ANA Discussion Forum
General Category => Inquiries => Topic started by: michelle d. on May 18, 2010, 09:25:50 am
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Hi AN-ers! :) Quick question...i will be flying for the first time since surgery 6 months ago and wonder if anyone has had issues with this post surgery?? ENT told me some people have problems with ear pain/ discomfort during flying trips. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.~michelle d.~
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I've been flying fairly frequently since my cross-country flight 10 days after my translab surgery over two years ago and have had no problems. I've generally chewed gum during take offs and landings and have continued that practice since my AN surgery. I think that you'll do just fine!
Catherine (JerseyGirl 2)
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I don't fly regularly, but have many times since my surgery 3 1/2 years ago. The first time was about 4 months post-op. Never had any sort of pain or pressure issues aside from the normal popping as the air pressure changes. You should be fine.
Katie
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Like Catherine (JerseyGirl2), I flew home from LA following my translab...no problems with pain or pressure. Flew again last summer and no problem then either.
Let us know how it goes for you,
Cindy
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Have flown several times since my AN surgery and have had no problems whatsoever.
Jan
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I agree - you shouldn't have any problem. The only time I've had any issue is when I was flying back from the west coast with a terrible head cold and my good ear got blocked (eek). However, that could just as easily happen with two ears. The only other thing you may want to be cautious about is walking down the aisle of the aircraft while it is flight. For some reason, I do have a pretty hard time with that and find that I have to clutch the backs of everyone else's seats - which I am sure they REALLY appreciate!! ;D
You'll be fine!
Debbi
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Hi michelle d. !
Have flown quite a few times since '04 surgery, with no problems.
Debbi, your story reminds me of an illness that caused me problems flying from Australia to the states back in the 90's .... well before my AN. In-flight, it was extremely uncomfortable and painful. When I reached Hawaii for a planned overnight stop, I went to a doc who said I had something called barotrauma. Rx: several days of steriods .... and the kicker .... he said I shouldn't fly for two days! :o I can hear the "awwwww's" now, even as we speak. ::) My co-workers also found it hard to believe .... but, stuff happens.
Michelle, I wish you no flying problems.
Greg :D
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Hi Michelle.
I've had no problems from flying either. And if you fly Southwest, you can get the priority seating and get on first if you go to the desk and tell them you're deaf in one ear and need to be on a certain side of the plane. (If you are SSD - not sure). I prefer to have my deaf ear towards the window so I can hear the flight attendant. I was at the desk asking for the priority boarding pass one day and mentioned that if the plane was about to crash, I wanted to be able to hear the flight attendant make the announcement. There was a man at the desk who said "Well, since I'm the pilot, I can assure you, if the plane is about to crash and you can't hear the flight attendant, you'll definitely hear me!". :D
Another benefit of being SSD on a flight - you don't notice the crying babies as much, and you have an excuse to ignore the person next to you if you choose to. Not that I would ever do that.... ;)
Greg, you poor thing - being "stuck" in Hawaii.... I don't know how you survived that trauma! :P
Lori
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Hi Michelle,
Like everyone else I've had no issues and have flown numerous times since my surgery last year, both long and short haul. I totally agree with Lori - if you're SSD defo try and sit with your deaf ear towards the window - I got caught out once and it was really embarrassing when the flight attendant was trying to get my attention and I couldn't hear her - those engines are really loud! Speaking of loud engines - because of this I tend to wear either ear plugs in my good ear while I'm flying like these: (http://www.actionoutdoors.co.uk/shop/care-plus-flight-mate-ear-plugs-p-113.html) to limit the damage this loud noise can do to my hearing. Alternatively I wear noise reduction headphones. Helps a lot.
Have a good flight!
JB
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I fly on a regular basis and have experienced no serious issues. The only minor issue was on the return trip home 10 days post op. I experienced significant swelling in the muscle over the temple (between my right ear and corner of my eye.) I iced it for a while during the flight. It wasn't painful, just a bit of discomfort.
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No issues here either, just tough to hear with all the noise.
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No AN related problems but flying in general has become such an inconvenience that I avoid flying whenever possible. I believe in security but the real problem is that our security system has the mistaken notion that inconveniencing everyone makes us more secure -- it doesn't.
sorry for the rant.
Neal
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While security can be a pain, I'd rather have them over-zealous than put me at risk.
I'll put up with just about anything if it makes my flight safer.
Jan
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I agree with you Jan!
I think being blown to bits would be a bit more of an inconvenience than taking off my shoes!
Of course you could always try my sister's suggestion of going to the airport in your bathrobe and slippers. :D
Lori
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I can't walk in the thing that connects the airplane to the airport. I experience severe dizziness and nausea. I'm wheeled in or I cover my eyes like a horse, and my husband guides me with the help of an attendant.
Anne Marie
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No AN related problems but flying in general has become such an inconvenience that I avoid flying whenever possible. I believe in security but the real problem is that our security system has the mistaken notion that inconveniencing everyone makes us more secure -- it doesn't.
I agree. Airport security hassles ordinary Americans over petty things while terrorists seem to be able to smuggle explosives unto planes. Only the ineptness of the terrorists and some good fortune have prevented an attempted terrorist attack coming to fruition and taking many lives. Had the bomb Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was hiding in his underwear on Christmas day, 2009 on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 went off, it would have probably blown a hole in the side of the aircraft and brought the plane down, likely killing all 290 passengers and possibly causing more deaths on the ground (the plane was in Canadian air space at the time Abdulmutallab unsuccessfully tried to ignite his underwear bomb). Shortly afterward, a government official went on TV to incorrectly announce that "the system worked' - because the al Qaeda-sponsored, would-be suicide bomber (Abdulmutallab) was physically subdued by a passenger and the fire in his pants (no jokes, please) was quickly extinguished by the plane's crew. Abdulmutallab is in prison, awaiting trial. Meanwhile, U.S. airports are getting full-body scanners and if you don't want your full body scanned, you can submit to a hand-held detector search or a physical pat-down. How reassuring.
I can't completely disagree with the upgraded airport security measures but, like you, Neal, I don't feel all that confident about their ultimate effectiveness. I also find unacceptable that these would-be terrorists seem to be able to easily evade detection from the government agencies that are supposed to be protecting us. Instead, we're all equally inconvenienced and that doesn't seem to be effective, considering that Abdulmutallab had been known to the authorities and never should have been allowed on a plane. We have to do better. Hassling ordinary Americans trying to get from one place to another by plane with a lot of ever-evolving 'security measures' (no blankets on your lap and no bathroom visits allowed during the final 30 minutes of a flight) that seem to be more reactionary than thought-out, aren't going to cut it.
O.K., I admit to hijacking the thread - but it's Neal's fault. Just kidding. I apologize for my rant.
Jim
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It isn't just in the US that new security measures are in place. It is in Canada also and I'm sure most of the civilised world. Is it an inconvenience or is my life and yours more important? Scary to think how bad the situation could have been. Yes it sad that people hate the Western way of life so much and can be manipulated into blowing themselves and a plane load of people up. I guess for them life is cheap, easily expendable.
I hated wearing a seat belt when I was 9 months pregnant but I did all four times for my safety and the safety of my sons.
Sorry for continuing the hijack, safety in a plane, bus, car and anywhere where people gather is very important to me. I hate being paranoid but the "WORLD" is a much dangerous place than ever.
Anne Marie
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While security can be a pain, I'd rather have them over-zealous than put me at risk.
I'll put up with just about anything if it makes my flight safer.
Jan
Jan,
That is the problem exactly -- you think that you are putting up with all this 'inconvenience' to make you safer - but in reality you are not safer, just inconvenienced. Don't mistake inconvenience for 'more safety' that is the error of this thinking. While good security may cause inconvenience, inconvenience itself does not give us good security. What we have in the US does not scare the terrorists. We need to get experienced airport security professionals (you might find some in Israel!) and begin a real airport security program, not just a professional inconvenience program like we now have.
Neal
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I suppose the best solution to this problem for those that feel inconvenienced is to just not fly. ;)
And those of us that appreciate that at least SOMETHING is being done in an effort to keep us safe will continue flying the friendly skies.
Speed limit signs don't seem to strike fear in the hearts of speeders - but I don't think it would be a wise choice to do away with them.
Lori
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Speed limit signs don't seem to strike fear in the hearts of speeders -
Lori
Ah, so you've seen my older son on the road, huh ::)
...sorry...Cindy :)
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Cindy,
Yup - and I blew right past him! :D I learned to drive in NJ - what do you expect? :D
Lori
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Lori ~
Because the question that initiated the thread has been effectively answered I'll boldly continue the hijack by stating that I agree that with the current and likely long-term security threat from terrorist schemes based on irrational hatred, airport security measures are certainly justified. I also agree with Neal that simply being inconvenienced does not automatically equate to being protected. Frankly, I doubt that any security measure short of the kind El-Al (the Israeli airline) uses would be sufficient and although El-Al has a sterling record of not being boarded by terrorists, would-be bombers or hijackers, those kind of highly restrictive measures - necessary for Israel 's airline in light of the hatred their mere existence generates for some - would not be feasible as an airline industry-wide system.
Your analogy of speed limit signs and speeders is only partially pertinent. As you know, authorities do more than simply put up speed limit signs. They use radar installations and police observance to discourage speeders. Police issue 'tickets' that are fairly expensive. Being convicted of speeding can endanger your license and increase your auto insurance premiums. These are effective but of course, the police can't patrol every single road 24/7 so speeding goes on and occasionally people are killed because it does. However, at least we know that if someone races past us at a high rate of speed, there is a good chance that the driver will be caught and stopped before too long. That knowledge allows us to accept radar 'traps' and police cars observing traffic while parked on the side of the road, along with the ubiquitous speed limit signs you referenced.
I submit that having government 'no fly' lists that still allow suspected terrorists to board an American airliner and, as Faisal Shazad, the 'Times Square bomber' almost did, fly out of the country while being sought by the FBI as a terrorist suspect, is a failure of U.S. airport security, making all the petty inconveniences less than effective and so, little more than feel-good measures that induce a mistaken sense of security that, in reality, does not exist. If we're going to be inconvenienced, it would be reassuring to know that at least our inconvenience is helping protect us. For now, I don't believe it is and of course, there is no 'opt-out' of airport security measures. We endure them whether or not we happen to believe they're more 'window dressing' than anything effective. Still, I certainly don't object to the FAA and U.S. Homeland Security 'trying' but inconveniencing thousands of innocent people while not effectively protecting us is hard to accept. Well, that's just me. However, as you stated, if we really dislike the inconvenience we can just give up flying. Just as we can give up driving if we don't like the fact that the police enforce speed limits. Those two possibilities are almost mutually unrealistic but I know that a lot of people have avoided flying lately. Some due to the hassle of airport security but many due to their fear that our airlines are not really safe from terrorists with bombs and a sense of righteous duty to kill people. Airport security personnel making little old ladies open up their luggage or be 'screened' via a body scanner doesn't convince everyone that "at least they're doing SOMETHING!" Based on recent events, I doubt it convinces many terrorists, either - but I could be wrong.
That's my take - but as a moderator, I have to attempt to color within the lines and so, with a welcome sense of duty and in a spirit of bonhomie I'll leave the thread and go back to posting AN-related messages, as I should. Besides, I have to help my wife redecorate our den. Thanks for the chance to exchange views on this issue. You too, Neal. :)
Jim
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So now that i'm feeling oh-so-secure about going on this trip :) from reading your awesome entries i guess i'll fret less about my AN and more about suspicious looking people who may have explosives hidden in their underpants....i'm feeling much more at ease!! Seriously though, I'm more worried about making my connecting flight in the Jersey airport...I've had more airplane horror stories from that airport than any other! Thank you for all the response...you guys are all great, and i concur with you about the airport issues. It just reaffirms for me that if our country does come under attack, there are a LOT of Americans, like y'all, who are willing and able to fight back--we are a fiesty bunch, aren't we?! :) Love you! <3
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Oh dear lord I can't believe I'm typing this but I actually agree with Neal...I know, Yikes! Take it from someone thats flies near weekly out of necessity (the job). You're no safer today in the airport or on an airplane than you were on September 10th, 2001. The same inept people that were earning minimum wage or little better on 9/11 are still manning those all to familiar "dysfunctional" airport security check points. The difference today being we're all footing the bill for their salaries as tax payers and, they have somewhat better looking uniforms depending on who you ask. To make matters even worse. They're overseen by the same government that brought you Healthcare Reform among other disastrous programs. I cringe again, Neal put it very well. Now Jim, well he's just the smartest guy on the forum!
I'm done!
Take Care!
;)
Doc
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I personally feel much safer knowing that no one on the plane has more than 3 oz of shampoo with them. :D
Steve
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I personally feel much safer knowing that no one on the plane has more than 3 oz of shampoo with them. :D
Steve
LoL...that's funny...thanks for the Laugh Steve!
Take Care!
;)
Doc
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Oh dear lord I can't believe I'm typing this but I actually agree with Neal...I know, Yikes! Take it from someone thats flies near weekly out of necessity (the job). You're no safer today in the airport or on an airplane than you were on September 10th, 2001. The same inept people that were earning minimum wage or little better on 9/11 are still manning those all to familiar "dysfunctional" airport security check points. The difference today being we're all footing the bill for their salaries as tax payers and, they have somewhat better looking uniforms depending on who you ask. To make matters even worse. They're overseen by the same government that brought you Healthcare Reform among other disastrous programs. I cringe again, Neal put it very well. Now Jim, well he's just the smartest guy on the forum!
I'm done!
Take Care!
;)
Doc
Wow, I'm flattered!
Neal
;D
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Hi:
My husband flew three weeks after he had AN surgery and he did have a bit of a headache going to the bahamas but was perfectly fine coming home. I think you will be fine he did chew gum which he said helped. Enjoy your trip.!!
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Good to hear your reports -- i'll make sure to have gum and maybe motrin with me. :) Thank you so much-- You guys are great! :) michelle d.