Hi with the pandemic hopefully slowing down, I want to know how patients do with traveling on an airplane. Any tips or coping methods you would like to share would be helpful.
I usually need to take clonazepam before I got to the airport, because of the sound/movement inside the airport. Then, I request a seat nearer the front. If I am too far back there is too much movement from other passengers, and too much noise if I am near the engines. Once on the flight, no major issues.
I restrict my diet to super low sodium starting two weeks before travel. I got Ativan from my doctor so that I would not have an anxiety attack during the flight. I.where ear plugs and sit in the middle of the plane on an aisle seat. I had no problems at all. 🙂
Flying during Covid - minus having to wear a mask - was actually much easier than flying pre Covid - lots of space, quiet airports, empty planes, etc. I always take a wheelchair and wear dark glasses, request assistance with boarding and with getting to the bathroom on the plane. It's worth the (temporary) embarrassment of being younger and healthy looking compared to the average wheelchair traveler. I book at the front of the plane, wear dark glasses and wear noise canceling headphones during the flight. As I'm a wheelchair passenger, I board first. When everyone else is boarding I look out the window and don't pay attention to the chaos of general boarding. I couldn't do it without the wheelchair, as I can't stand for more than a minute or two in a busy environment without becoming exhausted and dizzy.
If one didn't take any medication and just went to the airport and on the airplane without any medication like Ativan, could they handle it or could they experience a major vertical event? What I'm asking is could someone with a vestibular disorder handle experience if they did frequent kind of trial runs before the trip. Like walking around the airport or Big shopping centers or getting on crowded buses. Some kind of conditioning ritual or process before a trip.
Throughout my past 16 years of vestibular neuritis I travelled many times on airplanes without any issues of dizziness. The worst part was actually with all the people in the terminals,the rushing of passengers passing me on the way to the gate. Waiting in line to board has caused me to lose my balance. I always have a cane with me but ask to be boarded among the first. It helps because I avoid being in line and avoid the rush of passengers going to their seats.