Flying: Earmuffs + Flying Earplugs vs. Earmuffs + Foam Earplugs?

I have an airplane ride in a few days, and I was wondering if you guys would choose foam earplugs or pressure-regulating flying earplugs under your earmuffs.

The flying earplugs don’t block out noise, but they reduce the risk of barotrauma. I have heard that foam earplugs would make it harder for the pressure in your ears to equalize in a plane.

Which do you guys think is safer?

 

I would choose EarPlanes + earmuffs. EarPlanes offer 20 dB noise reduction according to the manufacturer.

 

I use the cheap silicon earplugs that do exactly the same job as the more expensive EarPlanes, and are more comfortable too.

 

I've had no issue with foam earplugs while flying. I think the foam's spongy material allows pressure to release. I wouldn't wear silicone earplugs except for those EarPlanes ones. Earmuffs aren't great at low-frequency attenuation, so I wonder how well they would do coupled with EarPlanes.

When I fly, I wear foam earplugs and earmuffs for takeoff and landing and foam earplugs and noise-canceling headphones at cruising altitude.

 

What do you think of the Alpine FlyFit? It says 11 dB NRR for them.

 

Earmuffs alone are fine. Foam earplugs for going to the bathroom. I take 13-hour flights once a year and maybe a couple of short ones. This has worked for me.

 

Which earmuffs do you use, and how severe is your tinnitus?

 

I see. Are noise-cancelling headphones better at protecting from the noise of the plane than earmuffs are?

 

My tinnitus is severe. I use Peltor X5A. They are what the people outside the plane use. They are massive. They let very little noise in. That is indisputable for me. Everybody is different and has a different sweet spot. Just come prepared so you feel safe.

 

Noise-cancelling headphones are useful for the constant plane noise. The earmuffs are better for dampening the engine noise during takeoff and landing. Earmuffs alone are probably good enough but they get uncomfortable for me.

 

I see. Which earmuffs did you use? I’m using the Peltor X5A.

 

I just flew from Amsterdam to Bangkok, about 12 hours. When going to the bathroom, I used earmuffs and foam earplugs. They did hurt, but they were all I had, and they worked. I popped Valium for the occasion, which provided sleep and eased my flying discomfort. I watched Dune with subtitles, read, and neurotically ate processed plane food.

I then took an hour's flight home which was piss easy.

Tinnitus sucks, and flying with tinnitus sucks. Business Class, if I could afford it, would help.

I will try noise-canceling headphones in the future, but I was ambivalent about them because some members have complained of problems associated with them.