Anybody with Flying Experience with Moderate to Severe Tinnitus?

Anybody with moderate tinnitus have experience with flying?

My tinnitus took a huge spike after a sudden hearing loss 6 months ago. It is a little better and I'm habituating slowly but surely , but concerned about flying.

I fly once a year to Canada to see my sister. I see there are some special earplugs made for cabin pressure which knocks noise down by 20 dB.

 

Hey Bob,

I posted this in another thread a few weeks ago.

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.

 

You might want to wear those earplanes earplugs under 3M Peltor X5A muffs. Seats towards the front of the plane are supposed to be quieter. Same goes for isle seats (compared to window seats). There are multiple threads on this forum about this topic. Most people say that they haven't experienced a spike after a flight. I don't recall reading about someone protecting their ears (earplugs or muffs) and getting a spike... Let us know how it turns out for you!

 

I have flown quite often on vacation after T, some flights are 12+ hours across the Pacific. I didn't experience any problem such as increase in T, although I could hear my T above the jet noise in last few flights. Lol. Above posters have given you great advice. I can only add that you may want to bring some nasal spray just in case you have plugged nose and sinus congestion. Such can cause problem in balancing the pressure changes during take off or landing. Generally, members can fly and enjoy life even after T. Here is one member whose success story is full of pictures of his travel and Aaron surely is a world traveler, enjoying life as much as he can regardless of T. So take precaution but do get on the plane and enjoy. Take care. God bless.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...are-with-you-some-pictures-i-took-after.3268/

 

hi guys,
my wife and I are going on vacation this coming spring time and my concerns is how can I protect my ears during the flight in an airplane, I just want to know when and how long I wear earmuffs during the flight,
' do I wear earmuffs from the start until the plane take off or should I take off my ear muff while i'm inside the plane?

please if you guys have some experience is appreciated.

Thanks.
Robert

 

I never bother with muffs; I use silicone plugs from gate to gate and have never had any problems. Sometimes I pop them in and out a few times on the way down to let my ears equalize better.

When I was travelling a lot and carrying a meter, the loudest I ever clocked was like 87db towards the back of a small commercial jet (bigger == quieter, generally). And, that was in the loudest part of the cabin; my own seat which was in front of the wing was like mid-70s... I don't personally worry much about flying from the perspective of damage, but I wear plugs because engine noise annoys me, and with plugs in I can put headphones on over them to listen to podcasts or whatever without hurting my ears from the volume.

Some planes may be a lot louder than what I'm used to; 90% of my travel over the past 5 years has been in twin-engine regional or national jets.

 

Hello Linearb,
thank you for the information and experience you shared with us ,
I hope this will help and remind me when i'm on flight.
I have my noise meter on my iPhone this will help me through out the flight.

God bless us all...
Robert

 

Have you considered upper end ear protection that still support the use of microphones?

 

I wear noise cancelling headphones. Not because I think the plane will cause me any harm, but it makes me more comfortable. Much better to do stuff like reading or watching a movie.

 

hi Richard,
no I never used that kind of protection
just ear plugs and ear muffs

 

hello Zug,
I may try that noise cancelling headphones soon as long as my t will not get louder.

 

I fly often and have tinnitus and hyperacusis. I use earplugs and earmuffs over them. You equalize through your Eustachian tubes so plugs shouldn't be a problem. If you don't have hyperacusis you'll probably be fine with either plugs or muffs and not both.

It is a bit quieter in front of the engines, the more modern aircrafts are usually quieter, and airbus seems to be a bit quieter than Boeing (I hear the 777s are pretty loud). Regional jets are a little louder and if there are engines mounted to the fuselage it's better to be further away from them (most planes have the engines mounted on the wing which is typically quieter).

 

alue,
thanks for the info

 

i would make sure you don't have a cold and are not on any allergy or antibiotic medication as that's how i got T, after taking an antibiotic for a cold right before a flight

 

If you are flying internationally I would highly recommend flying on an airbus A380 before they get phased out. I just did. So quiet, even in economy! My sound app had the cabin noise at around 69-70db throughout the flight. Take off in the upper 70s. I was parallel with the wings but in the centre aisle.
Forget Boeing 777s. Noisy pieces of junk. They can average around 79-83db during flight and over 85db on take off.

 

Do you do that during takeoffs and landings as well? Have you ever been confronted by a flight attendant asking you to take the muffs off?

 

Yes I wear them during takeoffs and landings; it's not an issue since you equalize through your eustachian tubes. No, I've never been confronted by a flight attendant, and I don't think I would take that too kindly if I was as it's for a medical condition. Lately I've been wearing earplugs and Bose noise cancelling headphones over them for flying and it's been about as good as my X5A earmuffs.

The A380 is my favorite aircraft by far. It pisses me of that no US airline flies them. It saddens me that they might get fazed out too. US airlines seem to prefer Boeing over Airbus, and Boeing doesn't seem to care about making their aircrafts any quieter.

O', and Whatever you do never fly in a CRJ200! It's not Boeing, but I have seen many people complain about the noise levels in those, and my local airport has been flying more and more of them.

 

Flight attendants on Air Canada always confront me. Thus far they would always back off. I live in fear of one day encountering a flight attendant who won't back off...

Unfortunately, the only planes that fly to my town are Bombardier's Dash-8 that are a lot worse than CRJ200...

 

What about the Dreamliner?

 

They comfort you about wearing earmuffs? That's strange.

 

They say that I shouldn't be wearing them during takeoffs, because according to some safety regulations, I need to be able to hear the voice commands in case there are problems. Thus far they would eventually stop bothering me after I would make it clear to them that I can hear everything they are saying...

Sorry, have you see the post below

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/supposed-to-fly-and-freaked.28178/#post-331292

I am asking this, in case you somehow ended up not seeing it...

 

I have not been on a turboprop since getting T, so I can't comment on that.

I have been behind the engines of 737s and A319s without issue. If the engines are mounted on the wings as they are in those to planes I doubt it makes a big difference. If you are in a jet that has the engines mounted on the back of the fuselage (like the MD80-90s and CRJs) you want to be as far away from the back as possible.

 

Thank you! I will never again fly without finding out the kind of plane I will be flying.

I plan to get a doctor's note, just in case a flight attendant decides to make my life difficult and asks that I take my muffs off.

 

This lady found the answer

 

I recently did a total of 6 flights over ~1 week. Two on an AirBus 320, two on a QX-400, and two on a twin turbine Otter float plane. For the AirBus and QX-400 I was seated in noisy sections either beside or slightly behind the engines. No issues at all except eustachian tubes, which I always have had while flying. For the Otter, the noise is inescapable no matter where you go, and much higher than a commercial plane. Again, no issue. In all cases, I went without plugs or muffs. My T is moderate (was severe earlier in the year when I developed it), and I'm largely getting used to it now. Earplugs irritate my ear canals and actually make my tinnitus significantly worse. Modern planes just do not have the noise level that can cause tinnitus or significantly make it worse unless you're in a high anxiety state about your tinnitus. I think the pressure changes are more likely to create issues.