A List of Places Where You Could Be Exposed to Loud Noises. Places to Watch Out for.

[Tinker Bell]

Yep, one I've noticed from using a meter is that if you set it to "peak" mode, which means it constantly displays whatever the single loudest sound it's detected are, peaks in any given environment will be way, way higher than the average. If you're in a room where there's some basic conversation happening over light background music, the averages will be in the 65-75 range, but if you lock on the peak you will see occasional spikes to ~100 or even higher when people sneeze, or drop a fork, or laugh uproariously. Such peaks are not dangerous, and using the average is a much better way to assess exposure in usually loud environments.

'Unusually loud' environments, like firing ranges or construction sites are a different story, but impulsive peaks need to be well over the 120db mark to be worrying to me.

I have noticed the same, and this is good insight for anyone worried about loud noises. Exposure to a one second 90dB should not damage the hair cells in our ears.

 

[linearb]

Not working for a living and living off of the land had been a fantasy of mine. Is that what you have been doing? I am asking this as a result of reading the text on your avatar and the quote above...

No, I work from home full time at a normal job, and make a normal salary doing that. It sort of feels like I'm on vacation all the time, though, because I get to live in the woods, I don't have to leave home more than about once a week if I don't want to, and I largely set my own hours. It's a sweet deal and I could my blessings in that regard every day.

We don't need to be dicking around with chopping and hauling trees, raising chickens, having to clear a ton of brush/etc. We could have bought into a much more normal suburban lifestyle for the same price, and live within about 20 miles of where we are now -- we decided it was more exciting to come be yuppie mountain folk. Who knows how I'll feel in 5 years, but for the moment I think it was absolutely the correct choice; I love it here, I love being close enough to things to be able to go grocery shopping, but far enough away that when I walk outside at night all I see are stars and occasional shadows of coyotes or foxes checking me out.

 

[Tinker Bell]

one other little aside about "usually loud" noises: I've often seen people make the claim here that we "didn't evolve" to deal with the kind of really loud noises we're exposed to in cities. I quite agree, and I do think that much of what we consider "age related hearing loss" in the industrialized West, is actually cumulative noise-induced hearing loss from a life spent around cars and guns and construction sites.

That said -- you know what else is incredibly loud? Little kids. We've only got one, and she can belt out sustained bursts of well over 100db when she's mad about something. So, if you think of a "traditional" proto-human living in a cave or other enclosed dwelling, probably surrounded by an entire extended family and a whole ton of little babies who might all be unhappy and screaming at the same time... basically implies that for all of human history we've been exposed to this "unreasonable" noise. So, tinnitus in humans probably goes back at least that far. Of course, by the time you have a bunch of rugrats crawling around your cave, you have fulfilled your evolutionary purpose. I'd say tinnitus is pretty natural, and also clearly doesn't actually affect the ability & desire to procreate very much... since we know that it's got a strong genetic component, it would have been eradicated from the gene pool if it were otherwise.

And, yes, I realize it's an exponential scale and therefore a single Guns & Roses concert at 122db is worse than spending a year in a cave with 110db of screaming primordial human baby.

Another good point. We do live in a loud industrial society but even nature is loud. The ocean, thunder, hurricane force winds, tornadoes, volcanoes erupting, earthquakes, animals in nature, etc.

In fact, one of the loudest sounds in recorded history was the volcanic eruption of Krakatoa in 1883. The sound was so loud that it ruptured eardrums of people 40 miles away. The sound could be heard for 3,000 miles away and was reported to be around 180dB.

https://www.sciencealert.com/the-wo...ed-shock-waves-100000-that-of-a-hydrogen-bomb

 

[Bill Bauer]

When my T wasn't too bad when I woke up today, I thought that the stapler incident ended up not having a big impact. I was wrong. When I wore my muffs when I drove my car earlier today, I could hear a big difference compared to the sound I have been hearing for the past month. My T is, without a doubt, worse now...

 

[dpdx]

HI @Rob Hammer

I have used the Oasis S-650 for many years and two other Oasis sound machines S-850 travel and S-3000 now improved with S-5000.

The S-650 is a great product and comes with two sound cards. It can be placed by your bedside and set the volume just below your tinnitus and set to play, throughout the night untill morning. It takes time to get used to a sound machine. It can also be connected to a pillow speaker.

During the day use sound enrichment whenever possible. Low level relaxing music playing in the background such as classical is ideal or something of your choice.

Michael

I cant sleep without it.

 

[Gman]

When my T wasn't too bad when I woke up today, I thought that the stapler incident ended up not having a big impact. I was wrong. When I wore my muffs when I drove my car earlier today, I could hear a big difference compared to the sound I have been hearing for the past month. My T is, without a doubt, worse now...

Sorry to hear that Bill. I haven't been on much lately, but still struggling too.

 

[Bill Bauer]

Sorry to hear that Bill. I haven't been on much lately, but still struggling too.

The spike caused by that stapler is gone now. Now I am living through a spike that might have been caused by sleep deprivation...

 

[Gman]

The spike caused by that stapler is gone now. Now I am living through a spike that might have been caused by sleep deprivation...

Sleep deprivation? Well at least you can take comfort you just have to ride the spike out and it will return to normal.

Anyway can't you take something? Lately I've been taking magnesium and a minute amounts of melatonin at night and it has helped. I had forgotten what 6-7hrs of sleep was like.

 

[Bill Bauer]

Lately I've been taking magnesium and a minute amounts of melatonin at night and it has helped.

I have been taking melatonin for years. I have been taking magnesium for about six months. About 10 days ago I began to wake up in the middle of the night and then I take a long time to fall asleep again...