EarPlanes (Childrens/Adult Small- 1 pair/package)

My whole family struggles with altitude/pressure-related ear pain when we fly. My ENT says it's due to ear canal shape and other boring medical stuff. The EarPlanes make a discernable difference for all of us. They appear to be nothing more than ear plugs with a tiny hole in them. They slow down the rate of change in pressure from outside the ear to inside. It's a super-simple concept and there are other, similar products on the market that do virtually the same thing, but these, I have found, are the most comfortable. Simple, but effective. They really do work. They do not eliminate all of the pressure but they do make transitions less severe. If you do not use them correctly (i.e. stick them in your ears as they start to ache) they will not be effective at all. But- if you put them in as you're speeding down a runway or preparing for descent, they make a substantial difference. Me, my wife, and my now 12 year old son all find they fit well and stay put once in. They come with a little plastic, snap-closed case that works fine and stays closed.The only complaint I have is the blue color. Unless you have long hair, wear a hat tugged down, or wear ear phones over them, you will have a bit of an Andorian quality to you until you take them out. Clear or perhaps a couple of flesh-tone options would be great. They have been the same alien blue color for years. Perhaps there is some kind of material preclusion, but I'm pretty sure they are just silicone.They are likely not perfect for everyone, but if you struggle with pressure changes, they are worth a shot. I paid just over $5 from Amazon, but you can probably still find them at your local <insert prefix> Mart or pharmacy for the same or a little less (first pair I bought about three years ago was $2). You might want to get an extra pair and keep them in your carry on. They are small and slippery and are masterful at jumping out of your hand and into funky little cracks between airline seats.

These are just what I needed. Every flight I have taken in the past caused a lot of anxiety. Not because I was worried about crashing, etc., but because I knew that my ears would be soooo painful upon descent. I used decongestants (oral and nasal), chewed gum, drank water, but none of that actually helped. (Maybe it kept my ear drum from bursting though?) I had insanely horrible pain when the plane was landing, no matter what. White knuckled gripping the armrest, kill me now kind of pain. The last time I flew was over a year ago, and along with the pain, I also had stopped up ears for two or three days. I happened upon these on Amazon, and based on all of the great reviews, decided to try them out.I recently took a two hour plane trip for two days worth of meetings. I inserted the EarPlanes at takeoff, and I took them out when we landed (I should have left them in until the door was opened though). This, along with the decongestant, kept my ears clear and pain free. On the way back, I didn't take the decongestant, and just tried it with the EarPlanes. Not as good. I had some pain in one ear on descent, however, I was able to chew gum, drink water, etc. to keep it at bay. Now I know - perfect combination for me is strong decongestant the night before, and EarPlanes for the flight. I'm actually looking forward to my next trip!

my husband used to get horrible pain in his ears in planes (he describes it as feeling like somebody is stabbing him in the ears with a knife). He tried everything from nose sprays to holding plastic cups over his ears. Nothing worked. I bought this product for him because i figured it'd be worth a shot.I like that these work for a round-trip flight (ie: two uses out of each box).To use them, you put them in about an hour before takeoff, wear during takeoff, take them out when the plane stops ascending, then put them back in about an hour before landing, and take them out when you're on the ground.On our way to our destination, he put these in and felt no pain whatsoever.On our way back home, he put a brand new pair in (we threw away the original pair, not realizing it could be re-used) but because of take-off delays, he ended up having these in his ears for about 2 hours and they were getting uncomfortable for him and he kept fiddeling with them to fix them. When the plane took off, he felt some pain but not as much as usual. I'm sure it had to do with the fact that he kept re-adjusting them but the point is that they're not THAT comfortable.Bottom line - yeah, i'd buy these again, no question about it! Totally genius product that's worth every penny!

My wife has the type of ears that pop when we go up a hill and her experiences flying came with intense pain.She tried these and they were very uncomfortable going in (almost painful), uncomfortable to wear (almost painful), but did work on the pressure-related pain on the flight down to see family.On the flight back she tried Flitemate Pressure Reducing Ear Plugs and they were fairly comfortable to put in, fairly comfortable to wear, and worked perfectly. The Flitemate wins the comparison testing for her.No matter which you go with, I understand the cleaner you keep them the more uses they will last. Ours has only been used on the first trip so I can't comment any more than that on number of uses.Feel free to leave a comment with any questions. Hope this is helpful!