The change in air pressure in an aircraft during take off and landing can alter the balance of a person’s ears and require them to “reset” the balance through opening their jaw or yawning. This is second nature to an adult, but babies do not yet know how to do this. Instead they feel a [...]
Published on February 6, 2010
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The change in air pressure in an aircraft during take off and landing can alter the balance of a person’s ears and require them to “reset” the balance through opening their jaw or yawning. This is second nature to an adult, but babies do not yet know how to do this.
Instead they feel a lot of pain — they scream.
Baby flying
A quick way to subvert this situation is to coax your baby into opening and closing their jaw through feeding. If you breast or bottle feed a baby during the take off and landing phases of an air journey, the change in air pressure has a limited effect on an infant’s ears, they are able to reset the balance naturally without feeling discomfort.
Travel Tips — Travel with Baby Tips
About the Author: VBJ
I am the founder and editor of Vagabond Journey. I’ve been traveling the world since 1999, through 91 countries. I am the author of the book, Ghost Cities of China and have written for The Guardian, Forbes, Bloomberg, The Diplomat, the South China Morning Post, and other publications. VBJ has written 3706 posts on Vagabond Journey. Contact the author.
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