As the seatbelt sign flickered on for landing, Pearl walked him through it.
Pearl smiled knowingly. “Honey, you don’t wait for them to pop. You have to invite the pop.” She pulled out a dog-eared notebook titled Pearl’s Rules for Smooth Landings . “Rule 7: Never let the plane do the work.”
Leo sat back, stunned. The wheels hit the tarmac with a thud he felt but no longer feared. how to fix clogged ears from plane
Leo held the warm napkin against his ear, pinched his nose for the tenth time, and gave one last, gentle puff.
“Your ear tubes are like squeaky hinges,” Pearl said. “They need grease.” She handed him the small bottle of water from her seatback pocket and a leftover paper coffee cup for warmth. “Sip and swallow repeatedly. The swallowing flexes the muscles that open the Eustachian tubes.” Leo sipped, swallowed, sipped, swallowed. The muffled world began to sharpen slightly. As the seatbelt sign flickered on for landing,
“The trick,” Pearl said, “starts an hour before landing. Start swallowing hard and often. Yawn like you’re boring yourself to sleep.” Leo felt stupid, but he did it. A tiny crackle, like static, whispered in his left ear.
The sound of the landing gear deploying rushed in like a waterfall. The crying baby two rows back became a precise, high-definition scream. The flight attendant’s announcement sounded like actual words again. You have to invite the pop
“Forty-second time,” Leo groaned. “You’d think I’d learn to pop them by now.”