Ear protection for children

[aircraftnut1966]

Hello to all, I am looking for advice on how best to protect my grandaughters ears should I take my daughter and my grandaughter flying in my 172. Briefly I took both of our kids in car seats when they were under a year old and they have no hassles with hearing now. However my daughter is ultra cautious and brought up the point of potential harm to the babies hearing, a valid point I feel(never thought of it when my kids were small! feeling like a terrible parent now). Anyhow any suggestions would be helpful. I am also going to see my doc in a couple of weeks so I will be asking if there are any worries of harm to the childs hearing. I just can't see how it would be any louder than the darn dog barking close to her! but who knows?
Thanks in advance and all sarcastic comments please leave at home(you know who you are)

[_dwj_]

While I don't think one flight is unlikely to cause any permanent damage, it's probably better to err on the side of caution. When I took up a friend with their young kids, they just used those little moulded earplugs for the infant as far as I can remember (the ones you put inside your ear). You could also look for cheap earmuff protectors, but I'm not sure if you can get them for infants.

[paydaymayday]

Good to hear your first and foremost concern is the long-term health of your granddaughter. I would just add a word of caution regarding ear plugs... make sure whatever style you use does not restrict airflow into the ear canal... could be a terrible way to rupture the eardrum with the pressure change. I know you're not talking about the in-ear types that you roll up, but you never know.

[Dash-Ate]

Mutt Muffs??

http://www.safeandsoundpets.com/index.html

[summitx]

I flew a lot of kids while spending a few summers doing a sight seeing gig. We had specific child molded in ear plugs that seemed to work well. I also have used these with my own kids. They won't tolerate them for long flights but are ok for under 1 hr. If you can find a good drug store they will stock them or order them in for you. Also the doc may have some suggestions on where to get them. I also think I've seen them in the larger airport shops that sell stuff to enhance comfort when flying. A bigger issue I found with young kids was clearing ears when descending. The young ones don't do this naturally and it can get really painful for them. Watch your descent rates, get them to talk while descending or chew gum or suck on some hard candy. This sometimes helps.

[iflyforpie]

I used simple ear defenders for my kids.

Worked for my son (2) and daughter (4 mo) on their first ever flight. My daughter's didn't have any problem staying on when she was in the car seat.





500 FPM descent rates are a must!

[snoopy]

And don't forget "Doggles"... http://www.doggles.com/

http://www.safeandsoundpets.com/page/page/5038555.htm

...'cause some of us have children with 4 legs...



ok ok... for you 2 legged parents:

http://www.tagpilotsupply.com/index.asp ... tegory=192

http://www.google.com/products?client=o ... e&resnum=4

Used: http://www.avionicslist.com/listing_det ... ICE+%2A%2A

Kirsten B.

[beaverbob]

Here is another link.

http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/ea ... ldren.html

[xsbank]

Great kid-photos!

Good links to the other dog stuff too.

Thanks!

[bombardierfixer]

Yeah the ear defenders work best for our kid. Supposedly (could be complete BS) the muffs provide better protection because they protect the area behind the ear which can also be affected by the resonance vibrations, not just the ear canal.