Don't Lose Your Earbuds on the Plane
1 min readPublished
Airline and government rules change. Check your airline's current rules before you travel.
Quick answer
Take your earbuds out and put them back in their case before you fall asleep. If one does fall into the seat, tell a flight attendant instead of moving an electric seat around to look for it.
Losing an earbud on a plane is easy, annoying, and — if you go looking for it the wrong way — worth taking seriously.
Part of: Flying for the First Time, Flying with Anxiety, Flying for Business
General advice — applies wherever you fly
Where a lost earbud ends up
One of the easiest things to lose on a plane is a wireless earbud. You fall asleep with your AirPods in, your head moves, and one disappears between the seat and the wall or somewhere underneath you. Then everyone is looking for a tiny white earbud while people are trying to get off the plane.
General advice — applies wherever you fly
Case them before you sleep, and tell the crew if one drops
If you're going to sleep, take them out and put them back in their case. If you really want to sleep with headphones, over-ear headphones are much harder to lose. And if an earbud does fall somewhere inside the seat, don't start moving an electric seat around trying to find it. Tell a flight attendant. A tiny earbud can get caught inside the seat mechanism and crushing a lithium-battery device isn't something you want happening inside an airplane.
Next step
Flying for the First TimeRelated guides
- Where to Put Your Carry-On — and Why the Bin You Choose MattersWhich overhead bin to use, what to do when they're full, and how to avoid your bag getting gate-checked or ending up rows away.
- Before You Board: Three Things That Make It EasierHave your boarding pass open, carry your backpack in front of you, and use the terminal bathroom first. Three small habits that make boarding easier.
- Once You're Seated: Three Small CourtesiesReclining while the row behind you eats, why the crew stops serving hot drinks in turbulence, and why the belt stays loosely fastened when the sign is off.
- A Pre-Flight Checklist for Nervous FlyersA step-by-step checklist for anxious flyers — the week before, the night before, the airport and your seat — with what the FAA says about turbulence.