Hearing Protection for 7 Month Old

ScottPA

ScottPA

Pre-Flight
Joined
Oct 11, 2007
Messages
97
Location
Pittsburgh
Display Name
Display name:
ScottPA
I would like to take our 7 month old daughter flying with us. What have others used? What would some of the docs around recommend?
 
We took the squishy foam earplugs, cut them down (the long way so they were skinnier), then put a winter hat with earflaps over them and tied the flaps so she couldn't pull out the earplugs. Worked great until she was big enough to wear a pair of hearing protectors (18 months?)

When Ciara was an infant she'd sleep as soon as we started moving. Just be SURE the child has no congestion - they can't clear blockages.
 
Frankly, until a medical person chimes in, I don't think it matters. Unless the child will be going on frequent and long flights, I don't think any long term ill effects will happen.
 
What Tim said, plus... keep your rate of descent to no more than 250 fpm.
Plan ahead:

(cruise altitude minus arrival airport pattern altitude) x 4 = minutes to pattern

convert airspeed to miles per minutes

miles per minute x minutes to pattern =
miles from arrival airport at which descent is begun at 250 fpm

If IFR, advise ATC of your intentions prior to descent so they can accommodate you.
 
I agree with Greg. The noise is incidental if the flights are occasional. All three of mine were flying from 2 weeks old. But as Tim says, the slightest sign of congestion is a NO GO item.
 
Thanks to all of you for your replies.

My 4 year old son (5 in December) is recovering from a cold. I was thinking of taking him flying tomorrow. He still has some congestion. Should I wait or do you think he will be ok? We will most likely either stay in the pattern or a short trip out to a nearby lake and back. We will not climb over 3,000ft MSL.
 
ScottPA said:
Thanks to all of you for your replies.

My 4 year old son (5 in December) is recovering from a cold. I was thinking of taking him flying tomorrow. He still has some congestion. Should I wait or do you think he will be ok? We will most likely either stay in the pattern or a short trip out to a nearby lake and back. We will not climb over 3,000ft MSL.
Click to expand...
WAIT!
 
I agree. It will be much better to wait. No sense in taking him if he will be at all uncomfortable. He will be nervous and scared as it is. There is no need to add to that.
 
While we are on the topic, at what age did your guy's kids start wearing headsets? My daughter is almost 3 and I'm thinking of getting her a youth headset for Christmas.
 
I think hearing protection, even if they only fly a few times, is crucial, and especially so for younger children.

Here's a table I found to be useful:

85 decibels: Exposure over an 8-hour period risks hearing loss.
90 decibels: Exposure for 2 hours risks hearing loss.
97 decibels: Exposure for 30 minutes risks hearing loss.
100 decibels: Exposure for 15 minutes risks hearing loss.
110 decibels: Exposure for less than 2 minutes risks hearing loss
120 decibels: Exposure less than 30 seconds risks hearing loss.
130 decibels: Any exposure risks permanent hearing loss.

I'd guess that the average piston cockpit is around 95.

-Felix
 
sba55 said:
Here's a table I found to be useful:
85 decibels: Exposure over an 8-hour period risks hearing loss.
90 decibels: Exposure for 2 hours risks hearing loss.
97 decibels: Exposure for 30 minutes risks hearing loss.
100 decibels: Exposure for 15 minutes risks hearing loss.
110 decibels: Exposure for less than 2 minutes risks hearing loss
120 decibels: Exposure less than 30 seconds risks hearing loss.
130 decibels: Any exposure risks permanent hearing loss.
Click to expand...

Hmmmm... no mention of what the dB the average kid's iPod is set to.
 
ScottPA said:
Thanks to all of you for your replies.

My 4 year old son (5 in December) is recovering from a cold. I was thinking of taking him flying tomorrow. He still has some congestion. Should I wait or do you think he will be ok? We will most likely either stay in the pattern or a short trip out to a nearby lake and back. We will not climb over 3,000ft MSL.
Click to expand...
No, that is just nuts. If you want the kid to forever associate misery with the airplane, take him flying.

You have to do this right. WAIT for wellness.
 
bbchien said:
No, that is just nuts. If you want the kid to forever associate misery with the airplane, take him flying.

You have to do this right. WAIT for wellness.
Click to expand...

Yep. 3000 ft will at the very best only be uncomfortable for a child with a cold, but it could be extremely painful as well.
 
AWACSEng said:
While we are on the topic, at what age did your guy's kids start wearing headsets? My daughter is almost 3 and I'm thinking of getting her a youth headset for Christmas.
Click to expand...

We used foam plugs (taped in with a hat over the tape) in my daughter's ears until she was about 2. After that she was willing to wear a kid's red and blue headset. Now she demands a Lightspeed with a music interface.
 
Yeah, I had my eye on the pink set by Pilot USA. I know there are cheaper ones, but for a 3 year old, asthetics do matter.
 
sba55 said:
I think hearing protection, even if they only fly a few times, is crucial, and especially so for younger children.

Here's a table I found to be useful:

85 decibels: Exposure over an 8-hour period risks hearing loss.
90 decibels: Exposure for 2 hours risks hearing loss.
97 decibels: Exposure for 30 minutes risks hearing loss.
100 decibels: Exposure for 15 minutes risks hearing loss.
110 decibels: Exposure for less than 2 minutes risks hearing loss
120 decibels: Exposure less than 30 seconds risks hearing loss.
130 decibels: Any exposure risks permanent hearing loss.

I'd guess that the average piston cockpit is around 95.

-Felix
Click to expand...

I took a decibel meter up in a Cessna 152 a few years ago, and found that it was right around what you said. For those of you that care, that was A weighted. I don't remember if I checked C weighting or not, but it would probably be around 105-110dB.
 
bbchien said:
No, that is just nuts. If you want the kid to forever associate misery with the airplane, take him flying.

You have to do this right. WAIT for wellness.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the response. It was a thought and it was quickly changed. I want his first time flying to be as wonderful an experience as possible.

To say that is just nuts seems to be a little harsh when all I was doing was asking advice. I suppose I should have just waited to ask his pediatrician or our general practice doc who is also a pilot and senior AME rather than post such a silly question on this message board.
 
ScottPA said:
To say that is just nuts seems to be a little harsh when all I was doing was asking advice.
Click to expand...

Aww shucks, Scott. You are taking it too seriously. You will know it when Doc Bruce gets harsh. :D

I suppose I should have just waited to ask his pediatrician or our general practice doc who is also a pilot and senior AME rather than post such a silly question on this message board.
Click to expand...

Wasn't anything silly about it. It was appropriate enough to ask here. :yes::wink2:
 
I'm pretty sure Bruce was responding to what Felix and Dave had shared about sound levels and the importance of protecting your ears from loud sounds.

On the carrier flight deck, I always wore protection as there would be a chief ready to knock you overboard if you were not. But, ashore I often walked the ramp without any unless I was directly involved in an aircraft start. I had thought I gave up some hearing after those years. There was never a test after my initial Navy enlistment. Eight years ago, an ENT dealing with my sinus issues also did a hearing test and said my hearing was perfectly normal.

I don't use a headset outside of the airplane now and I expect it may affect me over time. This is probably more true with all the jet traffic we have in front of the FBO next door with much of it in front of our own hangar. Throw in changes with age.

It would probably be wise to get at least the small hearing protection ear buds or whatever they may be called.
 
Scott, I have two girls they are now 20 and 18. Guess how I learned that lesson?

Now you have a chance to do it right. Neither became a pilot. Sigh.
 
bbchien said:
No decibels at all after the kid ruptures his eardrum.
Click to expand...

For anyone that hasn't had this happen, I had the dubious honor of popping an ear drum last year on an American Eagle flight. I had a latent ear infection that I was unaware of (I had just gone transatlantic twice in the previous weeks, plus a number of domestic segments), and it felt like someone had shoved an awl in my ear. I drove 70 miles home after landing, tried to sleep, and the pain kept getting worse as the night went on. Heavy narcotics (by my measure) over the next two days took the edge off. Took a month for my hearing to return to normal, and now my hearing "cuts out" when sounds are too loud -- sounds just like a broken woofer bottoming out, just inside my head, and painful.

Translation: if you have any thought that your head is clogged up, your Eustachian tubes may not clear, or you have an ear infection, STAY THE HECK AWAY FROM AN AIRPLANE.

Cheers,

-Andrew
 
bbchien said:
Scott, I have two girls they are now 20 and 18. Neither became a pilot. Sigh.
Click to expand...

My two are about the same age. 19 and 16. Neither want to learn to fly either. I wonder if it has to do with a partial engine failure 5 years ago.
 
My two girls are 24 and 19. Neither are pilots but they both enjoy being taken places. I think that they don't want the responsibility of PICdom yet. They see how hard I have worked at it and it is daunting to them. Or maybe I am just a slow learner..... :rolleyes::rolleyes:

-Skip
 
Old Thread: Hello . There have been no replies in this thread for 365 days.
Content in this thread may no longer be relevant.
Perhaps it would be better to start a new thread instead.
Back
Top