Reduced Hearing on Landing

[loglickychops]

PPruners please help.

I'm a PPL and I tend to find after a hour or so at 5,6,7000 feet my hearing is noticably reduced by the time I cross the threshold. It's not so bad that I can't hear the ATC or passengers etc., just noticable. As an example, I can hear my mobile phone ring in my flight bag across the room at the pilots lounge before I take off. After returning I'd have to have it with me to have a chance of hearing it and would turn up the speaker volume for that 'post flight' call. Then a good yawn clears (I assume) my eustation tube and I'm back to normal.

I plan to go commercial, but my worry is that this could present real problems. Am I destined to be left on the ground?

[Bird Strike]

I am in no way medially qualified, but what you're experiencing may be what's called Temporary Threshold Shift. It's like having hearing difficulties after a noisy pop concert. Are you using a good headset to seal the noise out? Also you may like to consider an Active Noise Cancelling headset.

If it bothers you, it may be worth having your ears checked by an audiologist, as repeated exposure to loud noise can permanently affect your hearing.

Also if this happens only if you have been flying at above certain altitude (as in if it's not noise-induced, but in fact induced by pressure difference), you may wish to see a doctor or an ENT specialist in case there is something going on inside your ears, could even be a simple blockage that is preventing your ears from equalising easily.

[This message has been edited by Bird Strike (edited 03 December 2000).]

[THAI TUN]

I've sometimes noticed a temporary reduction in hearing sensitivity after flying a light plane too. It seems to happen when my ears haven't completely equalised and can often be cleared by yawning or pinching my nose and blowing gently. It clears itself after a while anyway, and I suddenly find I've been talking more loudly than my usual placid manner :-)

[VFE]

loglickychops,
Sounds like the pressure hasn't equalled in your ear. Most find they can remedy this by either:

(a)Pinching the nose and blowing gently.
(b)Swallowing.
(c)Yawning.
(d)Sucking a sweet.

I find (a) works best for me.

Regards, VFE

[loglickychops]

Thanks for the advice. But do professional pilots suffer from or have to deal with this? Do they pinch and gently blow as part of their pre-landing checks? Or do I have a medical condition thast will will fail me on the class 1 or airline interview?

[THAI TUN]

Loglickychops,
I'm no doctor but as you can clear your ears by just yawning and aren't suffering any pain or serious hearing loss I doubt if you have a problem. The only time I have had a problem when flying commercialy was in a Shorts 360 (unpressurised) when I had a cold and that was my own stupid fault. I really was in pain during the descent.
Since I've been flying a (pressurised) ATR I haven't had a problem, ocassionaly I might have to yawn to equalize my ears in the descent and I tend to do it without realising. If I've got a bit of a cold I make sure my eustacian tubes aren't completely blocked by pinching my nose and blowing gently, if they were completely blocked I would call in sick, even if a normal descent didn't cause a problem you must bear in mind the possibility of a sudden depressurisation. If you really think you have a problem then of course you must see a doctor, but if you don't have a problem it might not be wise to jeapordise your future career by looking for one.........

[VFE]

Loglicky,
I have the same thing as you and passed the class 1. As long as you can equallise the pressure then you should be fine.
Get practicing!

VFE.