I own the Shure E2's and I have a question for those of you who use IEM's while flying. When do you put your IEM's in and how do you keep the altitude changes from creating unbearable ear pressure?
Good question; I put them partly in (move them a little out of the canal) when I board. People that board are so noisy, but, because I usually get an aisle seat, I can can still see if someone needs help with luggage, etc. After about 3 min after take-off, I put them further in and drift off...
Originally Posted by bubsdaddy I own the Shure E2's and I have a question for those of you who use IEM's while flying. When do you put your IEM's in and how do you keep the altitude changes from creating unbearable ear pressure?
I use a pair of Earplanes plugs (available at airport stores usually) during takeoff and landing, because I'm quite sensitive to those pressure changes. I don't run electronics until reaching cruising altitude, so the IEMs go in at that point. I suppose the IEM tips might also prevent the unbearable ear pressure from taking place
I generally wait until my ears stop popping, which usually means we're at or close to the cruising altitude for the flight.
One time, I was asleep when we landed and my UM2's were still in my ears. There was some pretty serious pressure built up from a combination of the seal of the UM2's and the decent. OUCH!
When I wore IEMs during takeoff and landing, my ears didn't pop at all; I only had mild discomfort. However it hurts much more when I didn't wear IEMs.
It was my experience too that having the iems in reduced discomfort (not that I suffer much anyway.) I was pretty surprised that the stewardess didn't complain, though I don't know if it's due to so many people wearing earplugs/iems or if she just didn't notice the e3s. (Ipod was off, but how was she to know that?)
I also noticed that I have less discomfort during takeoff and landing when I have them in. I tend to yawn a lot when during this time as well, so even when I don't have them in, I don't have too much of a problem. I just don't like it when the stewardess comes around and says, "make sure that iPod is off, sir," and I have to take out the plugs and go, "I'm sorry?"
I usually leave mine out until the call that you can use electronic devices come out. I have difficulties with sinuses and know all the ways to open my tubes. I have recently started leaving the plugs in for landing, without any difficulty.
Originally Posted by bubsdaddy I own the Shure E2's and I have a question for those of you who use IEM's while flying. When do you put your IEM's in and how do you keep the altitude changes from creating unbearable ear pressure?
Here's the deal: you will be advised not to use "portable electronic devices," including music players, during takeoff and landing. So during the significant altitude changes there is no particular reason to have the IEM's in your ears, unless you just want to use them to block out noise.
If you want to deal generally with the issue of changing pressure on your eardrums during takeoffs and (especially) landings, you might consider chewing gum or sucking on lozenges.
I wear ER-20's for takeoff and landing, then switch to and from my IEMs when the "personal electronic devices" announcement is made.
From time to time during the flight I break the seal to re-equalize pressure a little bit, but that's not much trouble. Seems to work fine for me. And I don't notice any pressure problems with the ER-20's during ascent and descent.
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