American Airlines faces hearing loss lawsuit

by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition

Photo credit: Pixabay

American Airlines is facing a federal lawsuit from a pilot after he said he suffered hearing loss at 30,000 feet. I first thought, “Good, someone else is concerned about aircraft cabin noise,” but my initial interpretation of the headline was wrong. As the story describes, the door on a Boeing 737-8 MAX airplane developed a leak, creating a loud high-pitched sound and indicating the danger of the door coming off, resulting in a depressurization catastrophe. A similar event actually happened on another Boeing plane, but catastrophe was narrowly averted.

The pilot didn’t work for American Airlines, but was a commercial pilot for a cargo airline. He stepped up to the emergency, identifying himself as a pilot to the flight crew and for 30 minutes worked to temporarily plug the air leak. While doing so, he was exposed to extremely loud noise. The plane was able to safely make an emergency landing, but the off-duty pilot suffered hearing loss and developed tinnitus as a result. These auditory disorders make it difficult if not impossible to continue working as a pilot, hence his lawsuit.

Though not the topic of this story, aircraft cabin noise can be high enough to cause auditory damage. Most people don’t spend enough time flying for this to be a problem, but the noise exposure may be an occupational hazard for pilots and flight attendants. 

I was quoted on aircraft cabin noise in a recent Washington Post article. The article points out that both pilots and flight attendants with longer work histories report greater hearing loss. It also says that aircraft cabin noise levels are usually 75-85 decibels, but can exceed 110 decibels during takeoff. One of the other experts quoted recommends sitting in front of the wings, but that usually means flying in first or business class. Buying a good pair of noise-canceling headphones is a less expensive way of dealing with aircraft noise.

Hearing loss as we get older is the result of cumulative excessive noise exposure over one’s lifetime. If aircraft cabin noise is loud enough to make someone uncomfortable, I think it’s a good idea to protect one’s hearing with earplugs or noise-canceling headphones. 

*The Quiet Coalition usually avoids mentioning articles behind paywalls. I am making an exception since I was quoted and links to two of my publications were included in the article.