Plugged Ears

Hey Folks...

Had an experience yesterday that I have never had. Took off in a 172 for a
local flight here in the Puget Sound area. Field elevation 500 ft. I
climbed to 4000 ft, and flew for about 15 minutes before climbing to 8000 ft
to get a great view of Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Rainier. After
flying for about 45 minutes, I started the descending back toward the
airfield. I descended at 400 fpm and took it down to 5000 ft, and then
500fpm to 2000 ft, and finally down to TPA of 1500 ft. During the descent
from 5000 to 1500, both myself and my passenger experienced alot of pressure
in the ears, and both our ears plugged. I could see it was very
uncomfortable for my passenger, and I wasn't too thrilled either.

After landing, it took a good 2 hours for my ears to be back to normal, and
probably about that for my passenger as well. Just curious about this, as I
have never experienced that before. I have only 70 hours, but have flown as
high as 11500 in a 172, and never had a problem with my ears.

I did just purchase a new headset that seals much better than the old set I
had, and this was my first flight with them, and the passenger was wearing a
set from the FBO that seals pretty well too. Could headsets have been a
factor, or is it more likely it was just a fluke situation.

Also, would it have been better to level off when we first started feeling
the pressure, and see if things would have equalized?


Fred

Fred Choate wrote:

I did just purchase a new headset that seals much better than the old set I
had, and this was my first flight with them, and the passenger was wearing a
set from the FBO that seals pretty well too. Could headsets have been a
factor, or is it more likely it was just a fluke situation.

I don't see how headsets could have caused these symptoms. If anything, the
increasing pressure would simply have clamped the headsets a bit more and you
would have had fewer ear problems.

Also, would it have been better to level off when we first started feeling
the pressure, and see if things would have equalized?

Perhaps. A better idea is to hold your nose, close your mouth, and exhale
slightly, forcing air through the eustachian tubes and equalizing the pressure.
A less drastic approach is to open your mouth like you're yawning and wiggle
your jaw back and forth -- that opens the tubes wider.

George Patterson
Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you quarrel with your neighbor.
It makes you shoot at your landlord. And it makes you miss him.

Right.....we both did that, and it certainly helped. I guess I just never
experienced such a bad case of ear plug-itis before, and it surprised me.
Thanks George.

Fred

"George Patterson" wrote in message
news:ibO6f.4162$tl5.632@trnddc02...
Fred Choate wrote:

I did just purchase a new headset that seals much better than the old set
I had, and this was my first flight with them, and the passenger was
wearing a set from the FBO that seals pretty well too. Could headsets
have been a factor, or is it more likely it was just a fluke situation.

I don't see how headsets could have caused these symptoms. If anything,
the increasing pressure would simply have clamped the headsets a bit more
and you would have had fewer ear problems.

Also, would it have been better to level off when we first started
feeling the pressure, and see if things would have equalized?

Perhaps. A better idea is to hold your nose, close your mouth, and exhale
slightly, forcing air through the eustachian tubes and equalizing the
pressure. A less drastic approach is to open your mouth like you're
yawning and wiggle your jaw back and forth -- that opens the tubes wider.

George Patterson
Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you quarrel with your
neighbor.
It makes you shoot at your landlord. And it makes you miss him.

Fred,
I had never experienced plugged ears while flying but occasionaly had
problems in scuba diving. Plugged ears resulted from both the rate of
pressure change and your physical condition (onset of a cold etc.).
I'd suggest leveling off the next time that your ears felt
uncomfortable. Continue to descent may damage your eardrums. If any
discomfort lingers after a flight (or a dive), antihistamine pills
provide great relief. We always pack Benadryl for our dive trips and
take it only at night, never during the day time, and at least 12 hours
before the next dive. However, for flying both Rick ad I draw the
limit of not taking Benadryl at least 24 hrs before acting as PIC.

Hai Longworth

Never thought of the Benadryl....thanks, I will try that if this happens
again.

Fred

"Longworth" wrote in message
oups.com...
Fred,
I had never experienced plugged ears while flying but occasionaly had
problems in scuba diving. Plugged ears resulted from both the rate of
pressure change and your physical condition (onset of a cold etc.).
I'd suggest leveling off the next time that your ears felt
uncomfortable. Continue to descent may damage your eardrums. If any
discomfort lingers after a flight (or a dive), antihistamine pills
provide great relief. We always pack Benadryl for our dive trips and
take it only at night, never during the day time, and at least 12 hours
before the next dive. However, for flying both Rick ad I draw the
limit of not taking Benadryl at least 24 hrs before acting as PIC.

Hai Longworth

I'd suggest that perhaps both of you are at the early onset of a cold or
recently recovering and there may have been some inflammation constricting
the tube to the back of the throat that balances the air pressure in the
inner ear.

Also, if you don't "keep up" with the pressure changes.. then when the
pressure becomes noticeable, it may take more effort to clear and add to
that any problems with the Eustachian tube.

In my flying career, I once recovered from a cold, was cleared by the fight
surgeon to fly, and on the flight the next day had problems such as you
describe. Some ringing in the ears for the next two hours, sounds as if they
were transmitted through water.. and then a pop. I returned to the flight
surgeon and discovered I was very close to rupturing an ear drum. Descent
rates were much higher than yours, but in a pressure cabin, most noticeable
in the last 2000ft to the ground.

B

"Fred Choate" wrote in message
...
Hey Folks...

Had an experience yesterday that I have never had. Took off in a 172 for
a local flight here in the Puget Sound area. Field elevation 500 ft. I
climbed to 4000 ft, and flew for about 15 minutes before climbing to 8000
ft to get a great view of Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Rainier.
After flying for about 45 minutes, I started the descending back toward
the airfield. I descended at 400 fpm and took it down to 5000 ft, and
then 500fpm to 2000 ft, and finally down to TPA of 1500 ft. During the
descent from 5000 to 1500, both myself and my passenger experienced alot
of pressure in the ears, and both our ears plugged. I could see it was
very uncomfortable for my passenger, and I wasn't too thrilled either.

After landing, it took a good 2 hours for my ears to be back to normal,
and probably about that for my passenger as well. Just curious about
this, as I have never experienced that before. I have only 70 hours, but
have flown as high as 11500 in a 172, and never had a problem with my
ears.

I did just purchase a new headset that seals much better than the old set
I had, and this was my first flight with them, and the passenger was
wearing a set from the FBO that seals pretty well too. Could headsets
have been a factor, or is it more likely it was just a fluke situation.

Also, would it have been better to level off when we first started feeling
the pressure, and see if things would have equalized?


Fred

Longworth wrote:

We always pack Benadryl for our dive trips and
take it only at night, never during the day time, and at least 12 hours
before the next dive. However, for flying both Rick ad I draw the
limit of not taking Benadryl at least 24 hrs before acting as PIC.

Pseudoephedrine hydrochloride works better for PIC. Take it about 1 hour before
the flight.

George Patterson
Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you quarrel with your neighbor.
It makes you shoot at your landlord. And it makes you miss him.

Both of us recently recovered from sinus infections......maybe it isn't all
the way gone yet. Thanks for the advice.

Fred

"BTIZ" wrote in message
news:%aP6f.13691$MN6.10580@fed1read04...
I'd suggest that perhaps both of you are at the early onset of a cold or
recently recovering and there may have been some inflammation constricting
the tube to the back of the throat that balances the air pressure in the
inner ear.

Also, if you don't "keep up" with the pressure changes.. then when the
pressure becomes noticeable, it may take more effort to clear and add to
that any problems with the Eustachian tube.

In my flying career, I once recovered from a cold, was cleared by the
fight surgeon to fly, and on the flight the next day had problems such as
you describe. Some ringing in the ears for the next two hours, sounds as
if they were transmitted through water.. and then a pop. I returned to the
flight surgeon and discovered I was very close to rupturing an ear drum.
Descent rates were much higher than yours, but in a pressure cabin, most
noticeable in the last 2000ft to the ground.

B

"Fred Choate" wrote in message
...
Hey Folks...

Had an experience yesterday that I have never had. Took off in a 172 for
a local flight here in the Puget Sound area. Field elevation 500 ft. I
climbed to 4000 ft, and flew for about 15 minutes before climbing to 8000
ft to get a great view of Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Rainier.
After flying for about 45 minutes, I started the descending back toward
the airfield. I descended at 400 fpm and took it down to 5000 ft, and
then 500fpm to 2000 ft, and finally down to TPA of 1500 ft. During the
descent from 5000 to 1500, both myself and my passenger experienced alot
of pressure in the ears, and both our ears plugged. I could see it was
very uncomfortable for my passenger, and I wasn't too thrilled either.

After landing, it took a good 2 hours for my ears to be back to normal,
and probably about that for my passenger as well. Just curious about
this, as I have never experienced that before. I have only 70 hours, but
have flown as high as 11500 in a 172, and never had a problem with my
ears.

I did just purchase a new headset that seals much better than the old set
I had, and this was my first flight with them, and the passenger was
wearing a set from the FBO that seals pretty well too. Could headsets
have been a factor, or is it more likely it was just a fluke situation.

Also, would it have been better to level off when we first started
feeling the pressure, and see if things would have equalized?


Fred

George,
I forgot to mention that we also take Sudafed (Pseudoephedrine
hydrochloride) before each dive. It does help to clear the nasal
without any drowsy effect. Because of its drying effect, we try to
drink plenty of water before and right after each dive to reduce the
chance of decompression sickness. The antihistamines work to reduce
swelling in damaged eardrums and also help with sleeping especially on
a diveboat. For flying, Rick takes Sudafed every so often before a
flight but only when he is not the PIC. With two pilots in the family,
we want to play safe.

Hai Longworth

Fred Choate wrote:
Never thought of the Benadryl....thanks, I will try that if this happens
again.

Fred

"Longworth" wrote in message
oups.com...

Fred,
I had never experienced plugged ears while flying but occasionaly had
problems in scuba diving. Plugged ears resulted from both the rate of
pressure change and your physical condition (onset of a cold etc.).
I'd suggest leveling off the next time that your ears felt
uncomfortable. Continue to descent may damage your eardrums. If any
discomfort lingers after a flight (or a dive), antihistamine pills
provide great relief. We always pack Benadryl for our dive trips and
take it only at night, never during the day time, and at least 12 hours
before the next dive. However, for flying both Rick ad I draw the
limit of not taking Benadryl at least 24 hrs before acting as PIC.

Hai Longworth

Please be careful. Some of the drugs mention in this thread can cause
drowsiness and/or aggrivate blood pressure. Your AME can provide useful
info.