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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Pain And Loss Of Hearing In The Same Ear?

My father is 65 yoa and healthy he recently flew on an airplane. He said he had extreme pain when he landed. Now it doesn t hurt as much but he can barely hear out of that same ear. Does this sound like a probable ear infection or possibly a blown ear drum? He had congestion when he left band did take Sudafed before take off, but it didn t help. He had some relief from Ibuprofen. Thank you. I m going to make him go in but I m wondering and worried about the hearing loss. I m worried if it could be permanent.
Fri, 19 Dec 2014
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ENT Specialist,  's  Response
Hi
welcome to HCM,
Some people experience ear pain when flying in a plane. Usually this happens as the plane descends to land. The pain may get worse the lower the plane gets and can be quite severe on landing...
The pain is caused by unequal pressure that develops between the air in the middle ear(THE PART EAR YOU SEE BEYOND EAR DRUM) and the air outside the ear.
Fluid or mucus sometimes accumulates in the middle ear for a few days after the flight, which may make hearing rather dull for a while. This happens if the Eustachian tube is still blocked, and is more likely if he had a cold before flying...
Nothing to worry as most of the time it resolves on its own...i recommend him to take any pain relief medicine if he is feeling fine with ibuprofen let him take...
i also suggest him to do Valsalva manoeuvre, ask him to close mouth and pinch nose shut and exhale forcibly through nostrils keeping the nose closed by pinching. it will equalise the pressure in the ears...
wish him a speedy recovery...
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What Causes Pain And Loss Of Hearing In The Same Ear?

Hi welcome to HCM, Some people experience ear pain when flying in a plane. Usually this happens as the plane descends to land. The pain may get worse the lower the plane gets and can be quite severe on landing... The pain is caused by unequal pressure that develops between the air in the middle ear(THE PART EAR YOU SEE BEYOND EAR DRUM) and the air outside the ear. Fluid or mucus sometimes accumulates in the middle ear for a few days after the flight, which may make hearing rather dull for a while. This happens if the Eustachian tube is still blocked, and is more likely if he had a cold before flying... Nothing to worry as most of the time it resolves on its own...i recommend him to take any pain relief medicine if he is feeling fine with ibuprofen let him take... i also suggest him to do Valsalva manoeuvre, ask him to close mouth and pinch nose shut and exhale forcibly through nostrils keeping the nose closed by pinching. it will equalise the pressure in the ears... wish him a speedy recovery...