplugs

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Instructions

• 1

  Try chewing gum or eating candy to encourage swallowing.

  Swallow or yawn, according to Medicine.net. These activities use the muscles that push the Eustachian tubes open, which can help to clear the blockage and allow air to flow, equalizing the pressure.

• 2

  Use the Valsalva maneuver, suggests WebMD. Pinch your nose closed, hold your mouth shut and gently push air out of your nose. This serves to force air past the blockage in your Eustachian tube. The popping noise you hear is the air equalizing. Use this technique periodically, especially during ascending and descending.

• 3

  Take a decongestant pill or nasal spray an hour before your flight, according to Medicine.net. These medicines cause your nasal membranes to shrink, reducing the chance of a blockage.

• 4

  Use earplugs. Equalizing earplugs, designed specifically for flying, will reduce the flow of air to your ear and give your inner ear more time to equalize. Be sure to put them in before ascending and leave them in until the plane has descended.