Going on an Airplane?!

[Roseanna H]

Ear muffs cut all noise, noise cancelling headphones only the constant noise.

Ohh, would cutting out all noise be a bad thing?? :/

 

[Rubenslash]

Ohh, would cutting out all noise be a bad thing?? :/

No, it's better.

 

[Roseanna H]

Hi, @Roseanna H: I have posted a lot about this topic here, as barotrauma from a plane flight caused my tinnitus.

Most of what I've had to say is on this thread, you can just look for my avatar. It includes a very specific protocol, put together with my doctor, that I follow for all my trips. And I have flown many times since my tinnitus started, including between the US and Europe.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/flying-tinnitus.1001/page-4#post-47637

A few quick points:

Definitely go on your trip! It's a wonderful opportunity! DO NOT let tinnitus run your life! You will be OK on the flight.

Don't use solid earplugs on the plans ascent or descent. It will make the pressure worse. Either use filtered musicians plugs or Earplanes, which are specially designed to relieve pressure. You can buy them in drug stores, etc.

Noise cancelling headphones are helpful, Bose are a good brand.

Take Sudafed or similar medications for two days before you fly, to dry out your sinuses. This might be overkill but its worked for me. Details in the thread posted above.

Good luck!

Thanks for the reply, I read it through I really would love to go, i feel its such an opportunity and i don't want to regret not going. I'm understanding now why wearing the plugs would be a bad idea on the way up and down. If i do go i'll be sure to bring earplanes, my usual ear plugs and maybe some ear muffs? Not sure about the noise cancelling headphones, are they really quite effective do you think? or would ear muffs be a good option too. I'm just trying to think everything through rn and i'm making an appointment soon to see my audiologist and see what he says. Just wondering whey i might need to clear my sinuses - would this help? I'm such a novice with all of this flying business aha.

Also i know that not everyone experiences the pressure and ears popping in the same way with the altitude. I know people that never experience any discomfort. Because i have sensitive ears, and course everyone else with T and H, are we pretty much prone to our ears having a hell of a time with the altitude and pressure, is it just bound to happen??

 

[Bill Bauer]

Yeh if i do decide to go i will bring protection with me of course. But yeh wasn't sure about it being safe to wear it while taking off/landing because of the whole altitude and pressure thing...do you think it would be just safer to put your fingers over your ears or something until your up in the air? Honestly not sure whether to wear the ear protection in those scenarios??

She was talking only about foam earplugs (that prevent normal flow of air, and hence equalization of pressure). Before the onset of T, I wore earplugs during plane ascents and descents, and never felt anything. But you could always take the plugs out and wear noise cancelling headphones (I can't imagine them doing any harm if you wear them for 10-20 minutes while not wearing earplugs) or Peltor muffs.

ould ear muffs/ear defenders pretty much do the same thing??

On Peltor muffs' box, they printed the following:
attenuation data
frequency (Hz) 125 250 500 1000
mean attenuation (dB) 23.9 30.5 41.1 43.0
It goes on to 8000 Hz, with all of those frequencies having the average attenuation of also more than 40dB. They say that this implies an NRR (Noise reduction reduction) of 31dB.

The above means that Peltor muffs are great for higher frequencies (250Hz and higher). In my experience, Bose noise cancelling headphones provide a lot of attenuation at lower frequencies, like the background noise of an airplane.

I am not sure if my experience is consistent with the following plot of the frequencies being attenuated
http://thewirecutter.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/over-ear-noise-cancelling-headphones-lowres-.jpg
You can find this plot on
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-noise-cancelling-headphones/
The sound being suppressed is 75dB, so the distance between that and the hot-pink QC-35 line give you the attenuation.

In any case, Peltor seem to do more attenuation than Bose (definitely at high frequencies, and possibly even at lower frequencies), but Peltor are less comfortable.

 

[LadyDi]

I wouldn't say the noise-cancelling headphones are a necessity, @Roseanna H. I just find them a good way to block the sounds while listening to soft masking noise through my smart phone app. But you could use earmuffs or even your regular ear plugs -- once you reach cruising altitude. The Earplanes or filtered plugs go in for ascent. Then you can take them out at cruising altitude and stay that way until descent begins.

As for the Sudafed and Afrin: Like I mentioned in my first post here, it might not be necessary for everyone. But there can be connections between sinus problems and ears equalizing. I find it helps me to fly with super dry sinuses. But I live in a moist climate, so things always are a little gunky inside my head. I do, however, recommend keeping your mouth open on descent, as described in the thread I linked to here. It keeps your eustahacian tubes open. Chewing gum helps, too, but I find the mouth open thing works better. It just looks kinda weird.

Flying is great! Have fun and enjoy.

 

[Bill Bauer]

or would ear muffs be a good option too

They are a good option, but may become very uncomfortable after a couple of hours, as they squeeze your head a lot more than headphones.

not everyone experiences the pressure and ears popping in the same way with the altitude

Twenty years ago, pilots would descend less gradually, and I remember always having ear fullness during descents. But now they seem to descend a lot more gradually, and I seldom notice any problems. Mind you, I haven't flown after the onset of my T...

 

[volsung37]

Hello, I am 14 years old and I have tinnitus and mild Eustachian tube dysfunction. I booked at 24 hour flight to South Africa a few months ago, but now that I developed these two conditions, I am scared. I cannot afford business or first class and those are the only seats in front on the wing. I called and was able to book a seat relatively in the middle of the airplane, but I am right next to the wing. Is it extremely bad and way too noisy if I am not in the front of the plane but more in the middle? Also, I was just planning to wear foam ear plugs and not muffs or noise cancelling headphone but should I reconsider? The problem with ear plugs is that they block out a lot of sound, causing me to notice my tinnitus MUCH more. Any suggestions? I developed tinnitus a month ago when I stood next to a speaker at a loud concert for less than an hour. As for my mild Eustachian tube dysfunction, I had a cold a few weeks ago. My audiologist said that my hearing is perfect and my tympanogram came out normal. My ent said that it is okay to fly with tinnitus and ETD, and that it shouldn't affect the tone or pitch as long as I wear protection. Although, he told me to use a neti pot to clean my sinuses. Unfortunately, it made my ears feel even more blocked and I now have a small amount of pain once and a while. Therefore, I do not want to use it again as i am too scared to. I was prescribed with prednisone when I first got blocked ears, but was prescribed over the phone(no doctor saw me) . It is a small dose only for a week. I did not take it as some people claim that it is ototoxic, but I am desperate for relief of this pressure in my ears, especially before my flight with such high altitudes. When I went to my ent he said that he doesn't recommend I take it as my ETD should go away over time and medication isn't necessary. But, my flight is in a few weeks and I am so scared of flying with blocked ears and tinnitus.. My prayers go out to all of you and good luck with your flight Roseanna!

You're 14 years old and booking flights to South Africa?Things have changed since I was young!

 

[Michelle G]

You're 14 years old and booking flights to South Africa?Things have changed since I was young!

Hahah yes, but I am going with my mom to visit family

 

[Roseanna H]

I wouldn't say the noise-cancelling headphones are a necessity, @Roseanna H. I just find them a good way to block the sounds while listening to soft masking noise through my smart phone app. But you could use earmuffs or even your regular ear plugs -- once you reach cruising altitude. The Earplanes or filtered plugs go in for ascent. Then you can take them out at cruising altitude and stay that way until descent begins.

As for the Sudafed and Afrin: Like I mentioned in my first post here, it might not be necessary for everyone. But there can be connections between sinus problems and ears equalizing. I find it helps me to fly with super dry sinuses. But I live in a moist climate, so things always are a little gunky inside my head. I do, however, recommend keeping your mouth open on descent, as described in the thread I linked to here. It keeps your eustahacian tubes open. Chewing gum helps, too, but I find the mouth open thing works better. It just looks kinda weird.

Flying is great! Have fun and enjoy.

Hi, yeh sounds like a good plan. It is a tricky thing, and kinda a risk you have to take really... Yeh, i could get them checked before i go and make sure they are clear if it helps. Hey, i don't care how it looks if it help aha trying to take on board (literally) all the help i can get. Don't know much about the eustahacian tubes to be hones though.

 

[Roseanna H]

They are a good option, but may become very uncomfortable after a couple of hours, as they squeeze your head a lot more than headphones.

Twenty years ago, pilots would descend less gradually, and I remember always having ear fullness during descents. But now they seem to descend a lot more gradually, and I seldom notice any problems. Mind you, I haven't flown after the onset of my T...

Thanks try, but i could have them on for like 20 mins here and there throughout the flight to just give them so quiet maybe. Yeh, makes sense that i could have changed now, its a good thing. Oh rightt, yeh could be different with tinnitus/hyperacusis and stuff - more sensitive.

 

[Bill Bauer]

I am sure one will be fine if one wears them for half an hour during take-off and for another half an hour during landing.

 

[linearb]

literally posting from an airplane woooooo


btw there's no limit on free drinks in first class, woooooo

 

[Michelle G]

literally posting from an airplane woooooo


btw there's no limit on free drinks in first class, woooooo

How's the flight with T?

 

[linearb]

How's the flight with T?

pretty much the same as without T, with more background noise?

 

[Michelle G]

pretty much the same as without T, with more background noise?

No spikes? Did you use any protection?