Earplugs are an essential part of any pilot’s flight bag
Choosing the right pair to fit your needs and comfort level while you fly is just the first step to healthy hearing protection
Use this guide to help compare and contrast the available earplugs for pilots, and to stay up to date on all things aviation subscribe to FLYINGMagazine
Do pilots need hearing protection?
Pilotsneed hearing protection because the sound levels within the cockpit can reach between 80 to 95 dB
Sounds at or below 70 dBA are generally considered safe
Any sound at or above 85 dBA is more likely to damage your hearing over time, therefore pilots should wear hearing protection
Silicone Earplugs vs Foam Earplugs
What are aviation earplugs?
From tower control to 40,000 feet in the air, aviation hearing safety is our priority
Aviation Earplugs protect our ground crews, flight attendants, airplane mechanics, and pilots deserve the best aviation protection
We make specialized aviation earplugs and adapters to protect them all
Aviation ear protection
Equalising of pressure in the middle ears
Ear clearing or clearing the ears or equalization is any of various maneuvers to equalize the pressure in the middle ear with the outside pressure, by letting air enter along the Eustachian tubes, as this does not always happen automatically when the pressure in the middle ear is lower than the outside pressure. This need can arise in scuba diving, freediving/spearfishing, skydiving, fast descent in an aircraft, fast descent in a mine cage, and being put into pressure in a caisson or similar pressure-bearing structure, or sometimes even simply travelling at fast speeds in an automobile.
Ear clearing or clearing the ears or equalization is any
Equalising of pressure in the middle ears
Ear clearing or clearing the ears or equalization is any of various maneuvers to equalize the pressure in the middle ear with the outside pressure, by letting air enter along the Eustachian tubes, as this does not always happen automatically when the pressure in the middle ear is lower than the outside pressure. This need can arise in scuba diving, freediving/spearfishing, skydiving, fast descent in an aircraft, fast descent in a mine cage, and being put into pressure in a caisson or similar pressure-bearing structure, or sometimes even simply travelling at fast speeds in an automobile.
Pressure injury to the middle ear
Middle ear barotrauma (MEBT), also known to underwater divers as ear squeeze and reverse ear squeeze, is an injury caused by a difference in pressure between the external ear canal and the middle ear. It is common in underwater divers and usually occurs when the diver does not equalise sufficiently during descent or, less commonly, on ascent. Failure to equalise may be due to inexperience or eustachian tube dysfunction, which can have many possible causes. Unequalised ambient pressure increase during descent causes a pressure imbalance between the middle ear air space and the external auditory canal over the eardrum, referred to by divers as ear squeeze, causing inward stretching, serous effusion and haemorrhage, and eventual rupture. During ascent internal over-pressure is normally passively released through the eustachian tube, but if this does not happen the volume expansion of middle ear gas will cause outward bulging, stretching and eventual rupture of the eardrum known to divers as glossary-link-internal style=color:initial>reverse ear squeeze. This damage causes local pain and hearing loss. Tympanic rupture during a dive can allow water into the middle ear, which can cause severe vertigo from caloric stimulation. This may cause nausea and vomiting underwater, which has a high risk of aspiration of vomit or water, with possibly fatal consequences.
