I suffer from Airplane Ear, a condition the Mayo Clinic describes in the following paragraph:

the stress exerted on your eardrum (tympanic membrane) and other middle ear tissues when the air pressure in your middle ear and the air pressure in the environment are out of balance. You may experience airplane ear at the beginning of a flight when the airplane is climbing or at the end of a flight when the airplane is descending. These fast changes in altitude cause air pressure changes and can trigger airplane ear.

In my case the pain happens on descent and to alleviate it I’ve tried chewing gum, breathing exercises and sucking on candy.  Nothing unfortunately has worked so I was curious when a product called EarPlanes was sent to me with the following claim:

EarPlanes is a patented pressure-regulating earplug that reduces discomfort, clogging, and popping associated with air travel.  The exclusive CeramX filter in Earplanes regulates air pressure naturally, eliminating ear pain caused by air pressure changes during the aircraft’s take-off and descent.

Would it work in my case?  I decided to put them to the test during a trip to New York City in June.  My six-year-old daughter Madison, who has complained about ear discomfort occasionally when flying, was also fitted with a smaller version of the product.

I followed the instructions to the letter when inserting the ear plugs in both Madison’s ears and mine.  My little girl felt that they were comfortable and she liked the fact that a lot of the airplane engine noise was gone.  I was having some issues with the right ear plug.  It was hurting so I re-adjusted it mid-air and had no problems after that.  Although I still had “clogged ears” upon descending, there wasn’t any pain at all.   Madison was all smiles – she had experienced no ear pain at all.  On the way back we had the same results.

One issue that bugs me about this product: these ear plugs can only be used twice so after you return home you have to throw them out.  Seems like a lot of waste to me.  The reason they can only be used twice is found on EarPlanes website:

During operation, air flows through the microscopic pores of the ceramic filter. Particles of smoke, pollen and airborne bacteria are small enough to eventually “clog” the filter and reduce effectiveness.

For more info on this product: earplanes.com