Hello,
Three weeks ago I had to fly for business reasons, at the time while
flying my ear began to pain and it felt like water was in my ear. I know
this is not unusual. Unfortunately, the fluid became trapped in my ear
and I developed a severe ear infection. Subsequently, my doctor
prescribed a course of antibiotics for 10 days. I still cannot hear very
well out of my ear. It still feels full and distorts sound; it is like a
broken stereo speaker, I get alot of static sounds and hear "vibrations"
instead of words (hope this makes sense). Anyway, I have to fly again in
a couple of days and because my ear still feels the way it does I again
went to see my family doctor. He said my eardrum was bulged out there
was so much fluid in it. It was not yet infected as I just stopped the
antibiotics the day before. He asked me to try Sudafed, which I have for
the past two days (24 hours aday) and still no relief. He also said that
the pressure from flying will probably rupture my eardrum and that I
could experience a little bit of pain and maybe some blood, but that it
would relieve the pressure. My question is, won't there be problems from
my eardrum rupturing; will I experience hearing loss? To tell you the
truth, I'm not sure what the heck to do. Also, my ear feels as though it
is becoming infected again, it is becoming very sore and tender just
inside, which is what happened before. Please advise as soon as
possible.
Thank you.
Reply: -----------------------
The best advice of course is to not fly unless it is absolutely necessary if one has an upper respiratory infection and particularly if one has an ear infection. If one has to fly in the presence of upper respiratory infection, I recommend a decongestant (Sudafed is one example) combined with the use of long-acting oxymetazoline nasal spray (Afrin) an hour or so before the flight. During the flight, chewing gum and frequent sipping of a beverage to move the palate muscles (which open and close the eustachian tube) would likely be helpful also. Finally, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication taken several hours before the flight might be of some benefit (Alleve, Advil, Nuprin, etc.).
In your specific case, if you have a middle ear effusion (fluid) that is essentially filling the entire middle ear space, it is possible that you might not experience much discomfort. In order to experience discomfort, there must be some air in the middle ear or mastoid. It is air pressure differential between the ambient air in the cabin and the air inside your middle ear that causes discomfort. Tympanic membrane ruptures are not very common during routine airplane travel - usually sudden and severe air pressure changes are required for this such as that which could occur with sudden cabin depressurization.
--
Steve Dankle, MD
Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
Milwaukee, Wis
NOTICE: OFCN is not engaged in the rendering of professional medical services. The information contained on this system or any other OFCN system should not supplant individual professional consultation. It is offered exclusively as a community education service. Advice on individual problems must be obtained directly from a professional.
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