What's a safe volume level for someone who flies a lot?

Q: Hi , I wish to know what's the safe level volume to be used with In ear monitoring headphones , I'm a young commercial pilot who recently got selected with an airline n so I was wondering the music I hear from day to day life , does it damage my hearing capabilities?

A: Safe volume = lowest volume that you can listen comfortably

Keep in mind that counting the number of bars on a phone's scale may not objectively reflect the intensity or loudness of sound exposure. Measuring decibels is the only objective way of quantifying sound levels, but that's often difficult to do ith IEMs. The good news is that typically folks listen to music at lower dB levels with IEMs than full size headphones because IEMs are in your ear canal and seal better.

If you are flying a lot, probably tthe most important thing is to resist the temptation to increase the volume of the music as external ambient noise increases. Drowning noise with more noise is never a good idea.

Wax on, wax off

Q: How do you clean IEM sound tunnel/canal? My IEMs always end up with a lot of wax deposited inside the little tube.

A: Many IEMs come with their own cleaning tool. Alternatively, you can DIY your own with some thin wire (make a loop) or use something like a toothpick or safety pin (carefully!). Avoid using chemicals or dipping the IEM in solvents. Debrox (hydrogen peroxide) may be a good choice to clean ear canals, but it's a terrible choice to clean IEM canals, b ecause the peroxide fizzes and gets everywhere.