Child Hearing Protection

[Ted]

Next weekend I'm going to have a 2-year-old in the Aztec for a fairly long (probably about 4 hour) flight. As it is, I only have one nice headset (may borrow another good one for the adult passenger I'll have), but I've never had any little ones in the Aztec, and it is rather loud inside between the two engines and the massive air leaks that the door has.

Since I know a bunch of y'all have little ones, what do you suggest? I don't normally have 2-year-olds in my plane, and don't intend on making a habit of it, so I'm not interested in buying another headset, but I want to make sure that the kid's ears are protected.

 

[Everskyward]

Earplugs? I guess if you're worried about them falling out you could put Band Aids or other medical adhesive over them. Of course I don't have kids so I could be way off base...

 

[TMetzinger]

earplugs and a hat with ear flaps, OR a headset - I've found that the "grown-up" headsets sealed well on Ciara's head at age two. Shooter's earmuffs can work too. Best advice is to test fit various options before flying.

 

[Steve]

Hey Ted,

This question comes up from time to time. My experience with my own two daughters was that at age two they could tolerate a foam ear plug quite well. After some gentle coaxing to leave them in place initially they actually looked forward to wearing them. We flew a lot of long x-c's when they were young and they haven't had any detectable long term exposure damage to their hearing, particularly when I mention spending money (or in clinical hearing tests).

FWIW, there are varying standards on noise exposure for adults in the workplace

http://www.nonoise.org/hearing/exposure/standardschart.htm

I haven't been able to locate any comparable exposure standards for children, but the general consensus is long term exposure above 85dB will cause gradual hearing loss. Might want to quantify your actual level in the Aztec.

 

[gismo]

Foam plugs should work well. As others have said with really young kids you need something to prevent them from pulling out the source unfamiliar feeling, but with a 2 yo I don't think that would be a problem. If needed, options for that would be athletic tape, or a hat with tie down ear flaps. Some kids that age want to imitate the Grupps and may prefer to have a headset but I suggest you still use the earplugs under the headset in that case since an adult headset probably won't seal very well on a small head.

For babies we used to cut the standard foam plug in half so it would actually go inside the ear canal without creating an uncomfortable pressure but I suspect this won't be necessary with a "standard sized" 2 yo but the plugs do have to seal well to have much effect. Also FWIW, cotton in the ears doesn't do a very good job of attenuating the noise in an airplane cabin so don't bother with that.

 

[gismo]

I haven't been able to locate any comparable exposure standards for children, but the general consensus is long term exposure above 85dB will cause gradual hearing loss. Might want to quantify your actual level in the Aztec.

I'd be willing to bet that the noise level in Ted's Aztec is at least 90 dB, probably more especially during takeoff and climb.

 

[Ted]

I don't have a dB-o-meter, but I know that when I'm flying with someone who I like enough to wear my good headset and wear the junky one myself, I really miss the ANR.

Thanks for the advice. This should work out well. Also important to remind them to dress warmly. As I was flying the Archer last night, I was reminded that one thing I don't like about twins is the heater vs. in the singles that keeps me toasty warm.

 

[TMetzinger]

You're saying the heater doesn't keep you warm in the twin?

In the Seminole, the heater kept me toasty, but the singles could be a hit-or-miss, depending on the airplane and the altitude.

Nothing worked in the Trinnie (turbo) at FL230, it was damn cold.

 

[gismo]

I don't have a dB-o-meter, but I know that when I'm flying with someone who I like enough to wear my good headset and wear the junky one myself, I really miss the ANR.

Thanks for the advice. This should work out well. Also important to remind them to dress warmly. As I was flying the Archer last night, I was reminded that one thing I don't like about twins is the heater vs. in the singles that keeps me toasty warm.

Are you saying the Aztec isn't as warm as a single? The heat in my B55 works well unless the OAT is below 0 F and the sun isn't shining. Even then it's fine in the front seats and tolerable in the back. The Bonanza I used to have was kinda cold up front when the OAT was 0F and downright chilly in the back. Plus the heat in the twin comes on long before the engine warms up on takeoff and that's real easy to appreciate in the Minnesota winter.

 

[Everskyward]

I think the thing is that piston twins have combustion heaters which may or may not work well. The one in the C-320 I flew was pretty bad, even after repeated tries at maintenance. It could be relied on to quit above FL180 when you needed it the most.

 

[Ted]

The real problem in the Aztec is all the air leaks. Otherwise, the heater itself belts out plenty of heat and does work, keeps me warm enoug above freezing in daylight. Taking off from WV62 before dawn I turned the heater on and it was nice and toasty on the ground (a definite plus). Once in the air it worked well, just not great. If I got the air leaks fixed it would probably be fine.

By comparison, the Archer I was flying along last night right at freezing (but very much night) and it has a tight cabin with few leaks. The Mooney also always kept me plenty warm, even on cold night flights. If I can get the Aztec sealed up a bit better (main thing there is the door seals), I think that would probably solve most of the issues.

I've also never had the spark plug go out on the heater in a single, but then again I haven't gotten CO poisoning from the heater in a twin (yet).

 

[gismo]

I've also never had the spark plug go out on the heater in a single, but then again I haven't gotten CO poisoning from the heater in a twin (yet).

Well I've had more than one spark plug go out on the "heater" in a single and coincidentally the engine began to run rough too. And supposedly the gas heaters are designed so that the air pressure on the combustion side is lower than the pressure on the heated air side so a leak shouldn't put CO into the cabin. That's the theory anyway.

 

[nyoung]

My children (now almost 5 and 2.5) have been flying with us since they were several months old. When they were really small, we used hats and earmuffs, and flew at a reduced power setting to help reduce noise.

Now... they both wear headsets (sort of anyway).

My 5 year old is obsessed with flying, and fortunately, will wear a headset for an entire flight... My 2.5 yr old will wear the headset for 10 minutes at a time. She has no interest in keeping it on for the duration of a flight. It doesn't matter if we put music or a movie through the headset. So, I think each kid is different - and there is no way to tell how your kids will handle it until flying with them. One idea that worked for us is to have the kids try on headsets at home so that they can get used to them prior to being in the airplane.

We are using Softcomm C-45 childrens models. Red for him. Purple for her. http://www.skygeek.com/c-45-10.html
Inexpensive, but they fit relatively small heads well, have a volume adjustment, and a boom mic adjustment.

 

[Rob Schaffer]

Ted:

for my daughters, the Sig S-20 fits them alright, and they were 4 when I first took them up. They did like hearing themselves talk though, from the sidetone, and that's when pilot isolate helped

For a 2 year old, I'd suggest using the car seat they are most likely going to have to take with them anyway, as it will provide better support and comfort for the child. Might want to have the parent put some foam ear plugs in before the flight to see how the child reacts, and then put the head set overtop as well. You are more than welcome to borrow a S-20 from me if you want, I have two of them. You may also want to go to Wal-mart and get a pair of shooting muff's, as they won't have the mic, but may be able to be adjusted better for the fit and also cost a lot less.

Be sure the parent has a sippy cup with water or a light juice (not apple typically, as it may upset the stomach) for the child for takeoff. They usually will drink a little when you give it to them and maybe in the climb, which would help with any pressure adjustment. I've found that Allison stay's awake for flying, and Isabella pretty much falls asleep shortly after I level off in cruise.

500 fpm decents, are recommended from everything I've read for children flying.

Stuffed animal or blanket they are familiar with usually helps the comfort and they go sleep quicker :smile:

 

[steingar]

Ted, why on Earth are you flying 2-year olds around? Is there something we should know about?

 

[Ted]

Ted, why on Earth are you flying 2-year olds around? Is there something we should know about?

"Baby, it's what's for dinner!"