How long does it take for an airplane ear to heal?

Perforations of the eardrum often heal on their own, but this can take weeks. You may not be able to hear as well until the ear is fully healed. If your perforation has not healed after two months, you may need surgery to prevent permanent hearing loss.



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Many symptoms ease as soon as your eustachian tubes can manage air or water pressure changes. In some cases, you may need medication to manage congestion or inflammation. In that case, it may be a few days before your ears feel normal.

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Those pressure changes may happen if you're flying in an airplane, riding an elevator, diving to the bottom of a pool or scuba diving. In general, ear barotrauma is a temporary issue that goes away with self-care or when air and/or water pressure changes stop.

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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 you had a cold before flying.

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In the ear there is a part of the eustachian tube (connected to the middle ear) that is responsible for regulating and equalizing pressure. But when the plane takes off and lands, the air pressure changes so quickly, the eustachian tube often does not respond in time, causing the symptoms of tinnitus when flying.

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Generally, airplane ear does not pose problems unless there is any structural damage in the middle ear. Rare complications may include permanent hearing loss and chronic tinnitus [6],[7].

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If possible, don't fly when you have a cold, a sinus infection, nasal congestion or an ear infection. If you've recently had ear surgery, talk to your doctor about when it's safe to travel. Use an over-the-counter nasal spray.

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To ease discomfort, you can take a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) or naproxen sodium (Aleve), or an analgesic pain reliever, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol, others).

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