Originally Posted by ecrispy

I think IFEs are probably the one thing that has improved for certain when flying. In almost every other respect the experience keeps getting worse due to airlines cost cutting and penny pinching. I speak of course for economy passengers and all airlines as a whole not just the premium ones.

I've also found the more frequent fliers are the ones who never watch the IFE, either too bored or too busy working. I find it impossible to sleep on a flight so finding some good content to watch is the only salvation, that and the food, as I'm not one of those with 50 movies on their fancy 12" iPad.

Tried to read books with the light on but that gets very tiresome on a plane for some reason yet it works great in a waiting room or on a a bus/train. Mystery that.

Originally Posted by LapLap

I’m going to guess that you haven’t yet got noise reducing headphones, the kind that neutralise the sounds of a plane.
I learned about them here on these Flyertalk forums years ago and it’s the one single purchase that has made the most impact on how I feel when flying.
I’d advise borrowing a pair first if you can before making the investment. If that isn’t possible, consider how you feel when in a changing room or bathroom when the hand dryers are working - even if you don’t sense yourself uncomfortable when the noise is happening, do you get a sense of relief when it stops and a comparative silence is restored? If so, I definitely recommend them for you, and the greater the sense of relief, the stronger my recommendation.