Tubes and Planes...

marycd8710

My son has tubes in his ears and we will be going on vacation next month and we will be flying. This is the first time that he will be flying and I am worried how the different levels of pressure will bother him. I am looking for ideas that will help me ease my mind and help him in mid air. I am so worried he will be that child that screams the whole time because of the tubes. what to do...

Princess_Lily

Unless medically things have advanced  in the years since I had tubes, I couldn't fly at all until the tubes came out and the holes healed into scar tissue.

I would check with your ENT about this prior to flying, and if you need to delay the flight. 

 

LoCarb

Definitely check w/ your ENT.  It's been a yr since DD's tubes fell out but we made several plane trips during the yr. she had tubes w/ no problems.  I remember the dr. telling me the flight would be easier on her b/c  the tubes would adjust to the pressure and she wouldn't feel any popping sensation.

mlf625

Princess_Lily:

Unless medically things have advanced  in the years since I had tubes, I couldn't fly at all until the tubes came out and the holes healed into scar tissue. 

Huh?  That's definitely way outdated.  DS had tubes from 16-30 months and we flew all the time.  No problem (and the ENT said the same).  My brother had tubes in the early 90s and no issues with flying then, either. 

Topi-Jan

We had an ENT appointment on a Wednesday afternoon to evaluate for tubes.  We were taking a flight the following Tuesday morning (booked way before his ears got that bad).  The doc said that DS would be beyond miserable on the flight in his current condition, so he put the tubes in Thursday morning and wished us a great trip.  No problems at all.  I would check with your doctor if you are concerned.

hokies94

kcarbonell:

I remember the dr. telling me the flight would be easier on her b/c  the tubes would adjust to the pressure and she wouldn't feel any popping sensation.

Exactly!  I have 2 kids with tubes and we've flown a lot.  They never have problems with their ears.  They don't feel the pressure change-I've asked my 8 year old and she's told me that there was no change.   The pressure change affects my DD w/o tubes more than the 2 with tubes.