THE BEEMER - BMW Motorcycle Club of Nashville

By Hack Tidman
Right after Christmas I drove to the airport to
pick up my daughter, son-in-law, and their kids. I asked
my daughter how the flight went and she said my fiveyear-old
granddaughter had been crying because as they
were landing, her ears began to hurt.
I don’t know about you but my ears are very
sensitive. Pressure in my ears builds up even going up
six floors in an elevator. I can build up pressure riding
from my house down the street for the first half mile.
But I know how to fix this problem.
Do you know why babies and small children cry
when descending to land on a commercial aircraft It’s
because pressure builds up outside their head or inner ear
and causes pain. You may suffer the same problem and
have been living with it all your life.
I am not a doctor, so what I am telling you works
for me and will probably work for you. But I do not
know why the Airlines do not publish this information.
Probably because of liability lawsuits. So take this
information with a grain of salt and do with it what you
want.
When I joined the Navy Air Corps some fifty-six
years ago, and we were going through training, they put
us in a decompression tank. This was about the size of a
trailer of a tractor-trailer rig. We sat in a seat and were
given an oxygen mask. They said they were going to
take us up to thirty thousand feet and we would do some
activities after taking our masks off. So after being
sealed up in the tank, the pumps starting drawing the air
out of the chamber, simulating climbing in altitude. We
watched the needle on the gauge climb to 10,000 ft.
when we were told to put our oxygen masks on. Then we
continued up to the 30,000 ft. mark, where the
instructors told us to take our masks off and perform a
few simple tasks. After 60 seconds or so, we started
loosing it. It was sort of being unable to think anymore.
We put our oxygen masks back on and we slowly
started back down. We found out if we simulate blowing
our nose gently, we could force pressure back into our
ears or head. When I fly now, and on losing altitude, and
coming in to land, I simulate blowing my nose about
every 5,000 ft. To do this, I hold my nose closed and
pretend to blow my nose ever so gently. This makes my
ears pop. It may be awkward at first but keep practicing
and you can do this just fine.
On a related subject, why don’t we need oxygen
masks when we fly in planes today Because we pump
air into the planes by compressors that allow us to
breathe normally as we fly along. Even at 35,000 ft. we
can get enough oxygen to not have to wear an oxygen
mask. The planes are sealed much better today.
Why am I bringing this subject up Because as
motorcyclists, we are usually heading for the hills and
mountains. That’s where the curvy roads are located.
And that is where your ears can get stopped up, just like
they do flying. And this is how you can relieve the
pressure.
Somer Hooker’s ride for the Polar Bear Ride
Hack Tidman, David Brown and Ray May.
THE POLAR BEAR RIDE THAT WAS