A video of a woman appearing bewildered by the noise level on a plane has gone viral on TikTok.
The clip was shared by @hannahzaslawski and has had over 636,000 views since it was posted six days ago.
A message overlaid on the video says: “POV [point of view]: You wear noise cancelling headphones on a plane for the first time.”
A woman is sitting in what appears to be a seat on a plane while wearing headphones. She appears shocked after lifting one of the headphone ears and the background sound heard in the clip appears louder. After placing the headphones back on her ear before taking them off and back on again, she continues to look startled as she leans back in her seat before the clip ends.
A caption shared with the post reads: “honestly never realized how LOUD planes actually are.”
Noises on a plane can be more than startling and may even contribute to a fear of flying, which was found to be prevalent among around 10 to 40 percent of people in the industrialized world, according to a June 2021 study in Frontiers in Psychology.
An April 2019 in Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance noted that the “fear of flying is one of the most common phobias” and “even though flight traffic has increased, there are new fears.”
The study, which looked at flight anxiety reported from 1986 to 2015, found that “turbulence, unknown sounds, and fear of terror attacks caused the most anxiety.”
But many of the unexplained sounds you hear on a plane are nothing to worry about and indicate the status of the flight, such as when the aircraft has cleared “a high-threat environment.”
For example, one of the most common chime sounds you might hear indicates that the plane is climbing through 10,000 feet, Kyle Koukol, a 29-year-old airline pilot based in San Francisco, previously told Newsweek.
When the plane is below 10,000 feet, “we consider that to be what we call a high-threat environment,” he said.
‘The Best Thing I Bought’
Users on TikTok could relate to the latest post, with several praising the use of noise-canceling headphones on a plane.
Winter wonderland wrote: “Aha That plane noise giving me anxiety.”
User beeppoop44 said: “Noise cancelling was practically invented for airplanes…if it’s good at anything – it’s good for this!”
Saugat said: “Indeed. I had them for 8 months, and didn’t have chance to use their full potential but during 15hr flight, damn they were”
Beemo noted: “Noise cancelling headphones also helped with my anxiety to flying. Not being able to listen to the engine reduces the anxiety greatly.”
Others didn’t mind the noises on a plane, such as user @spookydoughnutss who said: “I like that sound tho.”
Joana Sandoval said: “Airplane noise is considered a white noise that has a calming effect.”
User lycheecosmos wrote: “Aeroplane noise is damn comforting when there’s no turbulence.”
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok and email. This video has not been independently verified.
Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty
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Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.