Mom’s Airplane Ear Trick for Kids Is Going Viral—but Is It Safe?

If you’ve ever traveled on an airplane with your child and watched them struggle with ear pain, that helpless feeling as a parent is hard to forget. You’ve also probably heard advice about how to ease the pressure during a flight, which is especially acute during takeoff and landing. 

Case in point: A mom on Instagram is going viral for her hack that she swears banishes kids’ ear pain on airplanes. Basically, the creator, who shares content on the platform using the handle @mothercould, takes a cup filled with hot water and a paper towel, and places her child’s ear over the opening of the cup, steaming the ear. 

Many commenters on the post, which has been viewed more than 6 million times, agree that the steaming method works. One says that as a child, “It was the only thing that helped me.” Another Instagram user attests, “It works miracles!”

But according to experts, there isn’t actually a medically-based reason that steaming the ear would work—and it may even be unsafe for your child’s ears.

Why Ears Can Hurt on Flights

To understand why steaming the ear isn’t necessarily the best way to relieve pain and pressure, it’s important to know why ears might hurt on planes.

“The reason for ears hurting in children during altitude changes on planes is due to the function of their Eustachian tubes,” says Abhita Reddy, MD, board-certified pediatric otolaryngologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Eustachian tubes connect the middle ears to the back of the nose and throat, and help equalize air pressure inside the ears. During takeoff and landing, the pressure between the outer and middle ear, which gets its air through the Eustachian tube, does not equalize, leading to pain, according to David Eisenman, MD, professor and vice chair of Otorhinolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at University of Maryland School of Medicine. 

The pressure in the outer ear, which is exposed to the cabin, changes rather fast. “If the middle ear can’t adjust just as quickly, then the pressure on each side of the eardrum will be different,” explains Dr. Eisenman. This causes the eardrum, a thin, pliable membrane, to stretch. “This stretching is what causes the pain,” says Dr. Eisenman.

Why the Ear Steaming Method Is Unlikely To Work

Given that stretching of the eardrum is what is causing pain, Dr. Eisenman says that steaming the ear “doesn’t do anything to address that.”

Dr. Reddy agrees that the method probably doesn’t work. She explains that the eardrum acts like a wall between the ear canal and middle ear. The mom in the video is using steam to relieve discomfort directly through the ear canal. As Dr. Reddy explains, “It will not affect the middle ear or change pressure in the middle ear at all.” 

Dr. Eisenman concedes that it’s possible the gentle, moist heat would act like a warm compress on a sprained muscle and relax the eardrum. “But that seems unlikely to me,” he adds.

What Does Work To Help With Ear Pain on Flights

The good news is that while the steaming method is not a slam dunk, there are other things parents can try to ease ear pain and pressure in the air.

Good old-fashioned chewing, swallowing, or yawning can do the trick. “Chewing helps because it activates the muscles that open the Eustachian tube and lets built up air pressure in the middle ear release passively,” explains Dr. Eisenman. 

Blowing against a closed nasal passage can also release pressure, especially on descent. You can even try using devices that make this action easier, such as nasal balloons, and Eustachian tube exercisers. 

Dr. Eisenman suggests checking with your health care provider to see if a nasal decongestant is an option for your child. 

An over-the-counter pain reliever, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, may also be necessary if your child is experiencing an active ear infection or has fluid in their ears at the time of the flight, according to Dr. Reddy.

Dangers of the Ear Steaming Method

If you still want to try ear steaming, experts caution against the danger of placing hot water near the ear. “If the temperature and steam aren’t closely monitored and controlled, I would be concerned about burning the ear,” warns Dr. Eisenman.

Indeed, the risks are similar to those associated with an alternative method of relieving ear pressure, called ear candling. But as Dr. Reddy says about steaming, “I imagine with this method parents would not be able to hold the paper cup if the water was too hot so this is likely less of a risk.”