Low humidity in the aircraft cabin environment and its impact on well-being – Results from a laboratory study

Grün, Gunnar; Trimmel, Michael; Holm, Andreas

doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2011.05.004

Cited by 34 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Several arguments, however, are given for the low humidity in the aircraft cabin. First, having a relative humidity above 25 % is purportedly precluded by the effects of condensation, corrosion and fatigue of the aircraft structure (Haghighat et al 1999;Grün et al 2012). In terms of condensation, even with very low relative humidity the weight of an aircraft increases by several hundred kilograms at cruise altitude because of cold wall condensation; the provision of higher humidity would increase this weight further.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Flying and Low Humidity on the Admittance of the Tympanic Membrane and Middle Ear System

Morse

2013

JARO

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Many passengers experience discomfort during flight because of the effect of low humidity on the skin, eyes, throat, and nose. In this physiological study, we have investigated whether flight and low humidity also affect the tympanic membrane. From previous studies, a decrease in admittance of the tympanic membrane through drying might be expected to affect the buffering capacity of the middle ear and to disrupt automatic pressure regulation. This investigation involved an observational study onboard an aircraft combined with experiments in an environmental chamber, where the humidity could be controlled but could not be made to be as low as during flight. For the flight study, there was a linear relationship between the peak compensated static admittance of the tympanic membrane and relative humidity with a constant of proportionality of 0.00315 mmho/% relative humidity. The low humidity at cruise altitude (minimum 22.7 %) was associated with a mean decrease in admittance of about 20 % compared with measures in the airport. From the chamber study, we further found that a mean decrease in relative humidity of 23.4 % led to a significant decrease in mean admittance by 0.11 mmho [F(1,8)=18.95, P= 0.002], a decrease of 9.4 %. The order of magnitude for the effect of humidity was similar for the flight and environmental chamber studies. We conclude that admittance changes during flight were likely to have been caused by the low humidity in the aircraft cabin and that these changes may affect the automatic pressure regulation of the middle ear during descent.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Flying and Low Humidity on the Admittance of the Tympanic Membrane and Middle Ear System

Morse

2013

JARO

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“…It may be that a higher temperature is required for the method to be successful. Our studies on the effect of humidity on admittance in an environmental chamber were carried out at 23 °C, which is typical of the temperature in an aircraft cabin 20,33 . If temperature is critical for success then the underlying physiological mechanism is unlikely to be the admittance of the tympanic membrane alone.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ineffectiveness of applying moisture to the ear on the incidence and severity of otic barotrauma for air passengers

Morse

Mitchell‐Innes

2018

J. Laryngol. Otol.

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ObjectiveThe application of moisture to the ear is anecdotally claimed to relieve the pain from otic barotrauma that can arise during aircraft descent. This claim was tested in a randomised double-blind study on an aircraft with eight participants heavily predisposed to barotrauma.MethodsOn the outward flight, half the participants wore ‘active’ devices that applied moisture to the external ear; the remainder wore placebo devices that contained no moisture, but were otherwise identical. On the return flight, the groups were reversed. Participants wore the devices from just before descent until landing, unless they experienced symptoms of barotrauma, in which case they switched to what they knew was an active device.ResultsThere were no significant differences between conditions regarding the appearance of the tympanic membrane on landing or the discomfort levels immediately before and after any switch.ConclusionApplying moisture is ineffective for passengers heavily predisposed to otic barotrauma.

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“…This fact may help explain why we are limited in our ability to perceive moisture in the air. Despite this, many studies have noted correlations between perceptions of “dry air” and symptoms such as dry eyes and irritated skin; such symptoms have been particularly investigated in the context of airplane cabins, where the moisture content of air is notably low (Grün et al 2012; Nagda and Hodgson 2001). The mechanism behind perceptions of humidity may, in fact, rely on a combination of factors, including skin wetness and sensation in the respiratory tract (Toftum and Fanger 1999).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health symptoms in relation to temperature, humidity, and self-reported perceptions of climate in New York City residential environments

Quinn

Shaman

2017

Int J Biometeorol

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Background Little monitoring has been conducted of temperature and humidity inside homes despite the fact that these conditions may be relevant to health outcomes. Previous studies have observed associations between self-reported perceptions of the indoor environment and health. Here, we investigate associations between measured temperature and humidity, perceptions of indoor environmental conditions, and health symptoms in a sample of New York City apartments. Methods We measured temperature and humidity in 40 New York City apartments during summer and winter seasons, and collected survey data from the households’ residents. Health outcomes of interest were: 1) sleep quality; 2) symptoms of heat illness (summer season); 3) symptoms of respiratory viral infection (winter season). Using mixed-effects logistic regression models, we investigated associations between the perceptions, symptoms, and measured conditions in each season. Results Perceptions of indoor temperature were significantly associated with measured temperature in both the summer and the winter, with a stronger association in the summer season. Sleep quality was inversely related to measured and perceived indoor temperature in the summer season only. Heat illness symptoms were associated with perceived, but not measured, temperature in the summer season. We did not find an association between any measured or perceived condition and cases of respiratory infection in the winter season. Conclusions Although limited in size, the results of this study reveal that indoor temperature may impact sleep quality, and that thermal perceptions of the indoor environment may indicate vulnerability to heat illness. These are both important avenues for further investigation.

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Low humidity in the aircraft cabin environment and its impact on well-being – Results from a laboratory study

Cited by 34 publications

References 13 publications

The Effect of Flying and Low Humidity on the Admittance of the Tympanic Membrane and Middle Ear System

The Effect of Flying and Low Humidity on the Admittance of the Tympanic Membrane and Middle Ear System

The ineffectiveness of applying moisture to the ear on the incidence and severity of otic barotrauma for air passengers

Health symptoms in relation to temperature, humidity, and self-reported perceptions of climate in New York City residential environments

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