Thanks everyone. I'll make sure I ask the doctor about the flying issue. Hopefully a simple decogestant will be good enough. Thanks also for the hint about the lack of humidity in the plane.

Don, my husband, does have a serious problem with the popping noise. He says when it pops he can hear but then it closes back up again in a minute or so, or when he swallows. We thought that was probably due to the fluid in his ear right now because of the infection that clogged the tube that they put in his ear. He is scheduled to have the tube removed on May 20th and we were hoping the popping noise would stop after that healed. It will be a bummer if he just has to learn to live with it...however I guess that is a small price to pay to be cancer free.

Thanks again.

Lorie