Flying

[Michelle G]

I have a 24 hour flight to South Africa in one month.

I currently have manageable tinnitus and mild Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD). I plan on wearing musician ear plugs and muffs.

The problem is, what am I going to do to distract myself from my tinnitus on the plane? I don't want to watch movies or listen to music with my headphones as that may make my tinnitus worse and I need to protect my ears. I can't read on a moving vehicle as I will get very nauseous.

Plus, since I'm in economy class and I am claustrophobic, I will not be able to sleep for very long.

Any advice on how to keep myself busy on the plane without hurting my ears?

My thoughts and prayers are with all of you.

 

[Michael B]

I'm no expert but I wouldn't recommend wearing earplugs for too long. Some might say not to wear headphones at all but I would invest in noise-reducing headphones, keep the volume low, and switch it up a bit. That's a long flight!

 

[Michelle G]

I'm no expert but I wouldn't recommend wearing earplugs for too long. Some might say not to wear headphones at all but I would invest in noise-reducing headphones, keep the volume low, and switch it up a bit. That's a long flight!

Thank you for your response! What's wrong with wearing ear plugs for a while? And are noise reducing headphones the only relatively safe option to be able to watch movies or listen to music on the plane? Yes, it is a long flight although I have a layover in London for an hour, so I basically have 2 flights around 12 hours each making a 24 hour flight

 

[Michael B]

Michelle, I wouldn't say that wearing noise-reduction headphones are the only relatively safe option although having used them on flights I will tell you they are the quietest and will drown out most of the cabin noise. I am not an expert but I've heard from others that wearing earplugs for an extended amount of time is not recommended for your tinnitus.

 

[Michelle G]

Michelle, I wouldn't say that wearing noise-reduction headphones are the only relatively safe option although having used them on flights I will tell you they are the quietest and will drown out most of the cabin noise. I am not an expert but I've heard from others that wearing earplugs for an extended amount of time is not recommended for your tinnitus.

Okay thank you so much! Is it okay that I am right next to the wing? I couldn't get any further up. Also noise-reduction or noise cancelling headphones? Do you have any recommendations? Sorry, I am really nervous as tinnitus and Eustachian tube dysfunction is new for me and this is my first flight since developing them.

 

[Bill Bauer]

I wouldn't recommend wearing earplugs for too long

I used to wear earplugs every night for 8 hours. I never had any problems.

Soon after tinnitus onset, I wore earplugs for about 20 hours a day for over a week. They would check my ears before each HBOT treatment, and they noticed an "irritation' beginning. In any case, the lesson is that it is probably not a big deal to wear earplugs for a long time (i.e., 24 hours), but eventually you may get an ear infection in there.

 

[Bobby B]

Just get the Peltor X5A ear muffs, those cost only 25 USD and will cut down bass better than any other form of hearing protection.

 

[Michelle G]

Just get the Peltor X5A ear muffs, those cost only 25 USD and will cut down bass better than any other form of hearing protection.

Okay thank you.

 

[Bill Bauer]

Just get the Peltor X5A ear muffs, those cost only 25 USD and will cut down bass better than any other form of hearing protection.

Is it the case that you tried both Bose noise-cancelling headphones and Peltor muffs in an airplane and the muffs seemed to offer better protection?

 

[erik]

I use a pair of Bose noise cancelling headphones on a flight just a few days ago and have for a few years now and they work great. Even if you don't listen to anything, they still do a great job of eliminating 80% of the background loud airplane noise and you can still talk to someone and hear them fine.

 

[Bobby B]

Yes I used the Bose Quiet Comfort 15 as well but those cost 10 times the price of the Peltor and don't cut sudden noise at all and don't work well for the most noisy part of the flight which is take off and landing - and even during flight the big Peltor cut noise much better. And you need batteries for the Bose.

But you won't win the fashion award with muffs as those are larger than headphones maybe that's the only issue.

If you want to hear music or soothing sounds you can still wear earbuds under the Peltor because the X5A have sufficient space around the ear. Or glue the earbud to the inside wall of the muff.

 

[Bill Bauer]

Yes I used the Bose as well but those cost 10 times the price of the Peltor and don't cut sudden noise at all and don't work well for the most noisy part of the flight which is take off and landing -

Thank you for the information! I will now know to wear Peltor during take off and landing, and to wear Bose during the rest of the flight (as Bose are more comfortable). (One thing that worries me about Peltor is that after wearing it for a couple of hours, one may begin feeling like one's head is in a vice.)

 

[Bobby B]

The Peltor X5A aren't tight at all unless you have a huge head, maybe other type of muffs are far less comfortable.

 

[Michelle G]

Hi, I am 15 years old and have tinnitus from a loud concert and mild Eustachian tube dysfunction. I've posted before about flying, but have a few more questions . I am going on a 24 hour flight to South Africa in a few weeks.

Sadly, I am seated next to the wing (where the engine is) so it's probably going to be very loud. I planned on wearing ear planes during ascent and descent and ear plugs/noise cancelling headphones throughout the flight. Although, I have been advised not to listen to music even on a low volume, so I can't watch movies or listen to music.

Also, reading while on a moving vehicle makes me very nauseas for some reason, so I can't enjoy a book or magazine. I also cannot sleep as I am very claustrophobic. What can I do to keep myself busy on the flight?

Also, I have heard that wearing ear plugs/ headphones during the long flight can be bad as you are making your ears hyper sensitive and when you are exposed to a relatively loud noise later on, you can worsen your tinnitus. Is this true?

What should I do to make sure my ears don't become sensitive while also protecting myself from plane noise?

Thank you all so much and my prayers are with you all.

 

[Bill Bauer]

You may want to get Peltor earmuffs to protect your ears during ascent and descent.

By not inserting the cable all the way, I am able to turn off one of the cups of my Bose noise-cancelling headphones. You could watch movies while listening with only one ear. You can alternate ears every 15 minutes. This will effectively half the time your ears are exposed to headphones.

I read somewhere that the seats in rows behind the wing are even louder. During such a long flight, you may get to talk to other passengers. You could explain that you have a medical condition and ask other passengers to switch seats for the last half an hour of the flight (the landing). Make sure your seat is an isle seat, and they are supposed to be quieter than window seats.

Many aircraft allow you to play games (e.g., chess) on the display located on the seat in front of you. You could also download stuff like that to your device...

 

[Ecip]

I wouldn't recommend noise cancelling technology; too many stories on here of it either causing tinnitus or making it worse.

There are a few things you can do to minimize your noise exposure on an aircraft.

-Choose a seat that's closest to the front of the aircraft. Sitting over top of the wing or behind the engines is going to be the loudest.
-If you can, choose a seat with an emergency exit; they offer more leg room, etc.
-Choose an aisle seat versus a window seat.
-If you can, choose an airliner with the newest type of aircraft. An Airbus A340 and A380, as well as the new Boeing 787 are quieter than older aircraft.
-Plug your ears or wear ear muffs during takeoff. Once at cruising altitude the cabin noise decreases as engine power is reduced.

For your ETD, I'd take some sort of sinus medication prior to your flight to make sure that your tubes are unclogged, and that they can equalize pressure easily, especially for landing.

Edit: You could add the Boeing 777 to that list, I suppose; but I was on one last year, and the engine idle sounds, and the engines spooling up for taxi are horrible... the reverb that goes through the cabin is toxic. I had to put my plugs in.

 

[MountainCreek]

Can't ear plugs during take off and landing cause the ear drums to explode due to sudden pressure changes?

 

[Bill Bauer]

Can't ear plugs during take off and landing cause the ear drums to explode due to sudden pressure changes?

Before the incident that caused my tinnitus, I used to wear earplugs during landings often. I never had any problems.

 

[Ecip]

Can't ear plugs during take off and landing cause the ear drums to explode due to sudden pressure changes?

No.

 

[erik]

Having taken dozens of flights a year, I stand by my Bose headphones. I get a spike from flying whether I wear them or not but certainly it is better and quieter with them on.

 

[Ken219]

I use foam ear plugs and so far never had an issue.

 

[JohnAdams]

I use foam ear plugs and so far never had an issue.

Same here.

 

[linearb]

I use silicone earplugs in planes with headphones over them for music, in fact I'm doing this right now and have spent ~30 hrs on planes doing this in the last 3 weeks.