Aussie, it sounds as if you are experiencing Sinus Baratrauma. As I recall, there is a cavity in the head which has a drain hole. If you were an animal this hole would be at the front lowest point in relation to walking head down on all fours. It is in the same position in human or front higher position. This means mucus and the like can pool rather than drain. If the holes become blocked then you will experience pain.

What might help is to bend and get your head down as far as possible. Other than that, read up, see if it fits your pain, then discuss with your doctor.

In my case the holes are free draining. When I have been swimming, bending over water pours out!

My memory seems to be functioning okay, because almost word for word what I was going to say before noticing the date, I'd already said - but forgotten to look at the date.:p


We fiddled the pressurization and stayed two k down from normal cruise but when we had to climb due to fuel, I was totally incapacitated. When we landed I was fine, but the memory of that pain made me scrumple up my new roster and walk away from serious flying for many years. It was all down to being pressured to fly while sick with colds. The crews were dropping like flies, but still crewing put on the pressure.

It's over 40 years ago, but the memory of the pain is like yesterday.


Don't muddle it with the eustachian tube or inner ear issues.

Infecting the entrance to the cavity by douching? It's probably already infected, and with a very poor prognosis for antibiotics helping - unless there have been some new findings. The use of anti-inflammatory drugs seems to be what they're doing these days. I'm glad to hear it's being recognised and treated aggressively.

The Geoffrey Wellum (age 96!) in First Light was suffering terribly in Malta and eventually needed surgical treatment back home. Doubtful even he would have been given the few drops of penicillin they had back then. I thought it odd they stopped him swimming, though it hadn't helped by then.

LR, we are of an age. I seem to remember the solution for persistent SB was to drill out the holes to make them larger.

Year 1952, place Central Medical Board (Kelvin House). Full aircrew medical for Limited P.C. as GD Pilot. Radiographer notes spot on lung - get him into Wroughton to check it out. ENT man at Wroughton gets in on the act: says: "your sinuses are bunged up" !

"But they can't be, have just been flying (unpressurised) Meteor T7 to FL350, no trouble up or down?" - "Don't argue ! If I say they're bunged up, they're bunged up !" Cannula pushed up snout. hosed out, repeat ad lib. for a few days. No better, bilateral radical antroscopy (reamer holes out), Face swells up like a balloon for a couple of weeks, no ill effects. ENT man happy - job done !

That, I suggest, is the only real, permanent answer.

(The spot ? - bronchosopy (not a bundle of laughs): it's bronchiectasis (irreversible). Could be fixed surgically [excise affected bit], but would cost RAF Arm+Leg as job outsourced to King's surgeon, and we don't need pilots all that much [King died ! - so just as well, perhaps].

First restricted to 10,000 ft for a couple of years, then chop (ATC for 17 years). Spot no bigger today. Ah, well, c'est la vie).

Danny, thank you for the detail. Is that still a procedure today or dko they assume no one fly's above 8,000 feet.

Your grounding of course was why so many aircrew did everything in their power to avoid the quacks.

I'd be cautious about this. Discuss with your aviation Doc, and beware the of "the rebound."

Agree with gingernut. The problem with knowingly flying with a blocked sinus cavity or eustachian tubes is that in the descent gunge can be forced in to the cavities if you manage to clear them.

You only need the decongestant if you experience pain when you didn't know they were blocked. In the case mentioned by Danny, the naturally small sinus entry holes can be ordinarily blocked by health mucus and reaming out will effect a permanent cure. This procedure is available on the NHS If your symptoms don't improve despite trying the treatments mentioned above, a type of surgery called functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) may be recommended. This is a procedure to improve the drainage of mucus from your sinuses.