An airline passenger has suffered burns to her face and hands after her headphones exploded mid-flight.

The unnamed woman fell asleep listening to music on her own battery-operated headphones during a recent flight from Beijing to Melbourne. Around two hours into the journey she was woken by an explosion.

"As I went to turn around I felt burning on my face," she told the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB). "I just grabbed my face which caused the headphones to go around my neck.

"I continued to feel burning so I grabbed them off and threw them on the floor. They were sparking and had small amounts of fire."

She allowed pictures to be taken of her injuries, which showed her face covered in soot from the explosion and burn blisters on her hand.

Flight attendants extinguished the fire with a bucket of water and the remains of the headphones were melted and stuck to the floor of the aircraft.

The woman said the smell of melted plastic and burnt electronics left passengers "coughing and choking the entire way home."

Safety officials have issued a warning over using battery-operated devices on planes following the incident.

The ATSB advises: