i’m about to make the long haul home to N.A. next saturday and have always had major problems with my ears on flight… cloggin, pooping… major major pain. anyway, i came across a product called “Earplanes” and am wondering if anyone else has heard of these ear plugs and if they have ever seen them in Taipei at any of the pharmacies, and if so, where.
thanks
just chew a chewinggum…that works good enough…donno about those earplugs…sorry le
Is the condition most noticable when the plane is descending to land? If so it is a problem related to your body adjusting to the denser air pressure at lower altitudes.
The most common solutions are to sip water, chew gum, suck on cough drops, or just swallow a lot.
If none of those work, then do what scuba divers do to equalize the pressure. Pinch your nostrils between your thumb and forefinger, close your mouth and then slowly puff air into your mouth. It just takes a second and will create enough air pressure to clear your ears. It may look strange to others but this definitely works.
As for ear plugs, I 'm pretty sure they would only be useful for keeping out cabin noise.
Recommended for adults and children as young as one year old. EarPlanes are designed to be used on one round-trip flight. Just put them in before takeoff, remove them when you get to the maximum flying altitude (if you like you can just leave them in throughout the flight) and put them back in about an hour before landing, for a comfortable, pain-free flight.
EarPlanes work by regulating the rate at which air moves into and out of the outer ear, giving your inner ear time to compensate for changes in pressure that cause the ear blocking and pain experienced by many people.
EarPlanes are great for driving through mountains as well.
EarPlanes have an NRR of 20, which allows you to hear normal speech but takes the “edge” off background noise that can be really annoying on airplanes. With EarPlanes in, you can concentrate better, read or even fall asleep, and wake without the blocked ears you may have experienced in the past.
I’m surprised they don’t claim to prevent SARS.
I had ear problems, but nowadays I chew gum and I think the most important thing is just to relax. I meditate and try to keep relaxed and it works.
Pain? Damn, I’m not surprised! Next time you fly, try taking the plug out your butt. That should help stop the poop coming out your ears…
JUST KIDDING!
Wolf, can you get Earplanes here? I too tend to suffer from irritating blocked earpipes when I fly. I don’t really suffer any pain, just discomfort, but my first few days of vacation are usually marred by partial deafness, and it also can affect my balance, which can make things like driving, um, interesting.
ai yo! thanks sandman 
yeah, you can forget the all the given advice. if any of them had ever worked i wouldn’t be looking to find these things in taiwan. nothing works and i’m left basically deaf for 2 days after.
I do this thing where I squeeze some muscles in my face that somehow relieve the pressure. Mechanically, what I’m doing is almost like pushing my tongue and lower jaw up against the upper jaw. I also think I can direct control the muscles that affect my ears. I’m not totally sure about the mechanics of what’s going on in there, but it works like a charm. I think I started by chewing gum and yawning, as those actions seem to move the same muscles that relieve the pressure in the ear. But now I don’t even have to do that, I just clench the ear/jaw muscles directly. Does anyone else do this?
Bushibanned, why don’t you email the company that makes them at;
info@cirrushealthcare.com
and ask them if they have any Taipei stockists.
Lots of forced yawning works for me.