Describe the ear sensation in your own words
“Pressure in my ears” can mean a blocked sensation, fullness, a change in hearing or a sound that feels different. Write what you noticed before adding a possible explanation. Record the right ear, left ear or both; do the same separately for nasal symptoms.
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital provides patient information about Eustachian tube dysfunction, one context in which fullness may be discussed. Reading that page cannot establish that it explains your symptoms. Avoid using “my sinuses caused it” as the only history, because that wording removes information a clinician may need.
Source: Chelsea and Westminster Hospital: Eustachian tube dysfunction
A side-by-side observation card
Use actual or approximate times. If you noticed nasal blockage first but cannot remember when the ear sensation began, keep that uncertainty visible. Do not fill the gap with an assumed sequence.
| When | Ear observation | Nasal observation | Context or uncertainty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before a journey | Left ear felt full; hearing not compared | Usual mild blockage | No exact onset remembered |
| During descent | Left fullness more noticeable | No new nasal observation | Fictional example; not a fitness-to-fly assessment |
| Later that evening | Fullness still noticed | Both sides felt blocked | Cannot identify a cause from timing |
Source: Chelsea and Westminster Hospital: Eustachian tube dysfunction
Do not turn hearing changes into a tracking task
The NHS hearing-loss page includes specific advice about getting medical help, including urgent pathways for sudden hearing loss. Read that advice and use the care route appropriate to your location. A symptom worksheet is not a hearing test, and waiting for several comparable entries can delay an assessment that should happen sooner.
If you contact a service, describe the change, side, approximate onset and any other symptoms in plain language. Follow its instructions. In the UK, NHS 111 can guide urgent non-emergency care when that is the appropriate route; elsewhere use your local service. For an immediate emergency, use the local emergency number.
Source: NHS: Hearing loss
What to bring to a conversation
Summarize whether the sensation is constant or comes and goes, whether hearing seems different, and whether the ear and nasal changes began together or at different times. Mention a flight or another relevant event without assuming it explains the symptom. The flight observation card can hold takeoff, cruise and landing details separately.
Ask what should prompt another contact and which observations are worth continuing. This guide has not been clinically reviewed and does not recommend ear-clearing techniques, medication or an individual decision about flying.
AirBloom is in development. A future combined timeline could help you keep separate observations in one place, while a clinician remains responsible for assessment. Today, the printable visit summary can carry a short ear-and-nose history without turning the diary into a diagnosis.
Sources: Chelsea and Westminster Hospital: Eustachian tube dysfunction; NHS: Hearing loss
Sources & further reading
- Chelsea and Westminster Hospital: Eustachian tube dysfunction
- NHS: Hearing loss
- AAO-HNS: Clinical Practice Guideline, Adult Sinusitis Update (2025)
This guide provides general education, not individual medical advice. It has not been clinically reviewed. Talk to a qualified clinician about persistent, new or worsening symptoms. Follow your local emergency guidance for urgent concerns.
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AirBloom is in development for iOS and Android, bringing symptom records and existing routines into one place. Join the early-access waitlist.