I blogged about blocked ears last month and I continued my research on this subject so that I could prevent this painful event from happening again. The medical term for this condition is “aerotitis”. Aerotitis (pronounced aer-o-tit-is) is an acute inflammation of the middle ear caused by the difference in air pressure between the airplane cabin and the middle-ear space. Alternate terms for aerotitis include aerotitis media, barotitis, barotitis media, otic barotrauma. This condition usually surfaces during ascent and decent; however, people experience more severe aerotitis during decent. The problems include ear pain, ringing, diminished hearing and, sometimes, dizziness. This condition could be alleviated by a Valsalva’s maneuver: pinch your nostril, close your mouth, and make an effort to blow your nose. When you hear a loud pop, you have succeeded. You’ll probably have to repeat the procedure several times during descent. Go to my previous blog on blocked ears for other methods.
How to prevent aerotitis:
Other than performing a Valsalva’s maneuver, yawning, gentle blowing of the nose, thrusting the lower jaw forward, swallowing, or use of an inhaler will open the Eustachian tubes and thus, release the pressure in your ears. However, the best is to prevent aerotitis from happening. If you have a head cold, hay fever, or sinus infection, the back of your nose and throat could be swollen and thus blocking the Eustachian tubes. Also, excessive smoking or having an irritation in your nose, head or throat could block the Eustachian tubes. To check whether your ears are good for flying, do this pre-flight check: Take a sip of water and swallowing vigorously. If you hear clicking noises in both ears, your Eustachian tubes are clear and good for fly. Otherwise, avoid flying.
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