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Key Takeaways
Dog ear protection for flying splits owners in two. On one private pilots’ forum, a pilot said he had flown “over 3000 dogs” without hearing protection, while the next reply argued that dogs’ ears “are damaged by the same noise levels as ours”. Neither side brought numbers.
At Bollsen, we make hearing protection trusted by 1,000,000+ people, including Dog+ over-ear earmuffs for dogs. Our dog hearing protection advice starts from measured sound levels, so this guide gives a sourced dB figure for the airliner cabin, the hold, a light aircraft, the car, a sidecar and a festival field. It also keeps noise and ear pressure apart, because ear muffs only deal with noise.
Do dogs need ear protection when flying?
A commercial airliner cabin runs at about 80–85 dB(A) in cruise, just below the 85–90 dB range where dogs can start to find sound uncomfortable, so ear protection is borderline in an airliner and most useful where you sit beside your dog. The bigger question is whether you may fit it at all.
Ozcan and Nemlioglu measured 60–65 dB(A) before take-off, 80–85 dB(A) in cruise and 75–80 dB(A) on landing (Canadian Acoustics, 2006). A Harvard study of 200 flights by Zevitas and colleagues (2018) found a median of 83.5 dB(A), with some readings above 110 dB(A) and louder levels in seats closer to the engines. The 85–90 dB range comes from Matija Medved, DVM, of the Dr.Vet clinic, and our guide to how loud is too loud for dogs holds the full scale.
Where your dog sits beside you and the carrier rules allow it, our Dog+ earmuffs (SNR 27 dB, sizes XS to L, £69.95) bring a cruise level of about 83 dB down to roughly 57–64 dB at the ear, by our own arithmetic from the M and L ratings, since cabin noise sits mostly in the low and mid range. Small dogs that fly under the seat usually take the XS or S size.
Can your dog fly in the cabin to the UK?
Under the UK rules at the time of writing, only Recognised Assistance Dogs may fly in the cabin of a commercial aircraft into Great Britain, and most pet dogs arrive as manifest cargo, according to the UK Government’s response to petition 587165 (November 2021). Flying out of the UK in the cabin depends on the airline.
Where cabin travel is allowed, the IATA guidance for passengers travelling with a dog in the cabin says the container should not be opened during the flight, which rules out re-seating a slipped muff. IATA sets no requirement or recommendation on ear protection for animals, so no airline asks for it. IATA also advises against sedation, because tranquillisers reduce an animal’s ability to respond to stress in transit.
For the hold, no reliable dB measurement has been published, and the UK Government’s 2021 response describes it as quieter and darker than the cabin. Either way, a dog in an unattended crate cannot be supervised, so ear muffs do not belong there.
Do dogs’ ears pop on planes?
Yes, a dog’s middle ear feels the same cabin pressure change on climb and descent that ours does, and ear muffs do not address it, because they lower sound, not pressure. Under the US FAA certification rule 14 CFR 25.841, cabins are pressurised to no more than the equivalent of 8,000 feet in normal cruise.
Dogs equalise through the Eustachian tube when they swallow, lick or yawn. IATA recommends only a light meal at least 2 hours before the flight, so ask your vet and airline what your dog may have in the carrier. If your dog keeps shaking its head or pawing at an ear after landing, book a vet check.
Is ear protection worth it for a dog in a light aircraft?
A small single-engine cockpit runs at 70–90 dB, according to the FAA brochure “Hearing and Noise in Aviation”, and the dog sits beside its owner for hours, so a light aircraft is where dog ear protection for flying makes the most sense. It is also the one flight where you can check the fit at any point.
Pilots describe the practical side. One owner’s dog “would knock them off his head” on the ground, then left them on once the engine started, as if it “could tell the difference”. Another dismissed cheap muffs as “two plastic cups that don’t fit properly”, and a poor seal does waste most of the rating.
Practise at home first, using our step-by-step routine on how to get a dog to wear ear muffs, then fit them just before engine start rather than on the walk to the aircraft.
How loud is a car journey for a dog?
With the windows closed, a car cabin at 55–75 mph sits at about 71–77 dB, below the range where dogs start to find sound uncomfortable. Mikulec and colleagues (Journal of Laryngology and Otology, 2011) measured 85.3 dB at 55 mph and 89.9 dB at 75 mph with a convertible’s top down, 12.4–14.6 dB louder than closed, and the closed figure above is derived from that study.
Windows down at motorway speed approach the open-top numbers. For a long drive with your dog’s head near an open window, ear muffs bring 85–90 dB to roughly 59–71 dB by our arithmetic. Road rumble is low-pitched, and Dog+ takes off 19 dB at the low end against 29 dB at the high end, which is how much dog ear muffs reduce noise across the range.
Our breakdown of how much dog ear muffs reduce noise explains why engine drone gets through more than wind hiss. Habits built at home carry over too, and our guide to dog ear protection for vacuum and household noise gives everyday chores the same room-by-room dB treatment.
Travel also changes where your dog spends noisy nights. A hotel over New Year can sit right under a fireworks display, and our plan for New Year’s Eve fireworks and dogs covers nights away, alongside our guide to dogs and fireworks for every celebration in the year.
Does a dog need ear protection in a motorcycle sidecar?
Yes, a dog in a motorcycle sidecar faces the loudest regular travel noise in this guide, because wind noise dominates from about 40 mph and the dog has no helmet. A UK study by Binnington, McCombe and Harris (British Journal of Audiology, 1993) measured 90 dB(A) at 40 mph, rising to 112 dB(A) at 100 mph, for a helmeted rider.
The same study found a bareheaded rider consistently 18 dB(A) louder above 10 mph. Nobody has measured a dog in a sidecar, but an uncovered head is closer to the bareheaded case, so we treat every ride above town speed as a muffs-on ride. For the rider, our pillar on motorcycle earplugs covers wind noise under the helmet at every speed.
Should you take your dog to a music festival?
For most dogs, the better choice is home, because the WHO Global Standard for Safe Listening Venues and Events (2022) caps audience sound at 100 dB LAeq over 15 minutes, a ceiling set for human ears. A festival day runs for hours.
Set that 100 dB ceiling against our guide to how loud is too loud for dogs, which carries the vet-sourced thresholds. At a small dog-friendly event, the PDSA advises keeping dogs “a good distance away from the speakers” and watching for “licking their lips, yawning and turning their gaze away”.
If your dog already shows signs of noise anxiety in dogs, such as trembling or hiding at home, a festival is the wrong place to test it, and our guide to noise anxiety in dogs lists the behaviour signs to raise with your vet. For yourself in front of the stage, our page on earplugs for concerts covers filtered options that keep live music clear.
Which travel situations call for dog ear muffs?
Ear muffs are worth fitting where the level reaches the mid 80s dB or more and you are next to your dog to check the fit.
| Scenario | Typical level | Source | Muffs useful? | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airliner cabin, cruise | 80–85 dB(A) | Ozcan & Nemlioglu, 2006 | Rarely possible | IATA: carrier stays closed in flight |
| Cargo hold | No published figure | UK Government, 2021 | No | Unsupervised; described as quieter |
| Light aircraft cockpit | 70–90 dB | FAA | Yes | Owner beside the dog for hours |
| Car, windows closed | About 71–77 dB | Derived from Mikulec, 2011 | Usually not needed | Below the discomfort range |
| Car, windows or roof open | 85–90 dB | Mikulec, 2011 | Yes, on long drives | Wind noise at the window |
| Motorcycle sidecar | 90 dB(A) at 40 mph, helmeted | Binnington et al., 1993 | Yes | No helmet, so louder than the rider |
| Music festival | Up to 100 dB LAeq, 15 min | WHO, 2022 | Better to stay home | Hours near the ceiling |
So does your dog need ear protection to travel?
In an airliner, the rules decide more than the decibels, and muffs never touch ear pressure. In a light aircraft, a car with the windows down or a sidecar, you sit beside your dog in 85 dB or more, and well-fitted muffs that take 19–29 dB off help prevent further noise exposure on every trip.
Practise at home, size the cups properly and fit them just before the engine starts. The journey then stays a journey, and your dog’s hearing arrives in good shape at the other end.
His connection to hearing protection stems from personal experience with sound sensitivity during live events and work in noisy environments, an issue that made him more aware of the long-term risks of unmanaged noise exposure. Today, as both a communicator and a user of BOLLSEN products, he is passionate about raising awareness around the importance of proactive hearing care.
At BOLLSEN, he develops data-driven marketing campaigns, writes SEO-focused articles, and manages communication channels that connect customers with practical knowledge about hearing protection. His work ensures that BOLLSEN’s message—prioritizing health, performance, and sustainability reaches a global audience in an engaging and trustworthy way.
Passionate about writing since childhood, Timotej combines creativity with a strong analytical approach, continuously testing new ideas in digital marketing, performance advertising, and social media. He believes in learning through innovation and collaboration, balancing leadership with openness to new perspectives.
Beyond his professional role, Timotej is committed to a healthy lifestyle and finds inspiration in fitness, sports, and quality time with friends. His personal passion for well-being aligns with BOLLSEN’s core values, making his work not only a career but also a cause he deeply believes in.