Do babies need Ear muffs for flying

Circumstances sometimes arise that may require you to travel by air with your baby, and even as adults, air travel can be pretty tricky. So naturally, you are worried about your baby. This is where earmuffs come in. Earmuffs are like super comfortable headsets worn by babies (and adults) to protect the ear. Flight does more than you can imagine to the body of a human. Do babies need ear muffs for flying? So, yes! Babies need earmuffs whenever they are in any form of aircraft. Just so you know what you are dealing with, here are some of the changes that affect the ear (and, by extension, body balance when flying).

Noise: Air travel, especially during takeoffs, can be quite noisy. So that you know, babies’ eardrums are pretty fragile and sensitive to slight changes in vibration.

Pressure: There is a significant drop in air pressure as a plane accelerates. Pressure changes are linked to the human ear and body balance.

There is a change in Temperature – There is a significant drop in temperature at high altitudes. The higher you go, the colder it gets.

Although planes and aircraft are optimized to regulate these conditions to fit the human tolerance range, babies are still at risk. The body physiology is still some years short of an average human. Due to -these, earmuffs are very important when you intend to travel by air with your baby.

How To Choose The Right Flight Earmuffs For Your Baby

Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well, so they say. If you will protect your baby during flights, it is better you do it well by getting proper earmuffs. Here are some of the things you need to look out for if you want to get one for your baby

1. It Must be of the Right Size

An earmuff may sometimes be bad for your baby, not because of the brand or the design. It could just be the size. Imagine wearing a bigger headset than you, even as an adult. It is the same in babies. Bigger earmuffs are practically useless because the baby is still exposed to the exact things you protect them from.

Therefore, you should never forget to look out for the sizes. The earmuffs must not be big and flappy; they must also not be too tight. To save you the stress of finding the right size, you could get an adjustable earmuff. That way, you can customize the size to your baby’s head size and shape.

2.  It must be able to cancel sound

Not all earmuffs are built for keeping sound out. You should ensure to inquire about earmuffs that have noise cancellation features. Better still, the material the earmuff is made of could give you a little bit of an idea of how effective it would be in this context.

For instance, an earmuff made of cushioned leather may be twice as effective as that made of wool. It all really boils down to being observant.

3. It must be comfortable

Of what use is an earmuff if your baby is not comfortable with it and you need to remove it after a couple of minutes. You should only purchase earmuffs with pads made of cushioned material that gives the sensation of soft wool. You don’t want anything hurting your baby’s ears, do you?

The earmuff should be cushioned and lightweight enough for the baby to wear for the long hours of your travel. If it is painful, heavy, or too tight, it may cause the baby to cry and not serve any meaningful purpose.

As an extra, your baby could use a little spice of class and style. You could also filter through your options and choose an earmuff that makes your baby look super classy. You could do further to choose on color, shape, and brand.

However, it would help if you never forgot to prioritize safety, performance, and comfort before this. No point in a fashionable earmuff that cannot protect your baby’s ears.

Is Flying Bad For Babies

Flying with a baby should not necessarily be a thorn in the flesh for parents. Of course, they are some changes associated with air travel.

However, with the proper preparation and safety precautions, you can fly your baby safely without having to worry about an after-sickness.

Here are some of the changes that are inevitable in air travel and the corresponding safety measures when flying with your baby

Breathing changes – There is a significant difference in air pressure on land, plane cabin, and air. However, this pressure-induced breathing change would not pose any challenge to your baby since your baby does not have any respiratory complications.

Pressure Differences and earing – As you ascend, there is a significant drop in the air pressure. This effect on the ear can be painful, especially if air enters the baby’s middle ear. However, there are many ways to keep this pressure change in check, and they will be discussed in another section of this piece.

Baby’s sitting – There are a lot of questions regarding how a baby should sit or sleep in an airplane. You must never forget that you cannot lap a baby in an airplane. You also have to remember that you cannot just place your baby on any flat surface to sleep. When flying with your baby and your baby feels sleepy, don’t carry the baby.

The safest means of protecting the baby is by bucking the baby to a seat in the airplane. You should adjust the seat buckle to hold your baby without making the baby uncomfortable.

The only other safe alternative would be to use airplane bassinets. But, even with these, you still have to get your baby strapped into a seat just in case of airline turbulence.

Dos And Don’ts Of Flying With A Baby

1. Do Change Your Baby’S Diapers

You should never forget to change your baby’s diaper before the flight. This makes every other thing easy. During the flight, you need your baby to feel as comfortable as possible so that you don’t have to tend to them throughout the flight. For that to happen, your baby has to be dry.

Wet diapers are an automatic invitation to a lot of crying. Also, you could use the plane’s bathroom to change your baby’s diaper when you notice bowel movement or signs of wetness, even during flight. Summarily, we recommend that you always fly with a dry baby.

2. Do Not Feed Your Baby Heavy Food

You should not feed your baby heavy food before and during takeoff. This is necessary for two reasons; first, it reduces the chances of bowel movement and wet diapers.

Secondly, it reduces the possibility of your baby throwing up when the aircraft is in motion. Babies are very sensitive to motion, and a little motion sickness could cause them to throw up whatever heavy food they had taken. You can imagine the consequent discomfort and the stress of cleaning up.

3. Do Not Use A Sleep Inducing Drug On Your Baby

This practice is prevalent because parents deem it more comfortable to travel with a sleeping baby. However, experts have opined and proven the dangers in this practice. In some cases, these drugs may do the exact opposite of what they are supposed to do and make the baby restless for the rest of the flight. In addition to that, international air travel may trigger an adjustment in a baby’s sleep rhythm; it is not safe to tamper with that before the brain does.

In other cases, these drugs induce unnecessary fatigue and dizziness on the baby long after the flight. To avoid dangerous side effects, don’t use any drugs for the baby without the prescription of an expert pediatrician.

4. Do Dress Up Your Baby In Layers

Due to the temperature differences in air, you should bring fluffy and warm clothes along to dress your baby. It is not always necessary to do this, but you have to be prepared just if the situation calls for it.

Also, you should make sure the clothes you bring with you make it easy for you to change the baby’s diapers. That is very important because you never can tell what your baby’s bowels and bladder can pull during the flight. Finally, you should bring clothe changings for your baby, just in case one gets soiled.

5. Do Not Fly A Baby With Respiratory Complications

Except in extreme cases of emergency (in which you have to seek the doctor’s advice), do not fly with newly born babies or babies that have respiratory and heart complications. This is very important because you would be shuffling between zones of different oxygen levels. In addition, it could turn out that their lungs, heart rate, and blood flow cannot keep up and maintain balance.

6. Do Bring Enough Distractions

This is a measure just in case your baby does not sleep during the flight. You need something to keep them glued to the seat after strapping the baby in. That is where toys, short videos, and the likes come in. You can never be too careful with a baby during a flight.

Do babies need ear muffs for flying

Babies most of the time adjust to ear pressure by swallowing and yawning. They definitely do not have the slightest clue on relieving sudden change in pressure when a plane takes off or lands. To avoid ear pain and discomfort Babies should put on ear protection when travelling on a plane.

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How do I protect my Baby’s ears when flying

To protect your baby’s ears during flight, here are the things you should do;

• You can breastfeed your baby during takeoff and landing because when they suck on something, it helps equalize ear pressure in the middle ear. Similarly and instead of breastfeeding, you could use a feeding bottle. Just make sure the baby has something to suck on.
• Give your baby little bits of water when flying. This is simple; the body needs moisture for the nasal and ear region to keep the mucus from thickening. That way, the ear is not blocked from thick mucus.
• Baby pain relief drugs, too, can help minimize ear pain when you fly with your baby. Just make sure your baby takes it at least half an hour before takeoff.
• You could give your baby something to gnaw at or much on during the flight. The constant motion of the mouth is instrumental to balancing air pressure in the air when flying.

Use earmuffs for your baby when flying to prevent damage to the eardrum, air influx into the middle ear, and the subsequent pain accompanying these two situations.