The Very Best Way to Pop Your Ears After a Flight, According to an ENT Specialist

You’re hopping off a flight and your ears feel full, like a bunch of compacted air is inside. Maybe your hearing is muffled, or you even feel pain in one or both ears. You know the answer is to pop your ears, but how? What is the safest and most effective way to do so—especially without blowing your eardrum or causing further ear pain? Luckily, there's an easy hack on how to pop ears after a flight.

Ahead, an ENT specialist shares her best tip for relieving your ears, along with other helpful and safe methods to try. Plus, she debunks some common myths and misconceptions about popping ears after traveling—and they might surprise you.

This Is the #1 Way to Pop Your Ears After a Flight

To pop your ears, one simple movement should do the trick: the “auto-insufflation” exercise. Just hold your nose firmly with your fingers, close your mouth and gently blow air into your nose (while still holding it shut).

“One or both ears may pop,” says Dr. Amanda Jo Marcellino, MD, a board-certified ear, nose and throat surgeon at Atrium Health with over 10 years of experience treating ear disorders. “It’s okay to try this a few times in a row—just be gentle and don’t force it.”

McGovern Medical School at UT Health Houston recommends this as well, presenting pictures that further explain what it looks like.Again, the key is not blowing too hard. That could lead to a tympanic membrane, or eardrum rupture, Dr. Marcellino warns, and even hearing loss.

How to Pop Ears After a Flight: 3 Other Tactics

If, by chance, that method doesn’t work, Dr. Marcellino shares other options that often get the job done.

1. Opening and closing your jaw widely

Do this a few times, Dr. Marcellino says, and your ears should feel more open pretty much right away. That’s because the movement opens the Eustachian tube—or the tube that connects your middle ear to the back of your throat—which equalizes the pressure in the middle ear. Since being in an airplane or at a high elevation causes pressure changes in your ear, this is needed.

2. Chewing gum

Like opening and closing your jaw, chewing gum gets your mouth moving and can open your Eustachian tube.

3. Use a nasal spray

Medication is another option Dr. Marcellino mentions, particularly if the earlier tips don’t work. A nasal spray can help by relieving sinus blockage and inflammation.

In particular, she recommends using Flonase. While you’ve probably heard of it before, the best way to use it may not be what you’re used to: Spray it at a 45-degree angle from the floor, Dr. Marcellino says, inside your nose but directed toward the outer corner of your eyes.

Harmful Myths and Misconceptions About Popping Your Ears

According to Dr. Marcellino, a couple of common, related misunderstandings about the ear need clearing up.

“It’s bad for ears to pop.”

The truth: While the idea that your ear should “pop” is kind of scary and seems unnatural, it’s actually safe and good.

“Healthy ears pop,” Dr. Marcellino says. “It’s normal for ears to pop or crackle or make sounds when opening and closing the mouth. We get more worried when ears don’t pop or aren’t able to pop for weeks at a time.”

If the latter happens, she encourages you to see an ENT specialist.

“Using Afrin nasal spray before a flight is the answer.”

This one is more of a half-truth, or a tip requiring nuance.

“It’s great at opening the nose, but be sure to not use it on a regular basis, as it can cause problems long-term,” Dr. Marcellino says. In fact, using it too frequently can lead to rebound congestion, having the opposite effect.

Worse comes to worse, the fullness in your ears shouldn’t last long—especially with tips like these.

“If you get off a plane and your ears feel full, don’t panic,” Dr. Marcellino says. “Typically, things get better within a few short hours.”