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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffFor most people, airplane ear usually heals with time. When the symptoms persist, you may need treatments to equalize pressure and relieve symptoms.
Medications
Your doctor may prescribe medications or direct you to take over-the-counter medications to control conditions that may prevent the eustachian tubes from functioning well. These drugs may include:
- Decongestant nasal sprays
- Oral decongestants
- Oral antihistamines
To ease discomfort, you may want to take a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others) or naproxen (Aleve, others), or an analgesic pain reliever, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol, others).
Self-care therapies
With your drug treatment, your doctor will instruct you to use a self-care method called the Valsalva maneuver. To do this, you pinch your nostrils shut, close your mouth and gently force air into the back of your nose, as if you were blowing your nose. Once the medications have improved the function of the eustachian tubes, use of the Valsalva maneuver may force the tubes open.
Surgery
Surgical treatment of airplane ear is rarely necessary. However, your doctor may make an incision in your eardrum (myringotomy) to equalize air pressure and drain fluids.
Severe injuries, such as a ruptured eardrum or ruptured membranes of the inner ear, usually will heal on their own. However, in rare cases, surgery may be needed to repair them.
- Vernick DM. Ear barotrauma. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 29, 2010.
- Ears and altitude. American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. http://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/earsAltitude.cfm. Accessed Aug. 19, 2010.
- Travel safety tips. American Academy of Pediatrics. http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/travelsafetytips.cfm. Accessed Aug. 19, 2010.
- Bentz BG, et al. Barotrauma. American Hearing Research Foundation. http://www.american-hearing.org/disorders/barotrauma/. Accessed Aug. 19, 2010.
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