Wear ear protection on planes

[Irvrobinson]

I’ve been measuring the ambient sound level of the 737-700 I’m flying in at this very moment, and it’s 85db on average. If you value your hearing I strongly recommend ear protection devices of some kind. I use foam ear plugs. 85db on average is louder than most people listen to music or movies, and being in that kind of continuous noise for hours is not healthy.

 

[shadyJ]

Supposedly noise cancellation headphones work very well with the kind of continuous noise that you see on airplanes.

The director William Wyler filmed some scenes for a WW2 movie aboard a B-52 in flight. He didn't use hearing protection, and, if I remember right, even though the flight was less than 2 hours, he had permanently lost most of his hearing. That must have been terribly loud.

 

[Swerd]

I’ve been measuring the ambient sound level of the 737-700 I’m flying in at this very moment, and it’s 85db on average. If you value your hearing I strongly recommend ear protection devices of some kind. I use foam ear plugs. 85db on average is louder than most people listen to music or movies, and being in that kind of continuous noise for hours is not healthy.

The next time I fly, I'll remember to get some ear plugs.

Where were you sitting on the plane – forward or aft of the wings? It's been my experience that sitting above or forward of the wings and engines is quieter.

 

[Irvrobinson]

The next time I fly, I'll remember to get some ear plugs.

Where were you sitting on the plane – forward or aft of the wings? It's been my experience that sitting above or forward of the wings and engines is quieter.

Row 2, aisle. It should be one of the quietest seats on a 737.

I ran a spectrum analysis on the noise too, and it was across a surprisingly wide spectrum from below 40Hz to nearly 2KHz. I suspect that the higher frequencies were the HVAC and pressurization systems. I fly again this coming Saturday and Sunday on some larger planes, and I'll do more measurements.

I didn't have the software installed to measure, but a recent trans-pacific flight on a 777-300ER was quite a bit louder. I was also forward of the wings on that flight. That was a definite ear plug journey.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Supposedly noise cancellation headphones work very well with the kind of continuous noise that you see on airplanes.

I own Samsung noise cancellation headphones (they were a gift), but they're heavy and have a big case, so I've never flown with them before. They actually sound very good when I listen to music on them in the office. Many of my friends do swear by Bose headphones for noise cancellation. I just can't bring myself to buy Bose products...

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I own Samsung noise cancellation headphones (they were a gift), but they're heavy and have a big case, so I've never flown with them before. They actually sound very good when I listen to music on them in the office. Many of my friends do swear by Bose headphones for noise cancellation. I just can't bring myself to buy Bose products...

Why not sound insulation earbuds aka IEMs? Shure SE-215 provide quite good insulation
http://blog.shure.com/noise-cancellation-or-sound-isolation-whats-the-difference/

 

[Irvrobinson]

Why not sound insulation earbuds aka IEMs? Shure SE-215 provide quite good insulation
http://blog.shure.com/noise-cancellation-or-sound-isolation-whats-the-difference/

Sure. These look interesting. I just carry cheap foam earplugs wherever I go, so they're handy. It looks like I'd have to grow a memory and actually keep track of IEMs, but they are intriguing.

 

[Bucknekked]

I’ve been measuring the ambient sound level of the 737-700 I’m flying in at this very moment, and it’s 85db on average. If you value your hearing I strongly recommend ear protection devices of some kind. I use foam ear plugs. 85db on average is louder than most people listen to music or movies, and being in that kind of continuous noise for hours is not healthy.

irv
I have spent the last decade flying between somewhere and somewhere else nearly every week of the year.
I changed jobs so I don't have to do that insanity anymore.
Your point about the noise is very well taken advice. Most people don't notice the noise unless something or someone points it out. But if you put on headphones and then take them off, you'll absolutely feel the difference immediately.

I got to where I put in my inner ear monitors even though I may not play any music at all. The sound isolation was worth it even without music.

Good observation.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Supposedly noise cancellation headphones work very well with the kind of continuous noise that you see on airplanes.

The director William Wyler filmed some scenes for a WW2 movie aboard a B-52 in flight. ...

You sure that was a B-52? That is an 8 engine jet bomber post WWII and Korea. Perhaps B-25?

 

[shadyJ]

You sure that was a B-52? That is an 8 engine jet bomber post WWII and Korea. Perhaps B-25?

You know what, I think you are right. I didnt mean to say B-52 either, that was a later design. Wylers experience is discussed a little bit in a Netflix documentary called Five Came Back.

 

[Bucknekked]

You sure that was a B-52? That is an 8 engine jet bomber post WWII and Korea. Perhaps B-25?

If it was a WWII movie, it wasnt a B52.
I worked on those in my time in the Air Force.
But a B25 is possible as mytycrafts suggested.
Talk about noise! Holy s-h-i-t an 8 engined B52 with water injection applied is deafening. Its an incredible thing to be close to. I dont have goldenears anymore thanks to B52s

 

[Irvrobinson]

I took two more flights this weekend on similar planes. The first flight was a newish 737-800, and I sat just forward of the wings. During ascent the noise level was a pretty constant 91db, reducing to 87db at cruise altitude. The noise spectrum, again, included more noise in the 1KHz-2KHz octave than I expected.

On the way home I flew in a nearly new 737-900ER, but this time I was essentially on the wings, a row behind the two exit rows. This flight was a lot noisier. On ascent it was a pretty constant 91db, and on descent, especially below about 15,000 feet, it was averaging 94db, with a nice peak at about 170Hz, right where human hearing is quite sensitive.

I'd like to try some Airbus planes and see if they're any better. Unfortunately, I'm mostly an Alaska and Southwest flyer.

I'm always wearing ear protection from now on, that's for sure.

 

[lovinthehd]

Haven't had the desire to fly commercially for years and wore headphones much of the time when I did, but that was mostly before noise-cancelling which I'd probably have moved to had I needed to keep flying commercially....

These days I'd even use ear protection on subways and other forms of public rail transport from the last few times I rode BART/MUNI in the SF area.

When I've flown in private planes, the only flying I really enjoy now, it's a good idea to put on the 'phones/mic if you want to talk to anyone anyways....

 

[panteragstk]

You sure that was a B-52? That is an 8 engine jet bomber post WWII and Korea. Perhaps B-25?

I put in ear plugs when I hear B-52's...

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Did you measure this with a SPL meter or with a phone app?

I've used the SPL phone apps before, and their readings are a lot higher than the readings I get with my Galaxy digital SPL meter.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Did you measure this with a SPL meter or with a phone app?

I've used the SPL phone apps before, and their readings are a lot higher than the readings I get with my Galaxy digital SPL meter.

A phone app. DecibelX Pro on my iPhone 7. In testing against my OmniMic II it was within 1.5db, depending on frequency.

How much is "a lot"?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

A phone app. DecibelX Pro on my iPhone 7. In testing against my OmniMic II it was within 1.5db, depending on frequency.

How much is "a lot"?

I can't recall which apps I used on my Samsung Note3, but I used 3 different SPL apps that were highly rated. I think the SPL was off by 3-6 dB depending on the apps.

 

[Irvrobinson]

I can't recall which apps I used on my Samsung Note3, but I used 3 different SPL apps that were highly rated. I think the SPL was off by 3-6 dB depending on the apps.

That's odd.

I flew on an Embraer E175 this morning and sat on the wing. Much to my surprise it was 3db quieter than any of the 737s.

 

[Irvrobinson]

I flew on a rather new 737-700 yesterday, in row 2, and much to my surprise the average noise level was only 79db. I took my earplugs out for some time to see if the phone was just acting up, but the plane was noticeably less loud than any other 737 I've been in recently. Weird.

 

[agarwalro]

+1. Good topic.

I had used the Etymotic Research ER6i for the longest time as my noise isolating solution. Sometimes I used them as ear plugs too. I absolutely loved their sound and the noise isolation was on par with dedicated ear plugs. Sadly, one side died and I was forced to replaced them. I decided to try the Audio Techinca IM02 and have been satisfied enough not to replace them. I still feel (for me) the ER6 hit an IEM sweet spot like none other.

I noticed the average office building HVAC is fairly loud too (after using the ER6 at work). It's one of those things that cannot be unheard.