Air travel can be a real headache for passengers

Headaches that many passengers associate with air travel are becoming a “huge and painful problem,” according to a new report issued by Israeli researchers.

In a study that involved over 900 men and women that had travelled two or more times by air, close to six per cent reported headaches related to flying. With calculations based on the 3.3 billion airline seats available annually and an occupancy rate of 70 per cent, Israel Potasman and fellow researchers at Bnai Zion Medical Center in Haifa, Israel have estimated that over 100 million people each year suffer from headaches that are related to air travel.

Several mechanisms could potentially contribute to headaches occurring during air travel, such as engine noise, poor cabin air quality, changes in barometric press and stress, the researchers noted. In their investigation of the prevalence of headaches associated with flying, they interviewed patients who visited their medical centre’s travel clinic.

More than 20 per cent of those participating in the study reported having headaches at least once monthly, not related to flying, the researchers learned. But approximately half of the 5.7 per cent reporting flight-associated headaches experienced headaches this frequently. They were also somewhat more likely to suffer migraines. Around two-thirds reporting headaches associated with flying were women, and one-third reported a history of headaches in their families.

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