One of the most medical complaint of airplane passengers is ear pain. When we travel by air, our ears may not pop as the altitude changes. When the cabin is pressurised, the air is pushing the Eardrum invards. It’s possible because the air from middle ear it’s having a lower pressure (1 atmosphere). If the wax is present, the eardrum will rub against it when we “ pop the ears”. We did encountered situations when patients were forbidden to travel by plane by GP’s due to ear wax.
As recommended, there are a few methods which will try to ease the discomfort or remove it:
- Pinch the nostrils shut
- Take small sips from a bottle of water
- Have some sweets, or chewing gum
- Breath in through the mouth
- Force the air into the back of the nose as if trying to blow the nose
Ear wax can play a significant role for our hearing. It’s trapping dust , sand, bacterias, fungus, small insects before they reach the eardrum. Also as mentioned in our previous articles, the wax coats the fragile skin of the ear canal and acts as water repellent.
After microsuction, which is painless method for removing the earwax from the ear canal, flying or driving afterwards is fine.
Flying is safe after microsuction however the standard discomfort will appear as explained above, during the travel.
After Microsuction?
If you wonder if you can fly after the microsuction we have the answer?