Take-off On Our Ear Opening Advice

Have you ever been on a flight and while the plane is taking descending, you hear the blood-curdling scream of an infant two rows behind you? It may have been due to air pressure in the ears, which affects infant ears much more than it does adults. According to Yahoo pediatric expert Dr. Green, the landing is always harder on infant ears than take-off. This is because during take-off the ears tend to adjust spontaneously, while during landing, the rising pressure can cause pain and the adjustment doesn’t occur spontaneously, but requires the motions of yawning, swallowing, or crying. Rather than letting your infant work out the air pressure changes alone, you can alleviate the problem.

• If you’re nursing your infant, do so during take-off. The swallowing action naturally helps remove the pressure in baby’s ears and with any luck your child might fall asleep. If your infant can wait, don’t nurse during taxiing, which might take several minutes. Instead, see if you can nurse when the plane is almost ready to lift off the ground.
• If you’re bottle-feeding, do so during take-off. Pacifiers can also work as well. For toddlers, chewing on munchies and drinking out of a sippy cup will help. Though most toddlers are well past the stage of painful ear pressure due to plane travel.