Advice Please Guys, Due to Fly This Afternoon and So Scared...

Hi guys,
Honestly don't know what I'd do without this forum...

Basically, I'm due to go on holiday this afternoon but my ears have gone absolutely crazy. Increased T and H and I was I town yesterday which was noisy and I mostly had plugs in.

We were eating in Subway and a member of staff dropped a metal container which reverberated right in my ears.

I've woke up with a muffled feeling in my ears, especially the one nearest to the noise and when I or someone talks it vibrates, it's so unbelievably loud I can't describe it. I feel that I actually have a wee bit of hearing loss, ear is burning, heavy and sore.

I'm so terrified that this is 'another' thing to come to terms with. Any helpful advice would be appreciated folks as I'm utterly terrified and with being at an airport too it's the last place I want to be. Had to take some propanol, first in ages to help calm me down.

I'm just so scared this is a new thing and it's made this worse again xxxxxx

Should I call the doc? Is there something we should take when a new noise trauma occurs? Prednisone? Xx

 

I don't know how long your flight is, but definitely wear some ear protection. I personally use peltor 32 db headphones. That is quite a lot! Obviously you can also use noise canceling headphones. They work well for a lot of people (less for others. Unfortunately, you would have to find out what category you fall into).

Also, stewards and stewardesses are there to make your life easier and generally nice people who try and help. If when you check in you say that you have a lot of ear problems, you could try and see if they can accommodate you to get a seat in front of the engines. That is a big difference in db.

 

Back when I couldn't leave my house without earmuffs because of noises made by normal cars, heh, I had to take a 3h long flight with just (broken!) Bose headphones that gave like 10dB protection.

Please, *do* wear hearing protection and *don't* be afraid - it's not nearly as bad as you think.

For me, on shorter flights airport noise was a bigger problem than the flight itself.

 

Earplugs with earmuffs. You can also use Bose QC 20 (expensive) with earmuffs over them. This will reduce more of the low-frequency sounds.

Does the propranolol help you?

 

Try to remain calm and use a good quality ear plug. I will be taking this advice myself. I hate flying, but at times we must do stuff we hate...

 

Hi Vicki14,

I'm not the most qualified to give advice on T and I don't have hyperacusis, but I fly quite frequently (at times over 20 flights a year) and here are some things I have noticed. Since my T increased to new highs I have done 4 11+ hour flights and a one hour flight. In general things have turned out OK, I took the following precautions:

1. I wear ear plugs, they work well for short flights but for long flights my ears get uncomfortable and I experience skin irritation. @jer 's suggestion for ear muffs is perhaps a better alternative for a long flight. Of course taking ear plugs in addition to this is a good idea.

2. Put on your earplugs before entering the plane, if you board the flight via a walkway or via the tarmac (if the plane is serviced by a bus) there may still be jet engine noise from nearby planes and it is quite loud at times.

3. If possible, sit in front of the engines as it is a bit quieter, it may be hard to change your seat now but fear not, its not too bad behind them either. If the plane is a newer model like a Boeing 787, it will be a quieter flight as the plane has better sound insulation. It's generally hard to choose which kind of plane you will fly but if there are multiple airlines servicing a route it may be good to look into for future reference.

4. During takeoff and landing you will notice pressure changes that can make your ears uncomfortable. I rarely had problems with this until recently (when T got worse, I also have ETD, which can worsen this, so keep it in mind), but its good to chew gum or have a water bottle to swallow frequently to equalize the pressure. Barotrauma is unlikely, but it can be an unpleasant sensation nevertheless. The crew will likely be busy at the beginning of the flight, but if possible it may be a good idea to let a stewardess know about your condition to see if they have any water bottles or gummy bears you could have.

Other tips would be to stay hydrated throughout the flight as the air can be quite dry and unpleasant over a long flight. Also avoid placing your head on the body of the plane if you have a window seat as there are sound vibrations that may be uncomfortable depending on how sensitive your ears are.


Sorry for the long post, hope this helps somewhat. Have a safe trip!

 

@Vicki14 How did you get on with the flight ?

 

Thank you all so much for your replies; @jer @maltese @fishbone @TuneOut @missingsilence @Pomme
Really appreciate all of the amazing advice - thank you.

I def think the propanol helped as it took the edge off my anxiety. I had my customised ear plugs in the whole time, put them in before entering the aircraft and took them out when we got into the taxi at the other end. I used my Pelters too for take off as I found the noise very uncomfortable. I think it also helped that I was chatting most of the flight to a friendly passenger too which distracted me.

I suppose it's just all the unknown with this ear stuff that gets you... slept with a fan on last night, first time and woke up at 4.30am with super loud t, still have it... urghhhh. It's all the worry and anxiety that ears cause... if only they were more stable perhaps it would be easier to deal with...

I hope you are all doing well xxx

 

A plane ride isn't sufficiently loud to cause damage to healthy ears

Your T is caused by stress so anything that makes you stressed is going to make the T louder - but that does not mean the ears are damaged .

You should look into various relaxation methods not hearing over protection

 

Ermm, you are wrong! It really depends where you are in the plane. What type of plane ect, ect. During the take off, the sound can reach up to 110db. In badly isolated planes during cruising, it can reach up to 90-95db. I believe the hearing threshold for potential damage to your ears in long exposure to a certain sound is 80db. Not many people know that everyday sounds can already be very dangerous. And glad to hear everything went good @Vicki14

 

Thanks @jer yeah, I found the noise to be quite uncomfortable and also as we waited for a while to take off which drew it out a bit. Incidentally, my husband is an airline pilot but I still find (never did did before t) flying to be quite stressful, especially if it's a noisy flight with kids etc.

I'd rather err on the side of caution and take precautions rather than live with the regrets x

 

No. Literally not for a second. You have no clue how loud is that and what people's reaction would be.

For many people that's quite close to their pain threshold.

 

It is close, but still not quite there. A lot of clubs and festivals often reach around 100-110db these days. 120db is around the average pain threshold.

 

Get your facts straight dude...

 

It's 85 decibels of long exposure -- 8 hours -- that can cause damage. 80db would require an even longer exposure, especially since 82db requires 16 hours of constant exposure.

And if take off sounds consistently reached 110db, there would be an overwhelming number of flight attendants with hearing loss. Enough that it would be statistically obvious in the industry. Not to mention most passengers on planes would have permanent hearing loss since exposure to 110db can cause damage after around a minute of exposure.

 

It's not 85 all the time

I measured 65 to 75 in cruise and a very brief 85 to 90 on take off.

Besides - why haven't we seasoned cabin crew with hearing loss or T ?

They fly a lot more than we possibly could...but we don't have them on our boards - not a single story like that..got T working as cabin crew !!

 

Unfortunately, those guidelines are inadequate. In addition, they are based on PTS, not TTS which can still cause hidden hearing loss.

https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2016/02/08/noise/

"The REL is based on exposures at work 5 days per week and assumes that the individual spends the other 16 hours in the day, as well as weekends, in quieter conditions. Importantly, the NIOSH REL is not a recommendation for noise exposures outside of the workplace in the general environment."

"The NIOSH REL is not designed to protect all workers from all hearing damage. When setting this limit, NIOSH acknowledged that approximately 8% of workers could still develop hearing loss."

 

You are right about the 85db for long exposure, my bad. However, on the airplane part My facts are straight. I did not say every plane. I said it can reach up to 110db. Those are measured mainly in older models. The newer models like the Boeing 787 are a lot quiter than 110db during take off.

So maybe you where just thinking of those newer models? Unfortenetly In a lot of parts in the world, people still fly with planes that where designed in the 60's and 70's. Which are a lot louder.

 

Hi Vicki just read your post, haven't been on here for a long time. I have had T for 37 years (first came in on ear with pregnancy and has changed since,I have had pulsaltile in the other ear for 20 years) I have flown with it but the last 18 years have been too frightened to fly. My daughter works in Hong Kong and i would love to go. Has your husband any advice to give as he is an airline pilot. I have been told that the new planes that go long distance are much better with pressure on the ears, do you know if this is true? Regards Jan J

 

"Short-haul flights are usually pressurized at 5,000 to 6,000 feet while long-haul flights are closer to 8,000 feet" - Dr. Claude Thibeault, medical director of the International Air Transport Association in Montreal.

"There was no difference in the likelihood of discomfort at ground level and 6,000 feet, but the likelihood increased between 6,000 and 8,000 feet." - Dr. J. Michael Muhm, senior occupation physician for Boeing Commercial Airplanes in Seattle

Looks like long distance flights are actually worse, and remember, the pressure they're referring to is what the cabin pressure would equate to in real world elevation, not the flight altitude, which is typically 30-40,000 feet.

*Did some more research and it looks like the newest Boeing 787 and Airbus 350 utilize 6000 ft cabin pressure for long distance flights, although it will likely take decades for this to be common place in the aviation industry.