Need Advice: Traveling Soon/Trouble Flying

Hey everyone!

I've had tinnitus for about 4 years after a childhood full of ear infections. 24/7/365 tea kettle whistling.

I've had tubes twice in my life and I often experience stretches of relief lasting years after the procedure. However when my ears are NOT functioning properly I have an atrocious time flying. Sometimes my ears never pop at all and I spend the flight in excruciating pain. Yawning, gum, ear planes, plugging my nose and blowing...none of these works.

I've even experienced full paralysis of half of my face on an airplane before, which an ENT once told me was due to the fact that the cartilage protecting the main nerve supplying feeling to my face is malformed and the nerve is exposed to the pressure in my ears when they don't pop.

Have any of you experienced anything like this? I have to fly in 2 weeks and have been experiencing some allergy symptoms. Do medicines or Afrin work? I feel like I've tried both, I'm open to any advice you might have.....

Thanks everyone. Hang in there, it's Friday!

Mike

 

I have flown many times since T & H. I brought ear plugs, earplane types with me. But over the years I find I don't need them any more. Just use my ipod ear buds or the fingers during take offs. My T even could be heard above the jet noise in the last 2 flights I took. So I am kind of saying 'screw it, whatever' and just do my thing and not worry about this and that about flying. That is only my experience and I don't mean others should do the same. I normally have no problem popping the ears by yawning & chewing, but I remember one trip I had a bad cold on the way back, and I had no nasal spray. It ended up I couldn't pop the ears and yes, it felt painful and my ears and hearing felt like in a cocoon for a week and T was very loud. After that it came back to normal as I thought it would. But I think it is a good idea to bring nasal spray or some decongestant or sort to be ready for this. Have a great trip.

 

Hi, @Mike621
A lot has been posted here at TT on ths topic. Just search "Flying and Tinnitus."

Also: Here is a link to a post I did on the protocol I use, which involves Afrin, Sudafed and Ear Planes. It does work for me. I have eustachian tube problems, like you, although never experienced facial paralysis!

However, I would say that if you have a severe respiratory infection or sinus infection -- consider not flying. Wish I would not have when I did so in 2013. That's how I got my tinnitus.
Good luck.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/flying-tinnitus.1001/page-4#post-47628