[Travelandtourism] What's your secret to preventing painful ear pops when you fly?

[Reese]

What's your secret to preventing painful ear pops when you fly?

On a recent family vacation to Venice, Rome, and Cinque Terre, I suffered 
the worst ear pain of my life while descending into Dublin for a layover. I 
pulled out my trusty pack of chewing gum, offering some to the folks around 
us, but my left ear continued to be stubbornly blocked no matter how hard I 
chewed or how much water I swallowed. As everyone else looked down at the 
green scenery below us, I held my left ear in total agony. Luckily, after 
several cups of hot tea and a few more pieces of gum, I was able to get 
through the next take off and landing and arrived in Venice feeling much 
better.

If only I had come across this tip from Budget Travel reader (and pilot!) 
Mike Filippell. "To avoid ear pain during flights, bring along an apple. 
When you feel the plane begin to descend (about 25 minutes before arrival), 
start snacking. The chewing and swallowing will keep ears in good shape." So 
that's where I went wrong. I should have started chewing earlier (before I 
started feeling the pressure), plus the combination of chewing and 
swallowing would have made the whole experience so much better.

This made me wonder if there were other little-known, tried-and-true methods 
that would have helped me at the time. What are your best tips? Let us know 
in the comments!

Reese

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