The Student Room Group

Do I fly tomorrow (middle ear infection)

Hi all,
I have a flight tommorow at 6AM to istanbul turkey (4 hour flight), I was diagnosed with acute otitis media (middle ear infection) and it started last week friday. It started out with a pain in my right ear and now the pain has lessensed alot but my right ear has clogged up (headphones made it worse) and my left ear is a tad painful. Saw a nurse on tuesday, she prescribed me with antibiotics and i have been taking it since wednesday (1 day and a half),

I've really been looking forward to this flight but I have heard alot of stories of people who have ruptuered their ear and have have become deaf due to flying with an ear infection.

I have ordered earplanes (earplugs for flying which stabilises the pressure in the ear), people have said chewing gum also helps and a sinus spray before the flight. Unfortunately the GP had no appointments today so I can't get a doctors opinion and the flight is tommorow. Has anyone had any experience to this? Do I cancel the flight?

Reply 1

Original post by tsr_account
Hi all,
I have a flight tommorow at 6AM to istanbul turkey (4 hour flight), I was diagnosed with acute otitis media (middle ear infection) and it started last week friday. It started out with a pain in my right ear and now the pain has lessensed alot but my right ear has clogged up (headphones made it worse) and my left ear is a tad painful. Saw a nurse on tuesday, she prescribed me with antibiotics and i have been taking it since wednesday (1 day and a half),
I've really been looking forward to this flight but I have heard alot of stories of people who have ruptuered their ear and have have become deaf due to flying with an ear infection.
I have ordered earplanes (earplugs for flying which stabilises the pressure in the ear), people have said chewing gum also helps and a sinus spray before the flight. Unfortunately the GP had no appointments today so I can't get a doctors opinion and the flight is tommorow. Has anyone had any experience to this? Do I cancel the flight?

Call 111 and ask them! Or go to a walk-in clinic. I don't really know what else to say as I'm not a doctor, sorry. If I were you though I would err on the side of caution.

Reply 2

Original post by Hannahblossom
Call 111 and ask them! Or go to a walk-in clinic. I don't really know what else to say as I'm not a doctor, sorry. If I were you though I would err on the side of caution.
I went to the walk in centre and just came back and saw a doctor they said you have to make that decision I can’t make it for you, there is a risk your eardrum might rupture which would take 6 weeks to heel, he was incredibly rude and unprofessional didn’t really give me an answer and kept saying it’s your choice

Reply 3

Original post by tsr_account
I went to the walk in centre and just came back and saw a doctor they said you have to make that decision I can’t make it for you, there is a risk your eardrum might rupture which would take 6 weeks to heel, he was incredibly rude and unprofessional didn’t really give me an answer and kept saying it’s your choice

What? That is so unprofessional! I mean what would happen if you cancelled/postponed the flight?

Reply 4

Original post by Hannahblossom
What? That is so unprofessional! I mean what would happen if you cancelled/postponed the flight?

Ikr I felt so uncomfortable. I managed to get an urgent appointment with a GP and he was a lot nicer, he said it should be fine to travel as long as you keep swallowing so the pressure doesn’t build up, unlikely your eardrum will burst since yours is mild/modertate. I am going with family and they said they can book a flight for me to go on my own next week on Tuesday so I have 5 days in turkey instead of 9 days and doctor said on Tuesday it will definitely be better. I’ve never flown on my own and the process seems quite complicated so I’m worried. I don’t know if I want to take the risk and fly tomorrow :frown:(

Reply 5

Original post by tsr_account
Ikr I felt so uncomfortable. I managed to get an urgent appointment with a GP and he was a lot nicer, he said it should be fine to travel as long as you keep swallowing so the pressure doesn’t build up, unlikely your eardrum will burst since yours is mild/modertate. I am going with family and they said they can book a flight for me to go on my own next week on Tuesday so I have 5 days in turkey instead of 9 days and doctor said on Tuesday it will definitely be better. I’ve never flown on my own and the process seems quite complicated so I’m worried. I don’t know if I want to take the risk and fly tomorrow :frown:(

Oh that's good you got a better doctor, tbh I would complain abt the other one. If this doctor says it's ok, I think it could be fine. You could bring lots of sweets with you, stuff like haribos that you just suck on the whole flight. I mean I think you can only really weigh up the pros and cons tbh. Are you uncomfortable flying on your own or are you worried about your ear more?

Reply 6

Original post by Hannahblossom
Oh that's good you got a better doctor, tbh I would complain abt the other one. If this doctor says it's ok, I think it could be fine. You could bring lots of sweets with you, stuff like haribos that you just suck on the whole flight. I mean I think you can only really weigh up the pros and cons tbh. Are you uncomfortable flying on your own or are you worried about your ear more?
Yeah I’m thinking of complaining…
Uncomfortable flying on my own and just generally worried I might get lost, I’m 23 so I’m a big adult and I know I shouldn’t be scared but I am :frown:

Reply 7

Original post by tsr_account
Yeah I’m thinking of complaining…
Uncomfortable flying on my own and just generally worried I might get lost, I’m 23 so I’m a big adult and I know I shouldn’t be scared but I am :frown:
I mean, you've got googlemaps to help, but I totally get that travelling can be pretty chaotic for somebody who isn't used to doing it alone :smile:. My parents have always been very protective so at 18 I still haven't travelled anywhere alone lol. It's completely okay to feel a bit apprehensive but I'm sure you will be ok:smile:. To be honest, if I had the choice I would go tomorrow (because of what the GP said about you only having it mildly etc) but as I have had a couple if really bad headaches (more like migraines) on a plane, I would take some pain relief. I don't know if this could be a risk for you - don't take any medication unless it's ok for you obviously, but yeah I would just make sure you are prepared for either tmr or Tuesday. Hope it goes well

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