Reactive Tinnitus and Flying on an Airplane

Has anyone with reactive tinnitus taken a flight lasting more than a few hours? If so, did the spike go back to baseline or did it raise your baseline permanently?

What are some other ways to reduce acoustic trauma besides wearing earplugs, ear muffs, supplementing with NAC and sitting in front of the engines? I really need to get to Asia and a cargo ship will take a month so seeing if a plane is even a remote possibility. It would be a 15-hour flight in a large aircraft. Would 1st class help due to location on the aircraft?

My tinnitus is highly reactive. I cannot listen to music, and a phone call will spike it.

 

A flightdeck helmet? Though, as pointed out by @gameover, they aren't available to civilians. They are however available on eBay. They would certainly reduce noise entering your skull via bone conduction. With earplugs, earmuffs and a flightdeck helmet all on, you won't get better protection. You'd probably need to explain to security beforehand. I doubt they would stop you as it's a medical reason.

If I ever need to travel a long distance (let alone flying), I fully intend to get one of these (under $200). I doubt very much if the embarrassment is worth more than the tinnitus protection gained.

The cargo ship may even be a problem with the constant engine noises for a month.

 

It is possible to treat oversensitivity to sound and hyperacusis using self-help. I have covered this is in my various threads on my started threads. You might find reading my thread "Hyperacusis, As I See It" helpful. If self-help doesn't work, then it's best to try and find an audiologist that specialises in tinnitus and hyperacusis management. This will usually require counselling and the wearing of white noise generators to desensitize the auditory system and treat the tinnitus.

The wearing of earplugs and earmuffs can be helpful up to a point but they are not a form of treatment. A person runs the risk of lowering the loudness threshold of their auditory system if they become dependent on them, which can make their tinnitus and oversensitivity to sound worse.

Michael

 

Yes, I've flewn 6 times in total - with reactive tinnitus.

I wore musician's earplugs and noise-cancelling headphones on top.

Spike and fatigue: Yes.
Temporary, shortlived: Yes.
Anxious: Yes, but mostly the first time after my tinnitus became more reactive.

In my opinion, with proper protection, flying will not cause you any permanent acoustic trauma.

1st Class/big jet would definitely help, @another sean.

After my first two flights, as time have passed, I do not react as much as before though. I care less in such a way that I experience less emotionally negative response towards it (on less good days). Many days I hardly notice it at all.

 

I have the same dilemma with reactive tinnitus but am planning to take a flight in the next few months, which will be around 10 hours. The flight is now booked.

At this moment I am planning to wear custom molded earplugs along with noise-cancelling headphones over the top - the seat will be in Business Class, so I am hoping to be a little further away from the engines.

To test this though, before the big flight next year, I am planning a one hour flight in the next two months, and will be aiming for as close to the front of the plane as possible (short haul so all seats are Economy).

Do you have the option of trialing a much shorter flight first? It may give you an idea of what flying will be like for you with your reactive tinnitus.

 

So noise-canceling headphones work better than 3M PELTOR X5A? I thought noise-canceling headphones emit sounds, which are used to cancel external sounds, but still emit sounds. Wouldn't that spike your tinnitus? Can someone explain how they work without spiking tinnitus?

 

Honestly, whether it would spike YOUR tinnitus or not, only you would know - after flying. There are no guarantees with this condition - as we all know by now.

But, if you have sufficient protection for your "issues", a spike would be temporary. Like most of them are.

As @DeanD mentioned, I would consider taking a shorter flight the first time out. If you take the long flight, I would consider taking a small dosage of Valium 1 hour before take-off. It will calm you down.

Good luck!

 

Fly on a hot air ballon. Problem solved.

Just kidding. I think staying away from the engines as far away as possible is the best course of action. So yes, try Business/First Class seat if you can afford it...

 

Wearing noise-cancelling headphones caused my tinnitus to spike. They were extremely expensive and I only lost $100 on their sale.

 

They do, but because what they emit is opposite from the external sound, the waveform that hits your ear ends up "flatter" (it's called destructive interference).

How do noise-cancelling headphones work?

 

I used the term noise-cancelling headphones very loosely. They are noise-cancelling headphones, but I never have them switched on. They provide a small amount of protection when I am out but it seems to help and prevents me needing to wear earplugs (which seems to cause other issues in me).

I hope headphones over top grade custom molded earplugs would block out enough noise on the plane to only cause a temporary spike at worst.

I will have my Peltor's in my carry-on bag in case.

 

I’ve flown endlessly with reactive tinnitus. Things tend to go back to baseline after a couple of days.

Take my advice with a grain of salt though. I don’t live in fear. Nothing I do can make it non-severe tinnitus so might as well just get on with it. Maybe if your tinnitus isn’t so bad there is something worth protecting.

 

@another sean, did you take the flight already? If yes, how did it go? Also, how's your hyperacusis now?

 

I have not. Looking to see if I can take two cruise ships, one to get there and one to get back. Just not sure if they will let me disembark/board mid cruise.

I did consider trying to 3D print a helmet with sound proofing material but I'm not much of designer and I don't have a 3D printer.

 

The tinnitus I experience is generally not reactive, although can be on bad days. I have successfully used noise-cancelling headphones. This really reduces the sound of the jet engines to a very large degree. Mine charge via USB.

In addition, you can pipe in an ocean sound or something very soothing, depending upon if the headset uses Bluetooth or has an audio plug.

I flew from Boston to India, using noise-cancelling headphones, but as I said, my tinnitus is generally not terribly reactive. However, the experience was much much better than I anticipated.

 

Cruise ships have blaring air horns. According to internet sources, up to 180 dB! If you happen to be on deck or boarding when they blast it, you are basically dead. Not sure how loud it is being inside the ship, but I'm guessing still loud.

 

When are you planning to take your shorter test flight? What month is your 10-hour flight in 2024? Looking forward to hearing about your experience.

Also, where did you get your custom molded musician's earplugs from?

Thanks.

 

This is on hold at the moment as I have been advised not to fly due to another condition. I will now have to see how it goes. The long flight is May next year, so I'd have to take a shorter flight of about an hour before then to test it out.

The custom molded earplugs were simply from a small independent audiologist local to me - all of them here seem to do them.

 

For what it's worth, I recently flew on a rather short trip, from France to Romania and back. I was sitting in front of the engines, both times. I was using my usual in-ear protections (25 dB reduction). The sound wasn't an issue. In fact, it was less loud than I expected. The biggest issue was the changes in pressure, which resulted in a spike and slightly more hyperacusis. Things went back to normal about a week after we returned home.

 

How many days did you stay in Romania before you had to make your return flight? Basically, I’m wondering how long did you give your ears a rest in between both flights?

 

I had a 6-hour flight in the early stages of loud tinnitus. The sound of the cabin is not that loud and is more ambient background noise than anything. That's my opinion, but my noise sensitivity isn't that bad.

After the flight, I felt great and actually had very low ringing. I've heard others say the same.

 

We stayed almost two weeks in Romania, mostly in Bucharest, which is a noisy city.

Also, I've got a 18-month daughter, who's not the most quiet member of the family!

My ears did not get much rest in between both flights. I tried to "damage control" the best I could with either Aspirin or Ibuprofen.

 

What supplements should you take to prevent damage on a plane? NAC? Curcumin (anti-inflammatory)? Has anyone made a list of a good defensive regiment?

I'm considering taking a 3-hour flight and want to load up and protect my ears internally.

 

I have very reactive tinnitus that will spike from the background noise and, after serious initial concerns, have now completed many domestic and international flights over the last 2+ years using 3M earplugs with noise-cancelling headphones on top - the lack of sound input causes my tinnitus to increase quite a bit during the flight and it stays elevated for up to 24 hours, but (so far) it does settle down pretty reliably again.

I have to use the same regime when driving as the road noise will cause a similar spike.

I measure the noise level using an uncalibrated phone app, but it gives me a good relative indicator - there's a big difference between planes (I think there's another thread on this). The noisiest planes I've encountered were Boeing 767 (United Airlines), and the short-distance Embraer planes they use (both measured 77-80 dB). A recent Southwest flight on a Boeing 737-MAX was much quieter (70-73 dB). Most flights seem to fall in the 75-78 dB range on my meter.

I proceed on the theory that these levels, combined with good protection shouldn't cause permanent damage.

 

Are you still able to listen to music or movies? Does music spike your tinnitus? I can't listen to any music or it will worsen my tinnitus.

There are two planes I can choose from. A Boeing 737-800 or Airbus A320-100/200. Would you have readings on those planes? Is it better to sit near the front, like row 10?

I'm also worried about PA systems on the plane during announcements and in the airport. It's been a while since I've flown but do they play music in airports or on the airplane like during taxiing or landing?

Is Business Class any quieter over Economy in terms of cabin noise or does it not matter?

 

No music for me, but I watch movies w/ subtitles. The noise from either will spike my tinnitus, but it's somewhat of a "damned if you do, damned if you don't situation" - sound deprivation will also elevate my tinnitus, but at least in that case, I know there's no danger of a permanent spike. The last, and most catastrophic permanent spike I suffered was from a 4-hour drive in a sports car (~80 dB - audiologist will tell you not a problem, but very much not true for already damaged hearing). It took me from loud but stable and habituated tinnitus to much louder and wildly reactive (reactive both to sounds, and often for no discernible reason).

In my experience that Boeing is middle of the road in terms of cabin noise (high 70s dB). I don't know about the Airbus model. Anywhere ahead of the engines seems a dB or two quieter, and window seat is noisier than aisle.

PAs are loud, so earplugs go in as soon as I'm seated on the plane. After my last permanent spike (3 years ago), I couldn't bear the ambient noise in the airport (and shopping malls, street noise, etc) so wore earplugs but that stopped bothering me as much after about 2 years, so now protection only goes on when in the plane.

I've travelled a mix of Business Class and Economy but couldn't really tell a difference in noise level (unless you're at the back of the plane in Economy).

 

The more in front you are, the softer is the noise.

That said, Business Class, as located in the front, is an advantage.

 

I've found the ambient level of sound doesn't change much from front to back while at cruising altitude. The type of plane makes a significant difference.

Each seating position has advantages and disadvantages:

• Behind the wing is quite loud during takeoff.
• In front of wing is louder during landing as the jets are in reverse to slow the aircraft.
• On the wing seemed to be a nice middle ground in terms of takeoff/landing volume, but it may have been the jet I was on as I've only sat in that position once so far.

On airliners with the turbines in the rear, it's best to sit as far to the front as possible. I flew on one of these with Delta and sat in one of the Comfort Plus seats and it was the quietest flight I've ever been on.

I think sitting on the aisle is quieter than on the window.

I wear 32 dB NRR foam earplugs when entering the airport from the car, then switch to custom mold 26 dB SNR earplugs inside the airport.

Before boarding the plane, I switch back to the foam earplugs and wear them until I exit the plane at my destination.

During take off and landing I also wear Peltor X5As over the foam earplugs. At cruising altitude I swap the earmuffs for Bose Quiet Comfort noise-cancelling headphones.

 

Is there a difference in terms of hearing damage when listening to a sports car at 80 dB and being on a plane at 80 dB? Why would a sports car cause a permanent spike but airplane cabin noise wouldn't? When I see people using sound meters on a plane on YouTube, sometimes it's reaching close to 90 dB. Is cabin noise less damaging compared to other sounds at similar dB levels due to it being a lower frequency?

Why the switch? What does one have an advantage over the other?

 

Easier to communicate with TSA and gate agents, etc. Plus it's a little break from hearing my tinnitus at full blast.