The fastest way to relieve ear pressure during a flight is to swallow, yawn, or gently blow against pinched nostrils. These actions force open the small tube connecting your middle ear to your throat, allowing air pressure to equalize. But timing matters, and some techniques work better than others depending on whether you’re climbing or descending.
Why Your Ears Feel Blocked on a Plane
Your middle ear is a small, sealed space connected to the back of your throat by the Eustachian tube. This tube stays closed at rest and only opens briefly when you swallow or yawn, letting a tiny puff of air through to keep pressure balanced. That’s the familiar “pop” you hear.
When a plane climbs or descends, cabin pressure changes faster than your Eustachian tube can compensate. During ascent, the air in your middle ear expands and usually escapes on its own. Descent is the real problem: outside pressure increases, but the higher-pressure air can’t push back into the middle ear because the Eustachian tube acts like a one-way valve. The result is a pressure vacuum that pulls your eardrum inward, causing pain, fullness, and muffled hearing.
If you have a cold, allergies, or a sinus infection, the lining of the Eustachian tube swells, making it even harder to open. The CDC recommends that travelers with significant congestion consider postponing flights or using decongestants before boarding to reduce the risk of injury.
Three Maneuvers That Work Mid-Flight
The Valsalva Maneuver
Pinch your nostrils shut, close your mouth, and blow gently through your nose. You should feel a soft pop as air pushes into your middle ear. Keep it gentle: don’t blow hard, and don’t hold pressure for more than about five seconds. Forceful blowing can actually lock the Eustachian tubes tighter and, in rare cases, damage delicate membranes in the inner ear. If it doesn’t work on the first try, swallow a few times and try again with light pressure.
The Toynbee Maneuver
Pinch your nostrils shut and swallow. Swallowing pulls your Eustachian tubes open while your tongue compresses air against them. This technique is particularly useful during descent, when the Valsalva maneuver sometimes fails because the pressure difference has already locked the tubes closed.
The Frenzel Maneuver
If neither of the above works, try this: pinch your nostrils, close your mouth, then press your tongue against the roof of your mouth as if you’re about to make a hard “K” sound. Push air upward with your throat while making that sound. You should hear or feel a pop. Scuba divers use this technique because it’s gentler than the Valsalva and doesn’t raise pressure throughout the body.
All three maneuvers work best when you start early. Begin equalizing as soon as the plane starts its descent, and repeat every few seconds. Waiting until your ears already hurt means the pressure difference may be large enough to lock the tubes shut, making equalization much harder.
Decongestants and Nasal Sprays
If you’re prone to ear pain on flights, an oral decongestant taken at least 30 minutes before departure can help. A clinical trial found that 120 mg of pseudoephedrine (the active ingredient in many over-the-counter decongestants) taken 30 minutes before flying significantly reduced ear barotrauma in adults with a history of recurrent problems.
A nasal decongestant spray is another option. Use it about 30 minutes before takeoff, then again 30 minutes before the plane begins its descent. On a short flight, a single dose before boarding may cover both phases. These sprays shrink swollen tissue inside the nasal passages and around the Eustachian tube openings, making it easier for air to pass through. Don’t use nasal sprays for more than three consecutive days, as they can cause rebound congestion.
If you take allergy medications regularly, keep taking them as usual before and during travel. Controlling underlying inflammation goes a long way toward keeping the Eustachian tubes functional.
Pressure-Regulating Earplugs
Specialty earplugs designed for air travel (sometimes called pressure-filtering or pressure-regulating earplugs) contain a small ceramic or silicone filter that slows the rate of pressure change reaching your eardrum. In pressure chamber testing, these plugs delayed the full pressure change by roughly seven minutes, giving your Eustachian tubes more time to equalize naturally. They don’t block pressure entirely, so you’ll still want to swallow or yawn, but they reduce the speed of the pressure shift and can make a noticeable difference for sensitive flyers. You can find them at most pharmacies for a few dollars.
Helping Babies and Small Children
Infants and toddlers can’t perform equalization maneuvers on command, so the goal is to encourage swallowing during takeoff and landing. Nursing or bottle-feeding during these phases is the most reliable approach, since sucking and swallowing both activate the muscles that open the Eustachian tube. A pacifier works too. Keeping your baby upright rather than reclined can also help reduce pressure buildup.
Planning flights around nap times can work in your favor: a drowsy baby is more likely to accept a bottle or pacifier without fussing. Keep bottles, pacifiers, and comfort items in your carry-on where you can reach them immediately, not in the overhead bin. The descent phase is usually worse than takeoff, so save a feeding for that window if you need to choose.
What to Do if the Pressure Won’t Clear
Mild fullness that lingers for a few hours after landing is common and usually resolves on its own as the Eustachian tube catches up. Continue swallowing, yawning, or using the Toynbee maneuver on the ground. A warm washcloth held over the ear can ease discomfort while you wait.
Symptoms that persist beyond 24 hours, get worse, or include sharp pain, significant hearing loss, ringing, dizziness, or fluid draining from the ear suggest possible barotrauma that needs medical attention. In rare cases, the pressure difference can damage the eardrum or inner ear structures, and early treatment leads to better outcomes.
Preventing Problems Before You Board
Most ear pressure issues are preventable with a little preparation. Stay hydrated, since dehydration thickens mucus and makes the Eustachian tubes sluggish. Avoid sleeping through the descent unless you’ve taken a decongestant, because you won’t be swallowing frequently enough to keep up with the pressure change. Chewing gum during takeoff and landing is a simple, low-effort way to keep swallowing regularly without thinking about it.
If you’re congested from a cold or sinus infection, the risk of painful or even damaging barotrauma goes up significantly. When possible, delaying travel until the congestion clears is the safest choice. When that’s not an option, combining an oral decongestant, a nasal spray, and active equalization techniques during descent gives you the best chance of a pain-free flight.