Hi All,

I have taken my baby 10mnths old up to the moutains twice now. Each time he has really struggled with his ears. Can anyone give me any tips or ideas to make it easier for him.

I can get a babysitter to stay with him at home but would much prefer to take him with if possible

Thanks
Ali

Regular swallowing helps equalize pressure on either side of the ear; sucking on something like toffees/chocolates, or even regular intake of small bits of food/water help especially for those who can't do it naturally. Same things you do during air travel, so you might know this already.

Go up slowly.

I'm assuming you're taking a cable-car so you probably can't do that.

As your baby is so young, getting them to swallow on command is tricky! When flying, I used to feed my little ones - drink from a bottle/breast feed/sloppy gloop solid food feed - anything that involves swallowing. I am assuming your baby has problems on the ascent/descent - in which case feed him or her during this period to equalise the pressure.

Also, how high are you going? Can you pick lower altitude mountain destinations? I must say I never noticed either of mine having ear problems on mountains but we probably did not go much above 2,300 in the first couple of years, although my youngest did have a terrible time in the first year when flying.

Poor thing, having to miss out on the mountains!

are you breast feeding him? easiest way to get him to relieve the pressure a bit would be to suck- breast or bottle would work.

Hi everyone

Thanks very much for the advice.

Weird thing is that it is the entire time that he is up on the mountain. The first time he screemed continuously for a half hour until then next cable car came along to take us back down. This time we went to Engelberg and it wasn't so bad but he was definately uncomfortable even with Nurofen...has anyone else experienced this?

Not sure if I should take him to the doctor to have his ears checked. hmmmmm doesn't look like he will be having to many visits to the moutains this winter!

Hi Alison K,

We take and have always (since she was 8 weeks) taken our baby girl (now 12mths) up in the mountains. We carry her by foot 95% of the time, so the ascent/descent is much slower. When we drive or take the cable car we pop her pacifier in and she sucks on that, which helps her get up and down without a peep (except for those of excitement ).

Also we don't go much above 2000m. Rigi, Pilatus and some of the smaller chairlifts in the Engelberger valley (e.g. Dallenwil >> Maria Rickenbach >> Haldigrat) have been best for our little girl.

Good luck and I hope your little boy gets to enjoy some time in the mountains... It's beautiful up there above the fog at the moment

Puddy

__________________
I didn't lose my mind. It was mine to give away - Robbie Williams

So have I understood right, he stopped screaming when he saw the cable car coming and knew you were going to get in it? Could this actually be a case of "Mummy the mountains don't do it for me, but boy oh boy, the cable car action is good!" ?? He may only be 10 months but it sounds like he may know exactly what he likes!

Of course if he is somehow indicating discomfort specifically with his head/ear area (I'm thinking pulling at his ears etc) then that would blow my theory out of the window ...

Since writing my previous post, I also thought that if your little one has had frequent upper respiratory tract infections, or was a little bit snuffly when you took him up the mountains, than that could also be an indication of a problem with the ears/undeveloped sinuses etc.

With my two it was practically impossible to tell if they were crying with pain/rage/hunger etc but some babies are more easy to read than others, so in the end you have to go with your instincts .. so if you suspect it is the pressure, then the odds are, it will be.

Are you sure he's not reacting to the heat or cold, or the wind ? Or even the sound or the light ?

Some babies absolutely hate having their faces/body in the wind, even I get cranky on windy days!

Hi All,

Thanks for all the info and advice, much appriciated. Took the little man to the doctor yesterday because I was becoming increasingly worried about his ear and unfortunately he has an ear infection I now feel horribly guilty for taking him up the moutains...must have been soooo sore..parental guilt...nothing quite like it! lol

Hopefully the antibiotics will sort out the problem for good!

Thanks again
Ali

If you don't feel some guilt about your kids, then it's practically guaranteed you've done some thing wrong. Part and parcel of being a parent, I'm afraid.

Don't worry too much. Been there, done that. My kids could look like death in the morning and be running around like normal by the afternoon - and when one of them once didn't, the doctor looked in horror at one very, very infected throat... It was a wonder I had taken her to the doctor at all. They are fit and healthy adults now in spite of my lack of care.