Need Reassurance to Go on a 12 Hour Bus Ride — No Horror Stories Please...!

[CDNThailand]

No horror stories or responses to make me panic please!

I have Tinnitus AND Hyperacusis.

Not sure how bad the Hyperacusis because I'm new to this at 6 weeks into it...I can walk around the street, can have TV on, normal sounds, but music and sitting in a bar with low music is too loud, shopping centers also. Sometimes at night the sound of the fridge is too loud...

I have to travel from Thailand to Laos by bus. This HAS to be done for visa run.

Here is some information on the trip:

• Bus is modern Mercedes, air conditioned first class seats downstairs far from engine

• Noise on my phone was about 40-50 db at Idle(air conditioning compressor was loud, maybe because working hard to cool at first?)

• Bus will stop for 20 minutes break 2-3 times

Here are some questions:

- Can I wear muffs AND plugs for 12 hours straight without damage? (I might take a sleeping pill)

- Should I stay awake so I can take advantage of the 20 minutes breaks?

- Should I wear BOTH plugs and muffs? Or only muffs, only plugs or tough it out if it's not so bad?

Worried..

 

[Foncky]

I made lots of bus trips when I had mild T and mild H, including one in Thailand !

Modern buses like that are really ok. As you said, A/C and engines are the only things that could bother you. People are usually quiet and if the music is too loud, just tell the driver.

I suggest you wear good foam earplugs that you will remove and replace during the breaks, if you don't sleep all the time.

Put earmuffs on top of that if you feel the need to.

I once kept earplugs during a 11 hours flight, it's not the most pleasant thing but it's ok. Just be sure you know how to fit them and test them before. You have to find the right model for your ears !

 

[Carlos1]

@CDNThailand
I was afraid of flying and just this past year I went on a 3 hour flight and everything went ok. I brought ear plugs just in case it got loud.

 

[CDNThailand]

Pk, sounds good, will bring plugs and muffs!

 

[CDNThailand]

My h is now getting worse...any other positive feedback on this?

I can hear things even with muffs and plugs now.....

 

[Foncky]

You will always hear something.

 

[Juan]

If the bus is so quiet you should be fine wearing only earmuffs. Do not wear both earplugs plus earmuffs for 12 hours, as that will build up pressure inside your ears. Typically earplugs give pressure faster and worse than earmuffs.

You can wear double protection (earplugs plus earmuffs) during the breaks and, very important, when boarding the bus. My feeling is that the bus stations and the breaks are actually going to be more challenging than the actual trip inside the bus, as only very loud peak sounds are really dangerous, and this you may find when there is a lot of bus traffic in the station or by a highway, coffee bar, etc during breaks. Inside the bus the only issue would be PA announcements (if any) and maybe you can talk to the driver explaining that you cannot be exposed to loud noise, so that he lowers the PA system. Good luck!

 

[Foncky]

If the bus is so quiet you should be fine wearing only earmuffs. Do not wear both earplugs plus earmuffs for 12 hours, as that will build up pressure inside your ears. Typically earplugs give pressure faster and worse than earmuffs.

Never heard of that. There is no pressure issue with foam earplugs, as the air can pass through them.

 

[Juan]

The air goes through musician earplugs that have a filter to balance pressure and let through some frequencies, but not through foam earplugs that are well inserted.

 

[Foncky]

So it's a wonder I'm able to fly with foam earplugs and still equalize the pressure in my ears
Sorry, it's really not an issue.

 

[Juan]

Then you are a lucky guy. Pilots usually wear earmuffs, specially helicopter pilots. Cabin crew tend to avoid earplugs as well.

 

[Foncky]

No I'm not lucky, foam just lets the air out.

Pilots use earmuffs because they use them to communicate too. But some fighter pilots use foam plugs under their helmet. They don't remove it to equalize during the mission...

Cabin crew need to hear passengers and foam earplugs don't work great for that, but more and more of them use silicon plugs (as awareness about the danger of noise is raising).

 

[Juan]

Have you ever seen an F18 vertical take off, for instance? Pressure changes very fast and having earplugs does not help to make that gentler on ears. Take into account that foam earplugs are not always well inserted, while that's not an issue with an earmuff. In the case of very noisy planes if some pilots use earplugs it is because they have to choose between being literally deafened or dealing with the side issues of extended earplug use. It's a choice between two bad situations, a no win decision really, between irreversible hearing loss and having pressure and maybe a headache after earplugs use. And some pilots have to remove the earplugs in flight, or cut them, or insert them in a way that they not fully block the ears. Actually the military in some countries have considered using high end musician earplugs for the very noisy planes, and these have filters to let air go through.

In the case of commercial pilots I have not heard that they use earplugs at all, and I have asked the cabin crew of long flights a couple of times and they precisely referred to pressure as a reason not to use foam earplugs when flying. It is easier to notice that when the plane descends on approach.

Some people with hyperacusis report pressure after using foam earplugs for a couple of hours, so my original advice to the OP was not to wear double hearing protection because he could have pressure after and for a normal bus ride maybe he does not need that much hearing protection, specially for 12 hours straight. He was not talking about flying a fighter plane, just a normal bus ride

Some videos about fighter planes.. turn off the sound for the videos, just in case (I played them without sound):

 

[Foncky]

I won't argue for years, just try it if you fly sometimes.

 

[Juan]

I edited to explain my answer better. But I have flown with earplugs and was quite painful when the aircraft started descending. Maybe some people have issues with that and others dont; I just talk out of personal experience and the experience of other friends that have hyperacusis.

 

[Foncky]

I used to be a private pilot before my hearing issues, descents were often very painful with no earplugs (only pilot earmuffs on). I learned how to equalize and now it's ok, plugs or not. Only I can't fly any longer because of H.

 

[Juan]

I used to be a private pilot before my hearing issues, descents were often very painful with no earplugs (only pilot earmuffs on). I learned how to equalize and now it's ok, plugs or not. Only I can't fly any longer because of H.

Is the loud noise that keeps you from flying?

 

[Foncky]

Yes totally

Flying should have been my career actually. It's so stupid to screw a career because... of noise.

 

[Juan]

Yes totally

Flying should have been my career actually. It's so stupid to screw a career because... of noise.

There are all sort of accidents, but we dont think about them often. Many people get injured or damaged in the most unthinkable ways.. more people than we think..