Introduction Many airline jet aircraft have high cockpit noise levels . Noisy cockpits make communication between pilots difficult, increasing the potential for error. Loud cockpits could prevent pilots from hearing warning or alert sounds. Aircraft could be lost because a pilot could not hear ATC, a fellow crewmember, or a warning sound from an aircraft system, sounds that could be masked by high cockpit noise levels.
Pilots are at risk of hearing damage and loss due to noisy jet cockpits.
Because of high ambient noise levels, pilots must turn radio volume levels up to hear ATC communications, further endangering their hearing. Air conditioning subsystems may be turned off by pilots seeking quieter cockpits, reducing passenger comfort. Because the FAA has chosen not to regulate cockpit noise, pilots are legally exposed to dangerous levels of noise in their workplace. In contrast, the FAA has chosen to regulate the noise exposure of its own employees. Under the FAA Human Factors Design Guide regulations, the noise level in an ATC Control Tower cannot exceed 55 dBa, a level dramatically below that routinely experienced by airline pilots.