Plugged Ears

In article ,
"Fred Choate" wrote:

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

yep - that is one possibility. I've flown after headcolds and get a little
more ear popping that normal.

--
Bob Noel
no one likes an educated mule

Hi Fred:

I'm in the same area as you.I'm based at Spanaway. During are last couple of
days of beautiful weather I noticed that I had a LOT of sinus congestion. I
wonder if you might have allergies you are unaware of. There was a lot of
smog down low and a lot of wood smoke in the air where I am at. You could
see a dirty brown layer topping out at around 1500 AGL. I never got above
2000, but I'll bet if I went high I would have noticed the pressure.

Flew Friday--Saturday says the Spouse "You were at the airport all day
yesterday, honey do day today" Sunday IFR

Cheers:

Paul
N1431A

You are right Paul.....it was a great weekend to fly. I flew Saturday
afternoon out of Thun Field. That smog layer you talk of was for sure
there. We took off and got great views of Rainier, and then went south over
Morton and at 6000 to 8000 we got great pictures of Adams and Helens as
well. We could even see Hood down to the south! But, looking back to the
north, you couldn't see much......you may be right about the allergy
thing....

Fred


"Tri-Pacer" wrote in message
. ..
Hi Fred:

I'm in the same area as you.I'm based at Spanaway. During are last couple
of days of beautiful weather I noticed that I had a LOT of sinus
congestion. I wonder if you might have allergies you are unaware of. There
was a lot of smog down low and a lot of wood smoke in the air where I am
at. You could see a dirty brown layer topping out at around 1500 AGL. I
never got above 2000, but I'll bet if I went high I would have noticed the
pressure.

Flew Friday--Saturday says the Spouse "You were at the airport all day
yesterday, honey do day today" Sunday IFR

Cheers:

Paul
N1431A

"Fred Choate" wrote

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

More than likely, you both experienced a medical condition, causing you ears
to not equalize. This time of year, it is common to have a lot of sinus
drainage due to allergies, and then some of the drainage gets into the
estasian(sp?) tubes, and causes inflammation and plugging.

If you ever have this problem again, try a quick shot of Afrin, or other
same products to clear the drainage. You have to do that after the flight,
because I believe that is a banned over the counter medication. Of course,
your passenger is free to use it! ;-)

A decongestant/antihistamine might also help, but again be careful of the
included ingredients, and the banned medications list.
--
Jim in NC

An old timer once gave me the tip that those menthol inhalers can work
wonders when your ears get plugged. I keep one in the bag and more
than once after a too hasty descent it's had me unplugged and feeling
better within minutes.

Clyde

I agree. This is why I stated our 24 hrs limit for taking Benadryl
before flying.
Here are the FAA guidelines from this website
http://www.aviationmedicine.com/allergies.htm

Over-the Counter Antihistamines

"The over-the-counter products such as chlorpheneramine (Clortrimaton,
CTM) and diphenhydramine (Benadryl) found in many commercial products
cause drowsiness. They are not permitted by the FAA and a pilot should
wait at least twice as long as the dosing recommendation after the last
dose to fly. For example, if the directions read take every six hours",
the pilot should wait at least twelve hours after the last dose before
considering flying. These medications may have subtle adverse effects
for much longer in some individuals. Chronic treatment with over the
counter antihistamines requires a 24 hour wait after the last dose
before flying, according to the FAA Guide for Aviation Medical
Examiners."

Decongestants

"Decongestants, such as Sudafed, are often used with allergies to
constrict blood vessels in the nose and relieve the running nose.
Pseudoephedrine, found in Sudafed, and phenylpropanolamine, found in
many other products, are both approved. These medications act
throughout the entire body by constricting blood vessels. Side effects
may include an increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure and
difficulty urinating in men with prostate problems. Because the
frequently keep individuals awake, they are often combined with
non-approved antihistamines sold over the counter. These combinations
of decongestants and OTC antihistamines are not approved within twelve
hours of flying."

That is funny, because I thought about using Vicks to help, but didn't. It
may have.

Fred

"Randy" wrote in message
oups.com...
An old timer once gave me the tip that those menthol inhalers can work
wonders when your ears get plugged. I keep one in the bag and more
than once after a too hasty descent it's had me unplugged and feeling
better within minutes.

Clyde

Randy wrote:

An old timer once gave me the tip that those menthol inhalers can work
wonders when your ears get plugged.

I'm not familiar with these. Got a brand name?

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.

Vicks makes the ones around here (WV). You can find them in any drug
store, WalMart, KMart, etc. They run about $3 or so and last for
months.

On Sun, 23 Oct 2005 07:01:42 -0700, "Fred Choate"
wrote:

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

I've read about a dozen replies, and not one mentioned the good old "val
salva" method of unblocking ears after a descent. Also used routinely by
anyone who snorkles or scubadives.

Pinch your nose and blow gently -- your ears should squeak and then pop,
equalizing the pressure. If it starts to hurt, stop -- you could rupture n
eardrum if you do this too aggressively. Done properly, this will clear many
cases of plugged eustachian tubes.
--
Jay.
(remove dashes for legal email address)