Flight passenger goes viral for revealing how crew member 'saved' her with hack to relieve 'airplane ear'

A passenger aboard a plane found herself in immense pain as her ears began to pop amid the flight's descent. 

Shelby Heiskell, a Kentucky mom and content creator who posts under the username @babygriffin on TikTok, shared an arguably little-known hack from a flight attendant who knew how to help her find relief from the ear pain she experienced. (See the video at the top of this piece.)

"I wasn't a very experienced flayer," Heiskell told Fox News Digital.

"Upon descending, I felt my ear pop, and it felt like my ear was going to explode. It was excruciating pain that I had never felt before and had absolutely no control over."

In her video, which garnered 6.1 million views, she described the pain as if her "eardrum was going to explode."

The pain Heiskell felt is sometimes known as "airplane ear," which occurs when there's stress on the eardrum. This could happen when "the air pressure in your middle ear and the air pressure in the environment are out of balance," according to Mayo Clinic.

Heiskell said she knew some ways to possibly relieve the unpleasant feeling, from chewing gum to yawning or even holding her nose and blowing, but ultimately she found no solution.

"The pain kept increasing, until I had to bury my face into our flight pillow - so as not to cause a scene or scare my son," she said. 

There was a flight attendant on board who saw how distressed Heiskell looked and approached her to ask what the problem was.

The flight attendant returned to the couple with a disposable coffee cup containing a "steaming hot, damp washcloth" found at the bottom of the cup, Heiskell said.

The attendant then instructed Heiskell to place the cup over her ear.

"I almost immediately felt relief," Heiskell said.

"Although it didn't solve the temporary hearing loss or actual problem at hand, it soothed the pain and took away the feeling of impending pressure."

Heiskell once again tried the hack on her second flight, describing the "hot cup" method to the flight attendants.

This time around, the attendants used napkins instead of a hot towel, but Heiskell was still able to find relief.

The comments section was soon filled with tips from other people for avoiding the ear "popping" sensation when flying.

"Many suggested [that] flyers take a decongestant or Sudafed 24 hours before flying and then 45 minutes before boarding," Heiskell said.

"[The social media users] say to use Affirm or Flonase when boarding and to fly with an ear plug product called 'Ear Planes.' Also, they said to follow up with taking another decongestant/Sudafed after the flight to save any ear issues after the fact," Heiskell added.

"I am so thankful for that first flight attendant [on the plane]! I swear her trick saved my hearing and my sanity!" Heiskell said.

First, it's important to understand why ears "pop" when ascending and descending during your flight, said Dr. Purvi Parikh, a New York-based allergist with the Allergy & Asthma Network.

"To relieve the pressure, your Eustachian tube, which connects the ear, nose and throat opens up to fix this imbalance and causes a popping sound," Parikh said.

Parikh revealed why the "hot cup" method would help relieve the pain that comes from the pressure in the cabin.

"The steam from the hot towel in the cup likely opened up the Eustachian tube, relieving the pressure and pain. Inhaling steam through your nose would also work too, for the same reasons," she said.

While Parikh had not heard of this method specifically, she regularly suggests her patients use steam as a form of decongestant.

If you find yourself dealing with ear pressure pain while flying, Parikh recommends swallowing, chewing gum or even opening and closing your jaw as a way to alleviate and equalize that pressure.

"If you're congested due to cold, allergies or other illness, try to talk to your doctor and get treated to relieve congestion BEFORE you fly to prevent it," Parikh added.

"Over-the-counter allergy medications and nasal sprays can help also before you fly to open things up," she said. 

"Finally, filtered ear plugs can also help equalize pressure - but [you] still need to yawn and swallow with them."