← Return to Help: Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSHL) - very scary

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@imallears

@julieo4

Hi Julie,

I found so many articles and aviation publications online about Hearing and Noise in the Aviation Industry.
Apparently some airlines allow their pilots to wear noise reducing headsets and their attendants to wear earplugs. The passengers, I guess, are on their own.
I have also read conflicting information about taking antihistamines before a flight. One view says that antihistamines depress breathing and in the low oxygen environment of the plane that could be dangerous.

The aviation industry knows all about Airplane Ear as it is called. The hard part, like you said, is how to get this information to airline passengers. Do you contact each airline? Do you contact the head of the aviation industry, the president? I’m not being funny but I remember Reagan wore a hearing aid or two when he started to lose his hearing. What did he do, if anything, all the times he was on a plane?

There should be information about Airplane Ear posted and also a caution about the decibel level in the cabins. I always lower my volume around noise because I know what to do. So many passengers are plugged into their earbuds which may help them. Normally people are not that aware or just oblivious to all the noise in airports and the plane itself.

I know I did more than the usual number of yawning and swallowing on my return flight so that probably helped. I will think more about this but it can’t be just one person attempting to change things…..it should come from a group like the HLAA . No one ever mentioned anything about flying problems in all my years of attending local HLAA meetings. In fact, the Mayo Forum may be the first time I learned about sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

Well, God bless the Mayo Forum and at least, maybe I can help someone individually with my newfound information.

FL Mary

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Replies to "@julieo4 Hi Julie, I found so many articles and aviation publications online about Hearing and Noise..."

@imallears Yes, on all of what you said. We never know, do we?

Industry is interesting.

If airlines push info about 'Airplane Ear' will people hesitate to fly?
If audiologists suggest cochlear implants will they lose their hearing aid customers?

It's hard to get information out, so forums like MCC can be very helpful. Organizations like HLAA, ALDA and a few others that bring people with hearing loss together to talk, share experiences and be willing to openly talk about it can do a great deal...

But...how do we get people to jump in to be advocates and educators. AND Believers? 🙂

Julie

Found the comment What I learned is there are over 2 dozen causes of SSHL I don’t fly because I’m fearful of losing hearing in my one good ear and have had Airplane Ear in the past. I never heard the term but yes the air pressure can be another cause of SSHL. There’s a product called https://www.earplanes.com/ that helped the last time I flew 20 years ago but I’m too fearful of trying them since I not have SSD