I imagine you’ve answered this before. I experience terrible ear pain on descent SOMETIMES. I’ve not been able to detect a pattern (aircraft, weather conditions, destination?) If I could at least anticipate the issue, it would be helpful. Thoughts?
Great question Adrienne this is actually quite common.
What you’re feeling is pressure not equalizing properly in the middle ear during descent. It can seem random, but it’s often worse when you have even mild congestion (cold, allergies, sinus pressure) or when the descent is quicker/steeper.
A few things that really help:
• Start equalizing early (don’t wait for pain)
• Swallow, yawn, or chew gum regularly
• Try the gentle Valsalva (pinch nose + light blow)
• Stay well hydrated
• If you’re prone to it, a decongestant spray before descent can help
If it’s severe or frequent, it’s worth checking with an ENT but in most cases it’s just a pressure timing issue.
Wow - interesting. Our SINS was a R2-D2 kinda look'n thing. I hope your is smaller and lighter.
That did raise a question, though. I know that aircraft aluminum isn't ferrous, but do you have components of the aircraft that need to be degaussed from time to time?
Great question Jack! Older INS units really did look like that 😄 Mine’s thankfully a bit smaller now.We don’t “degauss” aircraft like ships while some components can have minor magnetic effects, systems like the compass are calibrated/compensated rather than demagnetized. ✈️
I imagine you’ve answered this before. I experience terrible ear pain on descent SOMETIMES. I’ve not been able to detect a pattern (aircraft, weather conditions, destination?) If I could at least anticipate the issue, it would be helpful. Thoughts?
Great question Adrienne this is actually quite common.
What you’re feeling is pressure not equalizing properly in the middle ear during descent. It can seem random, but it’s often worse when you have even mild congestion (cold, allergies, sinus pressure) or when the descent is quicker/steeper.
A few things that really help:
• Start equalizing early (don’t wait for pain)
• Swallow, yawn, or chew gum regularly
• Try the gentle Valsalva (pinch nose + light blow)
• Stay well hydrated
• If you’re prone to it, a decongestant spray before descent can help
If it’s severe or frequent, it’s worth checking with an ENT but in most cases it’s just a pressure timing issue.
You’re definitely not alone on this one ✈️
Wow - interesting. Our SINS was a R2-D2 kinda look'n thing. I hope your is smaller and lighter.
That did raise a question, though. I know that aircraft aluminum isn't ferrous, but do you have components of the aircraft that need to be degaussed from time to time?
Great question Jack! Older INS units really did look like that 😄 Mine’s thankfully a bit smaller now.We don’t “degauss” aircraft like ships while some components can have minor magnetic effects, systems like the compass are calibrated/compensated rather than demagnetized. ✈️