Skydiving and hearing ability

[Kappa 0]

I've heard and opinion - airplane's engines' noise is very dangerous for hearing and it is better to use earplugs on board. If skydive regularly without earplugs hearing ability get worse fast.
I skydive just for 17 months, but I do it quite regularly. I don't notice my hearing get worse but I am worring about that, and I hate using earplugs. So, I am asking for opinion of experienced people who skydive a lot and for many years.
Is that true? Do you use earplugs? Did you notice your hearing get worse?

Blue skies

[sid 1]

Quote

Is that true? Do you use earplugs? Did you notice your hearing get worse?

Blue skies

eh?????????

Pete Draper,

Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

[flyangel2 2]

Severity of hearing loss
Hearing loss is measured in decibels (dB). Conversational speech is around 65dB. The degrees of hearing loss include:

*Mild (21-45dB) - soft sounds may be difficult to distinguish.
*Moderate (46-60dB) - conversational speech is hard to hear, especially if there is background noise (such as a television or radio).
*Moderately severe (61-75dB) - it is very difficult to hear ordinary speech.
*Severe (76-90dB) - conversational speech can't be heard.
*Profound (91dB) - almost all sounds are inaudible. Most people with profound hearing loss benefit from a hearing aid, while some don't.

I've attached a chart showing the amount of time you should allow your ears to be exposed to sounds.

But heck, what do I know, I'm an interpreter for the deaf, and I say: "Let them all go deaf, job security for me."

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[BillyVance 34]

Ear plugs? EAR PLUGS???

I don't need no stinkin' earplugs!!!

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[Kappa 0]

So, according to the chart in attachment, it's quite dangerous noise. What I've heard - the frequensy of that sound is the most dangerous thing, not the noise level.

[Luv2Fall 0]

I couldn't tell ya......after 17 years in the artillery my ears are shot anyway.

[usedtajump 1]

Use earplugs at all times in the aircraft unless of course you want to develop ringing in your ears to the point of being permantely hearing impaired. It's a little effort on your part but the rewards are well worth it. I only wish I'd done it in time. Will someone answer that godamn phone?

The older I get the less I care who I piss off.

[jonstark 8]

Wear them in the airplane -and- in freefall. They make quite a difference. Aaaahhh!

The yellow squishy ones go thru the wash in your pocket just fine too. They get pretty dirty over a wknd.

[ripcord4 0]

Wear a hard, full head helmet. Protects your hearing and your head.

[Tonto 1]

I have high frequency hearing loss in my left ear, probably from sitting with that ear in an open door on a couple of thousand half hour rides to altitude.

Keep wearing your ear plugs.

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[mx757 4]

Quote

Ear plugs? EAR PLUGS???

I don't need no stinkin' earplugs!!!

me either. I'm deaf and I LIKE it that way...

[faulknerwn 38]

Quote

Wear them in the airplane -and- in freefall. They make quite a difference. Aaaahhh!
.

I always wear them in the airplane but never ever ever freefall. The one time I forgot and wore them it was like jumping with the worst head cold I ever had. I couldn't hardly hear for 3 days afterward. The pressure change is too much to leave the earplugs in - at least for me.

W

[tr027 0]

Quote

Wear a hard, full head helmet. Protects your hearing and your head.

I've been thinking along the same lines. That wearing my full-face bonehead helmet and the plane ride being 20 minutes or less should be okay.

"The evil of the world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it. " -John Galt from Atlas Shrugged, 1957

[outlawphx 1]

I keep earplugs in my helmet for Skyvan loads. Damn that plane is loud! The Otter isn't so bad, so I usually don't bother. My dad's a pilot, and he has high frequency hearing loss. Apparently it's pretty common in that profession.

[wmw999 2,442]

I wear earplugs from before getting on until after landing. No problem in freefall, I can hear the Dytter and everything else. I spent my first 1200 jumps or so with no earplugs, and am pretty religious about it now.

I won't turn down a jump on most aircraft if I don't have earplugs, but I would consider it on the Skyvan -- that plane is seriously loud.

If you do CRW earplugs would be a bad idea I'd figure -- you have to be able to hear well for that unless you've done a lot of planning without it.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Kappa 0]

Thank you all, guys.
I think, I'll start to use them.

[kelpdiver 2]

Quote

I keep earplugs in my helmet for Skyvan loads. Damn that plane is loud! The Otter isn't so bad, so I usually don't bother. My dad's a pilot, and he has high frequency hearing loss. Apparently it's pretty common in that profession.

aye, I was shocked by how bad the skyvan was, and after one, I decided the tailgate exit wasn't worth the noise.

The caravan was also pretty bad, I did wear plugs when Skydance still had that plane. But the King Air and the Pac seem fine without. Otter is somewhere in the middle.

[FrogNog 1]

I understand by the time you start to notice hearing loss, it's too late to do anything about it. Sometimes, it's 20 years too late.

So I wear them on the theory that they will prevent damage I didn't know I was doing to my hearing.

For people who have pressure problems: experiment with different types of earplugs. I am having good luck with "Matrix" extruded foam-with-core types; they seem to be able to breathe better than regular foam and way better than rubber-flap types. YMMVOC.

-=-=-=-=-
Pull.

[Mike111 0]

I temporarily found it only a fraction harder to hear on the ground - the roar of the engine was colossal inside the plane on the ride to altitude!!

Bit like when you come out of a club or pub, and there is a really big booming bass beat - your eat still beas after or is deafened temporarily.

[FFlyer 0]

I ruptured both eardrums at the beginning of the year and needed to see an ENT specialist. He said that wearing earplugs in freefall is a very bad idea because the pressure build up in your ears cant be released.

Ive seen lots of people wearing earplugs in the plane and/or in freefall who advocate the use of earplugs. But im quite sceptical about their benefit while in freefall since seeing the ENT specialist. Well im no expert but it kind of makes sense to me that while in freefall your ears shouldn't have something plugged in them and not allowing the pressure to be released.