Do Noise Canceling Headphones Help With Airplane Pressure: Avoiding Earaches and Pain

Flying can be a delightful experience, but the pressure isn’t comfortable. Noise-canceling headphones are a great way to block out unwanted sound, but will they also help with that pressure inside your head? I’ll explain how noise-canceling headphones help and what they cannot do. Fortunately, reducing that takeoff and landing pain is as simple as popping your ears, and I can help you with that as well. Many techniques release pressure. Moreover, those headphones are beneficial on long flights for other reasons. You can fly comfortably, and avoid the cabin noise easily, and without the pressure-based ear pain. I’ll show you how.

Do noise-canceling headphones help with airplane pressure? Noise-canceling headphones do not help with airplane pressure. Moreover, you’re not allowed to use headphones during landing and takeoff when the pressure is most intense. However, they can help reduce distractions and minimize the cabin noise while you fly, and there are other ways to pop your ears to help with pressure.

 

How Do Noise Cancelling Headphones Work

Although you cannot use noise-canceling headphones to stop the pressure when you fly, the technology is incredible. There are two different types of these headphones. Passive noise-canceling headphones simply block sound; meanwhile, active noise-canceling headphones work to dampen sound with sound.

A passive noise canceller is using dense material to stop soundwaves. Not unlike earplugs, the material absorbs most of the sound waves. Hence, it stops that wave from vibrating your eardrum, and you don’t perceive the sound around you.

Typically this blocks around seventy percent of background noise. However, it’s worth noting that you can combine earplugs with noise-canceling headphones for more effective sound prevention.

An active noise canceling headphone works differently. Unlike the passive variety, these require a power source. Using a microphone, active n-c headphones can ‘hear’ whatever sound is around you.

To cancel that sound out, your active headphones will actually emit a sound that is opposite the background noise. When these two waves meet, they quite literally cancel each other out. Resultantly, no sound reaches you because the waves are still.

I recommend Mpow H19 IPO Active Noise Cancelling Headphones to keep the sound out on those long flights. Not only do these charge quickly, but they work as a Bluetooth device as well. Moreover, at just eight-point four seven ounces, they won’t weigh you down. Find out more on Amazon by clicking here.

Why Do You Feel Pressure When Wearing Noise Canceling Headphones

This unique phenomenon is not actual pressure. When you feel ‘pressure’ like your ears need to pop because you’ve put on noise-canceling headphones, it’s actually just a trick. Your ears are no longer picking up low-frequency noise.

Because of the sudden change, your brain interprets it as a pressure change. If it makes you feel better, yawn, or swallow. However, this too is a trick, and only works for some people because the perceived pressure change is actually an auditory illusion.

You don’t need to do anything for the feeling to fade. It will stop in a little while as your brain gets used to having less noise in your eardrums.

 

Why Noise Cancelling Headphones Don’t Help With Pressure From an Airplane

When you’re flying, it may seem like headphones that stop noise should also stop pressure. However, sound waves and overall cabin air pressure are different issues. Even inside your headphones, you will feel the air around your ears.

As you ascend the volume of air above you becomes less, and it presses in on your plane less. The sheer weight is reduced, not unlike swimming up from a deep pool. Since there’s less pressing in on you, your ears are trying to adjust. Similarly, as you land the pressure increases because the weight of air around you is greater.

We don’t tend to think of air as having weight because it weighs less than anything on earth. However, that’s not the case. It’s just less noticeable. Just as a stiff breeze puts horizontal pressure on you, moving up and down in the atmosphere changes the pressure as well. That includes the air inside your headphones and ears.

Grab a set of high-quality Toshiba Noise Cancelling Bluetooth Headphones to reduce the noise of a plane cabin. At twenty hours of noise-canceling time or talk time, these incredible headphones will get you through any flight. Plus, they come in three color choices to match your outfit, so you’ll look great and relax more easily. See the Amazon reviews for yourself by clicking here. 

How to Pop Your Ears While Flying

Popping your ears will help reduce the pressure during a flight. No one likes the feeling that something is pushing in on their head and ears. The great news is that you don’t need to put up with the pain and discomfort. Anyone can pop their ears to relieve that pressure.

Some people prefer to chew gum during takeoff and landing because working your jaw can cause your ears to depressurize. However, if you’re not a gum-chewing type, don’t worry. There are other techniques, as well.

Drinking a sip of water every few seconds as the pressure builds will also pop your ears. When you swallow, it causes the pressure to equalize. You can also do this with other liquids, or even without anything. Additionally, eating those in-flight peanuts slowly works the same way. It’s the swallowing that causes the pop rather than what you’re taking in, if anything.

Another option is to suck hard candy. Even a cough drop can help. Both of these things cause you to swallow without thinking about it, and they work the same as food or drinks for depressurizing your ears. Yawning will also help.

Finally, some people prefer to close their mouths, hold their noses, and blow out. Doing this causes the pressure inside your head to pop those ears and equalize the pressure as well. If you’re traveling with children, it’s a good idea to teach them these tricks as well. Otherwise, you may have an unhappy child.

The involuntary popping that happens when too much pressure has built up can be quite painful for some people. It’s better to avoid it entirely. Better still, you can use the same trick when driving or traveling by vehicle. If you notice that you’re headed up or down a hill, and that pressure begins to build, swallow a couple of times.

 

Other Uses for Noise Cancelling Headphones

As loud as it gets inside a plane, noise-canceling headphones are a smart item for your carry-on bag, even if they can’t stop the pressure. In addition to reducing noise around you, having less noise has several beneficial side effects. Moreover, you should probably be using those headphones a lot more often. Below is a list of ways noise-canceling headphones help your body.

  • Productivity- More than mere distraction, a British study showed that excess background noise could substantially decrease productivity, memory, and accuracy. Productivity alone can go down by as much as sixty-seven percent. When you need to focus or accomplish anything while flying, using a high-quality set of noise-canceling headphones is a must.
  • Hearing Damage- It may surprise you to learn that the average noise level inside a plane is around eighty decibels. That’s four times louder than most busy offices, and the volume goes up if people are louder than normal. Crying babies, arguing couples, and other loud intrusions aren’t mere annoyances. According to the CDC, prolonged exposure to noise over seventy decibels can cause hearing loss. Wearing your headphones while you fly could save you from permanent damage.
  • Sleep- Not everyone sleeps on planes, but the noise will certainly interfere if you try. Lack of good sleep is linked to numerous deleterious health conditions, including heart disease. It may seem strange that a nap on the plane with your headphones could help prevent a heart attack, but it can.
  • Speech- People who aren’t hearing correctly due to noise may not understand one another. However, loud sounds can also cause trouble with your speech patterns, making it harder to communicate. Sure, headphones may make you raise your voice, but they’re also likely to help you speak clearly if you need to ask for something or answer a question.
  • Stress and Psychological Disorders- People who suffer from stress, high blood pressure, anxiety, and other psychological conditions are more likely to have problems when it’s noisy. We all know a quiet room helps calm you, but we seldom think about finding a quiet space in our everyday noisy travels. Yet, doing this with some noise-canceling headphones can help improve your overall wellbeing.

For longer trips, I recommend Tribit QuietPlus 50 Headphones from Amazon. not only are these great noise-canceling Bluetooth headphones, but they also last up to thirty hours. Designed for a lasting connection, the advanced QCC3003 Bluetooth Chip and CVC 8.0 noise-reducing microphone keep your headspace quieter. Moreover, Tribits come with an EVA carrying case for easy portability. To have Tribit delivered to your door, click here. 

Final Thoughts

Changing your altitude is part of flying. Resultantly, the pressure inside your ears changes and can become uncomfortable, but noise-canceling headphones won’t fix the issue. Instead, swallow or pop your ears by blowing out with your mouth and nose closed.

Still, noise-canceling headphones are extremely useful on a flight. The sound of all those people trapped inside what is essentially a metal echo chamber can be overwhelming. Even without air pressure, noise can cause headaches and pain.

If you want to fly without any pressure, you’ll need to pop your ears and get noise-canceling headphones. No one should touch down with a headache.

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