Finding Courage to Travel: Plane Noise (Boeing 737-700?)

[NimQ]

Hello,

I've been doing better, just really finding ways to be patient with tinnitus and put my efforts & time into feeling good, in general. I have gotten encouraged by the habituation and finally want to pursue my dream of starting to travel again. There's one doubt in my mind though... Are some planes too loud?

The thing is that the perfect vacation I've found operates with an old plane, 6 hour flight. A 16-year-old Boeing 737-700 to be exact. I tried to find decibels, but there seems to be no graphs - just people saying it is an old model and therefore very noisy.:/ Now, do you guys have any experience or opinions on this? Or does someone even know the decibels of Boeing 737-700 lifting, cruising and landing?

I would naturally try to get seats as front as possible and wear Peltor earmuffs for the flight.
One thing that increases my fear is that I might have trouble equalizing my ear pressure, if wearing muffs. It has been difficult before T already. And also when getting HBOT I could not equalize my ears without lifting off the muffs. Same goes with (regular) plugs - can't use them for lift-off or landing. So then I would be exposed to the loudest sounds of the flight. How long per flight does the noise increase last?

Any comments appreciated

 

[billie48]

Have you ever tried earplane ear plugs? It is supposed to give you some protection and yet be able to balance the pressure changes. I am sure you know that swallowing, drinking and yawning all can open the tube to balance the pressure.

I am not sure about your situation? Have you flown before and had much problem with T? Generally I find that some members have problem with flight but others have no such problem. I have flown extensively since having T, sometimes on long trans-continental or trans-pacific flights. I initially brought so many stuffs on board, earplane, earplugs, earmuff, etc. But over time I used less and less and now I only use my fingers during take off, if that. Here is Aaron and his success story post telling folks you can travel the world even after bad T (he said he was suicidal initially). So it is a personal thing about T & plane flight.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...are-with-you-some-pictures-i-took-after.3268/

 

[Bill Bauer]

And also when getting HBOT I could not equalize my ears without lifting off the muffs.

Wow, I didn't realize one could wear muffs to HBOT...

Surely if you lift your muffs for a fraction of a second, it ought to be ok.

You could also wear earplugs under Bose 25 noise-cancelling headphones. You might want to do that when the plane reaches the cruising altitude.

 

[Mario martz]

I have flown many times since last year, i only use regular foam ear plugs, with no problem!

 

[NimQ]

Have you ever tried earplane ear plugs? It is supposed to give you some protection and yet be able to balance the pressure changes. I am sure you know that swallowing, drinking and yawning all can open the tube to balance the pressure.

I am not sure about your situation? Have you flown before and had much problem with T? Generally I find that some members have problem with flight but others have no such problem. I have flown extensively since having T, sometimes on long trans-continental or trans-pacific flights. I initially brought so many stuffs on board, earplane, earplugs, earmuff, etc. But over time I used less and less and now I only use my fingers during take off, if that. Here is Aaron and his success story post telling folks you can travel the world even after bad T (he said he was suicidal initially). So it is a personal thing about T & plane flight.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...are-with-you-some-pictures-i-took-after.3268/

Thank you for the link @billie48, reading the travelling stories really encouraged me. Also happy to hear you are able to fly without any trouble. We gotta keep on living! I have considered earplanes, I'll get some and try them on, but they alone don't offer much protection.

My situation is that this is the first time flying after my acoustic trauma almost 1.5 years ago. I haven't dared to try as I have gotten long-lasting spikes from several incidents. I have in fact lived very restricted life after September 2016, basically isolating myself from most social happenings, from the noises of the city (restaurants etc.) and use noise-cancelling phones in public transport. I don't think I have much hyperacusis, but am still worried not knowing what my ears tolerate. So this would be a huge step for me.

What bugs me is that there is no decibel charts to check, so once I am in, I'll be stuck with possibly too loud noise for the next 6 hours. So reading conversations about Boeing 737-700 being old and loud even for normal/healthy people... well, just thinking if it's too big of a risk and should just discard plans and look for another trip with airbus (as they are described being quieter). Then again there is never a perfect plan and might just result in the whole thing being cancelled - again.

 

[NimQ]

Wow, I didn't realize one could wear muffs to HBOT...

Surely if you lift your muffs for a fraction of a second, it ought to be ok.

You could also wear earplugs under Bose 25 noise-cancelling headphones. You might want to do that when the plane reaches the cruising altitude.

Wow, I didn't realize one could wear muffs to HBOT...

Surely if you lift your muffs for a fraction of a second, it ought to be ok.

You could also wear earplugs under Bose 25 noise-cancelling headphones. You might want to do that when the plane reaches the cruising altitude.

My current plan would be to use Peltor during take-off and landing, with or without earplanes. Then during cruising could switch to foam plugs and Bose QC35. It makes all the sense in the world this should be enough...

...but in my mind I am stuck thinking if this particular plane is somehow incredibly loud. And as I think even 80 dB is quite loud noise to be exposed to, then if the plane for example reaches 100 dB during take-off/landing and most of that noise is low vibrations passing right through bone conduction... Well, would just like to know if anyone has noticed a big difference between Boeing 737 and newer airbus models. If taking older plane model is an unnecessary risk, I'd rather plan differently then.

 

[Burnsie]

No issues at all with flying...maybe ears feeling a little fuller for a day or two after, but that's it and very minor

 

[Bobby B]

I would wear the Peltor x5a much better than plugs for letting ear wax flow out during extended time and cutting bass frequncies which is most of what is produced inside the cabin

The only issue is the the head pillow will transfer vibrations depending on how it's set as the muffs are large so take some foam plugs just in case or smaller muffs for the cruising part

 

[Rubenslash]

Have taken a couple of flights, no issues at all. Nothing, zero, no difference with pre-tinnitus and not a single spike. I just used regular earplugs with some 15-20db protection.

 

[Ambassador]

I'm a frequent flyer and have flown mostly without plugs and have tried flying with plugs and there's no difference for me, the plugs are unnecessary and do nothing for me. Flying has no effect on my tinnitus.

 

[Bill Bauer]

but in my mind I am stuck thinking if this particular plane is somehow incredibly loud.

Once I had to fly on a turboprop (i.e., it has a propeller) plane. Those planes are much louder than the regular plane. In this case, the plane was delayed, and the pilot tried to make up time by flying faster. As a result, the plane was as loud when it got to the cruising altitude, as when it was taking off. This lasted for close to an hour, after which it got a little quieter. It was a very disturbing experience, but it hasn't resulted in any major problems.

I don't think your plane can possibly be as loud as a turboprop plane. I paid to sit in the front row, only to discover that the front row is very close to the propeller... Of course everyone is different, so I don't know what advice to give to you. I am normally pretty sensitive (get spikes very easily). My spikes are normally set off by a one time loud noise lasting a fraction of a second. Moderately loud noises that last a long time had thus far been ok for me.

 

[Raphael7713]

I flew to London in november and I was really scared. Even with protection the sound was very high, but it didnt affect my tinnitus a bit. So were protection and dont get to stressed about it.

 

[Tinker Bell]

Add me to the list of members who flew recently and had no change to my tinnitus. I used earplanes for take off and landing and NC headphones for the bulk of the flight. No problem and hoping to fly again this year.

 

[Alue]

@NimQ

I was just on a 737 today
737s aren't too bad. We were going faster than normal because of delays, and cruising noise is around 75 towards the front and 80 in the back. Landing can get up to 90db, but that's for like 2 seconds.

You don't have to take out earplugs for take off and landing as you equalize through your eustachian tubes. I leave foam earplugs in with earmuffs over them for the full flight.

I've heard 777s can get fairly loud. Airbus does seem to be a little bit quieter than Boeing.