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Monday, January 9, 2012

I'm Back

I am beginning to wonder if the exhaustion I experience from flying is caused by not just dry air, but also the exhaustion that the continual hum of the engines causes.  Perhaps I will bring along earplugs next time.

8 comments:

  1. Some frequent flyers use these and similar.

    Noise Canceling Headphones

    http://tinyurl.com/7mye2nv

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  2. Don't do it, plugs won't work. I'm an active shooter too, so I thought I was well equipped... Not so. Plugs plainly do not work against the airplane noise. I found that my Howard Leigh Thunder 29 earmuffs work very well, but they are too bulky. Also, if they touch the airplane structure (in the window seat), they start transmitting sound. I am yet to try noise-cancelling set.

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  3. Noise Canceling headphones. The engine noises are too low for ear plugs. A further defect of most ear plugs is that they are designed to allow the human speech frequencies to pass. I've found plugs to, in effect, 'amplify' the human noises that I want to silence.

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  4. Yes, I find even the simple disposable foam earplugs make a noticeable difference.

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  5. The 787 is supposed to be quieter, and the interior air is more humid, and at a higher pressure. The only downside is you're unlikely to catch one for a Domestic flight.

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  6. Even though I have a set of noise cancelling headphones (Audio Technica ATH-ANC7B, sound great and cancel noise well, if anyone cares), if I just want a quiet flight nothing beats a good pair of foam earplugs.

    I suppose maybe hearing protection muffs over earplugs would be even quieter, but the earplugs alone can salvage an enjoyable flight despite booking on screaming-baby-express airlines.

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  7. The air is not just dry, it's also recirculated, so the O2 is low and the CO2 is high.

    I find good foam plugs to be a big help.

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  8. I've used earplugs, but over the ear noise cancelling earphones are really the way to go. I have a pair of Sennhausers that I've used for years. I admit I was skeptical when a friend lent me some for a trip years and years ago, but one trip with them convinced me to shell out big bucks back when these things were expensive. Now you can pick up some noise cancelling Sony earphones for less than $50 at WalMart that aren't half bad.

    The funny thing about those ear phones: if you wear them you can actually hear the announcement in the airport concourses. Normally the echos are so bad that you can't figure out what they're saying, but the noise cancelling also cancels the echo.

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