I am asking for information assistance for my daughter.
She has never flown before and has had severe difficulty with her ears equalizing. She has had multiple ear surgeries. Several years ago she experienced severe pain just driving through the mountains with only about 1000 feet of elevation change. It was enough to double her over. Swimming just a few feet underwater was also painful. Possibly now that she is 16, her growth may have alleviated some of that issue, but she needs to travel with her school team on a commercial flight for about 3 hours...and I am concerned that if she hasn't opened up, then the potential for severe pain or permanant ear damage might be there.
I am not a doctor nor pilot, but I am an Engineer... can anyone tell me what the variance is in cabin pressure at high altitude for the typical jetliner? Ideally it would be 1 atm all the time, but I would guess that it goes under that just for structural reasons. (Maybe it would be helpful to know what the unpressurized, highest altitude equivalent would be experienced in a jetliner. Knowing the worst would be xxxx feet, maybe I could get her a short, unpressurized sightseeing flight to see if she can accommodate the pressure variances before risking the worst case.)
The dangerously little I know about the subject, leaves me wishing I could do more to help her. The Google docs I find on the subject pretty much advise 'rigorous selection' as the best mechanism to prevent barotrauma. I am concerned that the only out for my daughter is 'deselection'...but I don't want to cut her out of flying without real cause.
Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Best Regards,
Bruce
She has never flown before and has had severe difficulty with her ears equalizing. She has had multiple ear surgeries. Several years ago she experienced severe pain just driving through the mountains with only about 1000 feet of elevation change. It was enough to double her over. Swimming just a few feet underwater was also painful. Possibly now that she is 16, her growth may have alleviated some of that issue, but she needs to travel with her school team on a commercial flight for about 3 hours...and I am concerned that if she hasn't opened up, then the potential for severe pain or permanant ear damage might be there.
I am not a doctor nor pilot, but I am an Engineer... can anyone tell me what the variance is in cabin pressure at high altitude for the typical jetliner? Ideally it would be 1 atm all the time, but I would guess that it goes under that just for structural reasons. (Maybe it would be helpful to know what the unpressurized, highest altitude equivalent would be experienced in a jetliner. Knowing the worst would be xxxx feet, maybe I could get her a short, unpressurized sightseeing flight to see if she can accommodate the pressure variances before risking the worst case.)
The dangerously little I know about the subject, leaves me wishing I could do more to help her. The Google docs I find on the subject pretty much advise 'rigorous selection' as the best mechanism to prevent barotrauma. I am concerned that the only out for my daughter is 'deselection'...but I don't want to cut her out of flying without real cause.
Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Best Regards,
Bruce
