Preventing RV-Induced Hearing Loss -A Solution?

[nucleus]

I fly a 6A with what I consider to be a very quiet prop, and a great noise canceling headset, and yet I still experience hearing loss after flying my RV.

I thought that using some super-duper Shure earphones under the headset would be the perfect solution, but their non-aviation wiring picks up interference.

I tried foam earplugs but they blocked too much noise. The headset speakers distorting at the high volume needed, and they attenuated too much at the higher frequencies so everything sounded muffled.

Yesterday, I stumbled on what may be the solution:

High-Fidelity Earplugs

Apparently these were developed for rock musicians, they attenuate but preserve the normal frequency balance, here is a blurb from their website:

"ETY?Plugs? are the world?s highest fidelity non-custom earplugs. They reduce most noise to safe levels while preserving the clarity of speech and the richness of music. ETY?Plugs are configured to replicate the natural response of the ear canal so that when sound enters the earplug, it is reproduced unchanged, exactly the same as the ear would hear it, only quieter." -from http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er20.html

They are cheap on Amazon, and I have a set on the way, which will be flight tested soon. I'm thinking the 20db reduction vs 27db for foam should let me still hear the radio but prevent all hearing loss.

By the way, you can screen your own hearing pretty easily with a website like this: http://www.audiocheck.net/audiotests...ycheckhigh.php

When I was young I could hear up to 22K, now it is more like 15K.

One other thing, there appears to be a link between sub-optimal zinc status and hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo. If you have any of the above, it probably wouldn't hurt to take some zinc picolinate every day. Optimal zinc intake prevents and reduces scar tissue, which I believe is the major mechanism for noise-related hearing loss.

Just wanted to share my own efforts to not have this great hobby of ours damage my hearing.

Yours in health,

[Neal@F14]

RV's are tremendously noisier inside than a typical factory spamcan.

Lightspeed Zulu Headsets solve the noise problem for me. I've found no other headset works as well in an RV, not even a Bose... which I got to A-B test the Bose alongside the Zulu in an RV-8.

[nucleus]

Yep, Zulu's rock, that is what I use. I still get hearing loss after flights though.

Hans

[Daver]

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[Ron Lee]

How do you know that you have hearing loss? I have ZERO indication of such a problem from my 6A. What do you use to quantitatively determine hearing loss?

[Ironflight]

Originally Posted by Ron Lee

How do you know that you have hearing loss? I have ZERO indication of such a problem from my 6A. What do you use to quantitatively determine hearing loss?

Thanks to my employer, I have years of hearing test data that shows I have a bit of a noise-induced hearing gloss. Nothing that affects my ability to do anything, but since I am closing in rapidly on 40 years in the cockpit (much of it in noisy things like Cubs and canopied GA aircraft), it is measurable.

Thats why when I was looking at a new headset, I took the data from the various models to my Flt Surgeon, and they took a look as well. I ended up with the Halo because it not only was light and allowed a wide brimmed hat to be used (skin cancer is another risk of RV canopies!), but it beat out all of the ANR headsets in the frequencies that do much of the damage.

Paul

[Bob Axsom]

See above. I use common David Clarks.

Bob Axsom

[L.Adamson]

Well, I like my Telex Stratus digital ANRs. Suppose to be good for 50 decibles.

L.Adamson --- RV6A

[trib]

My solution is to use the comply earphones, which are designed to attenuate noise and provide hearing for persons who are hard of hearing, INSIDE of my noise cancelling headphones. I simply plug these into the headphone jack for the speaker, and only plug in my microphone jack for the headset. The comply speakers are inserted in my ear (I purchased these when considering the in-the-ear project from another thread) and then I put on my headset and turn on its ANR system. I then have 3 levels of noise attenuation. The passive headset reduction, the ANR headset reduction and the passive comply foam plug reduction, but the speaker from the comply foam plugs is not affected by any of the noise reduction! This has greatly increased my ease in hearing radio communication due to the clarity.

[jjconstant]

...was when we were doing the concert videos for S & M with Metalicca. We knew it was going to be LOUD, so I went to an audiaulogist and got the most fancy custom molded earplugs he had. I think they were for shooting and could be fitted with little snap in pieces for various Db of attenuation.

What I hadn't counted on was that, when wearing headsets, the material CONDUCTS the sound from the headset directly into your ear, especially the little handle piece that is used to pull the plug out. The headset we were using for the video weren't great at sound attenuation (mostly used to hear the mix from the other instruments), so it was way better to use the trusty yellow foam. When I try the yellow EAR foam under the Bose it is too quiet and I can't get enough gain on the radio.

I just had my flight physical and the AME and I discussed the etymotics. I then told him of, Paul's (I think) trick of freezing the yellow jobs and drilling for replacements to the in-ear kind, and we figured if you got some small plastic tubing to keep it from collapsing, you would have the perfect solution for both under headsets and for me at work when things get loud on stage.

I'm going to give it a try and report back.

Jeremy