Dealing with False Fire Alarms in College — Help?

[pinkrose16]

I moved in to a dorm hall I have never lived in at my college.

Today there was a false fire alarm. My college has these a lot for God knows what reason, but this time it really hurt my ears because the alarm is actually inside my dorm room and was insanely loud (100+ dB if I had to guess). Of course I was outside ASAP within 1-2 minutes, but I'm still spiking a bit right now from it. It was extremely anxiety-inducing and now I'm worried because I didn't realize that would be an issue in my room.

As of now my plan is to use ear plugs and muffs next time - I ordered muffs today. I'll try to keep them nearby when I'm in my room. I also emailed to ask if every single room has the fire alarm inside the room because that seems a bit excessive - especially because they are so insanely loud.

Has anyone else dealt with this issue? Does my plan seem sufficient? Just looking for any other tips or comments.

 

[just1morething]

@pinkrose16

Did you treat your TMJ disorder?

What happens if TMJ is left untreated?
Eventually, TMJ disorder can lead to tinnitus or even permanently compromised hearing. Inner ear problems can also produce difficulties with balance and recurring dizziness. Similarly, vision can be compromised by untreated TMJ symptoms. TMJ can also lead to serious jaw problems.Mar 28, 2017

 

[linearb]

Those things are usually 120 dB at source, you're unlikely to have been exposed to 100 dB if you weren't very close to it, but I know how jarring and obnoxious they can be.

They are a fundamental and necessary safety feature of communal living, and drills are both at least somewhat useful, and required by law. (When I grew up, we did family fire drills at our house, a pattern we repeat here since we heat with wood fires).

Since you're in a dorm you're probably stuck with it and can't do much beyond putting your bed as far as possible from it. In our case it's mounted about 6' over where I sleep and that's sufficient to be definitely loud enough to wake me up, but doesn't scare me at the thought of brief exposure

@pinkrose16

Did you treat your TMJ disorder?

What happens if TMJ is left untreated?
Eventually, TMJ disorder can lead to tinnitus or even permanently compromised hearing. Inner ear problems can also produce difficulties with balance and recurring dizziness. Similarly, vision can be compromised by untreated TMJ symptoms. TMJ can also lead to serious jaw problems.Mar 28, 2017

Did you reply to the wrong thread or are you just being deliberately unhelpful?

I have TMJ that is treated, quite well. This doesn't magically make fire alarms less obnoxious.

 

[iGL0CK]

Has anyone else dealt with this issue? Does my plan seem sufficient? Just looking for any other tips or comments.

I know in college things are a little different but I worked in office and asked building administration to send me an e-mail the day before every false fire alarm. It worked quite well.

Maybe if are they planing these false alarms, not just "oh, in 10 minutes we turn this on and check if it's working", you could ask someone about that kind of e-mail with warning too.

 

[pinkrose16]

Those things are usually 120 dB at source, you're unlikely to have been exposed to 100 dB if you weren't very close to it, but I know how jarring and obnoxious they can be.

They are a fundamental and necessary safety feature of communal living, and drills are both at least somewhat useful, and required by law. (When I grew up, we did family fire drills at our house, a pattern we repeat here since we heat with wood fires).

Since you're in a dorm you're probably stuck with it and can't do much beyond putting your bed as far as possible from it. In our case it's mounted about 6' over where I sleep and that's sufficient to be definitely loud enough to wake me up, but doesn't scare me at the thought of brief exposure

Did you reply to the wrong thread or are you just being deliberately unhelpful?

I have TMJ that is treated, quite well. This doesn't magically make fire alarms less obnoxious.

Thank you for this reply. That comment was quite unhelpful lol. I actually ended up moving to a different dorm with alarms that are not inside of the actual rooms because the anxiety was causing me to spiral But thank you for your advice!

 

[pinkrose16]

I know in college things are a little different but I worked in office and asked building administration to send me an e-mail the day before every false fire alarm. It worked quite well.

Maybe if are they planing these false alarms, not just "oh, in 10 minutes we turn this on and check if it's working", you could ask someone about that kind of e-mail with warning too.

That's a good idea!

 

[linearb]

Thank you for this reply. That comment was quite unhelpful lol. I actually ended up moving to a different dorm with alarms that are not inside of the actual rooms because the anxiety was causing me to spiral But thank you for your advice!

I'm glad you were able to do this! That was the situation at the last condo building I lived in, and they were pretty obnoxiously loud but not worrying from inside the rooms, and even in the case of an actual fire if you have earplugs by your bed you likely have time to jam them in.

 

[pinkrose16]

I'm glad you were able to do this! That was the situation at the last condo building I lived in, and they were pretty obnoxiously loud but not worrying from inside the rooms, and even in the case of an actual fire if you have earplugs by your bed you likely have time to jam them in.

Yes you're right. I also bought big earmuffs because earplugs are hard for me to put in quickly so I can have them for any future situation. Thank you for your help!