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I'm always tired after flights - even comfortable ones - and air pressure changes make my ears hurt and/or leave my hearing messed up for hours afterwards.

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Are you equalizing pressure properly?

I've tried all the ways I've read on the internet to equalize ear pressure, but I'm not sure what "properly" is supposed to mean - should it always work? Should it be easy? Should it hurt?

The valsalva maneuver seems to work the best for me but it doesn't always work and is often painful.

Everyone's a little different, you might need to do it more often - every minute during climb and decent. Or swallow just as frequently, gum can help - having something to swallow isn't necessary for it to be effective but it can be helpful to induce swallowing.

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