Airplane+CPAP+ears

[headbored]

I have a question for the long term users,I have always had pains in my ears when flying,have you found that after using the CPAP your ear canals tubes are clearer and therefor less painful?

[secret agent girl]

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[TheDreamer]

I popped an ear drum on a trip a few years pre-CPAP, and since then I've been taking decongestants whenever I fly.... Probably a good thing that it happened as I was coming home from the trip....though I'd of preferred it not happened at all....

The Dreamer.

[BlackSpinner]

I flew in October and it was not as "challenging" . I did take decongestants but they don't help that much for me.
However I didn't get sick like I used to do after flying.

[scrapper]

One of the best things you can do for ear problems during flying is to simply chew gum. Chewing gum keeps the eustachian tubes moving--relieving the fullness naturally.

[secret agent girl]

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[TWW]

At least on an airplane, I can swallow to try to equalize the pressure. When I have my mask (full face) on, the effect is the opposite: swallowing inevitably causes the eardrum(s) to bow out, since the pressure inside my head is greater than the pressure outside my head.

I usually have a couple of swallows of saliva on my way to sleep, and so the only recourse I have is to reach under the mask with a finger or two, raise it up off my face -- whoooosh! -- swallow, and reseat the mask.

For me it's devilishly annoying.

[TheDreamer]

chewing gum aggravates my TMJ

The Dreamer.

[El Pap]

I've had terrible problems with my ears when I've had to fly with a cold. Terrible pain and clogged ears that won't pop for weeks. I've had moderate success with "Earplanes", which are special earplugs that gradually equalize the pressure during takeoff and descent. Flew with a bad head cold on Christmas eve, and with the Earplanes I almost no pain and was able to clear the clogged sensation from my ears within a few hours.