Hi and welcome to HT!

There is an extensive topic HERE in our Flights forum which may have some suggestions.

luci

There is plenty of good info in the dedicated topic mentioned by Luci, this is the type of thing you want http://www.boots.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatalogSearchResultView?storeId=10052&catalogId=11051&langId=-1&pageSize=12&beginIndex=0&sType=SimpleSearch&resultCatEntryType=2&searchTerm=flight+ear&newDepSearch=

Thanks for the reply guys/gals. Cheers

Hi there, without a doubt what you need is menthol crystals. Available from Boots and other chemists, you just dissolve a very few in some hot water and sniff the glass throughout take off and landing. I used to suffered incredible pain but a stewardess once saw me and offered me some. I would not fly without them. My pain is mainly on descent so as soon as the "seat belt" light comes on, I ask for a little hot water in a glass, drop a few menthol crystals in followed by a tissue or two to prevent spillage and sniff away. I have to say, it makes your eyes water, but I now don't get the pain or the resultant deafness I used to suffer. They are quite cheap (under £2) but I would pay a lot more to relieve the pain. Try it and let us know how you get on.

would menthol tissues work the same, less mess or spillage, my hubby's eyes do not like the menthol crystals he would not be able to sit beside me if i used them but the impregnated tissues would be ok. just thinking of the other passengers as well. xphx

Not sure. You could give it a try.

i used to suffer terribly until my gp told me to take 2 pain killers before flying, about an hour before...and use a nasel spray ( decongestant) an hour before flying....

same on return, as i only seemed to suffer on landing not take off, i just used to take an hour or so before landing, and havnt suffered since...

would menthol tissues work the same, less mess or spillage, my hubby's eyes do not like the menthol crystals he would not be able to sit beside me if i used them but the impregnated tissues would be ok. just thinking of the other passengers as well. xphx

I've no idea whether it's still on sale or not but the main ingredient of Vick is menthol so a good dab of that under your nostrils won't look elegant but could do the trick just the same.

SM

I tend to suffer from this too depending on the air pressure of the aeroplane and I agree .... it can be excruciating. I've found lots of yawning really helps to release the pressure in the inner ear.
Frequent swallowing also helps.
Good luck

I tried that and sucking toffees etc but none of that worked for me.

chewing gum,...works for me everytime...keep chewing hard though when take off..and until he has stopped climbing and as soon as he starts desending another piece of gum...really does work..