MemberThank you so much, I just didn't know.
I can hardly believe there are still people in 2023 that have never heard of tinnitus, but it's true. Some casually go about their day listening to music through headphones and earbuds at high volume levels blissfully unaware of the dangers of exposure to loud noise. I pass them on the street and see them on public transport, people that are content to shut themselves off from the world around them. There is nothing wrong with this, unless sound levels are too high which sadly it often is. When their music is clearly audible at a distance of a metre or more, then something is seriously wrong.
My postman regularly listens to music through wireless earbuds while doing his rounds. One day he rang my doorbell to deliver a parcel that required a signature. My attention was immediately drawn to the music that was blaring through his earbuds. Normally I don't interfere with people but on this occasion decided to say something, as it might just save him from a lot of misery and heartache in the future. I touched my ears to signal that I would like to have a word. When he stopped the music, I briefly explained about the risks of exposure to loud noise that can lead to hearing loss and tinnitus. One of the most common causes of tinnitus, is listening to music too loud through headphones and earbuds often without realizing it.
I watched his jaw drop and the look of total surprise in his eyes as the realization of what I revealed hit him. He said he'd never heard of tinnitus and grew more alarmed to learn there is no cure. I mentioned tinnitus is quite a common condition that many people are able to live with but some people have it very severe which can affect their life tremendously. He thanked me and said later he will be looking up information online. Whether he will or not is another matter, because people quickly forget once the moment has passed. I feel better having said something.
I recently had fibre broadband installed that increased my Internet download speed from 60 Mbps to 150 Mbps. 60 Mbps is not slow and suits all my needs but my Internet service provider made me an offer that was hard to refuse. When I think back to when I first got Internet access some 26 years ago, the download speed was a ponderously slow 56 kbps. I remember waiting patiently for 20 minutes while Norton Antivirus updated itself by downloading a meagre 3 megabytes and prayed there wouldn't be a glitch in the telephone line causing the connection to be dropped, meaning I would have to start the download again.
The engineer was punctual calling at my home at 8 o'clock sharp. Opening the front door to a young man that looked about 23 took me by complete surprise, as he could have easily been mistaken for a member of an elite combat unit in the Army. His attire from his heavy duty boots were all black except for 4 bright yellow straps, two looped around the upper thighs and were fastened to a utility belt around his waist. They went up over his shoulders and down the back and fastened again to his belt. I assumed this was a safety harness.
Companies are heavenly into health and safety these days especially when their employees need to work off ladders or climb up tall telephone poles on the street. All that was missing to complete the picture of a military commando, was a green beret and an AK47 assault rifle. Instead he was armed with an assortment of equipment in an open top tool box in one hand and carrying a hefty DeWalt battery operated pneumatic SDS (slotted drive system) drill in the other which looked an impressive piece of kit. This type of machine delivers quite a punch, having much more power than an ordinary hammer action drill sold at DIY home improvement centres. It emits a sound similar to a Kango concrete breaker that workers use when digging up road tarmac, albeit on smaller scale.
We discussed the best location for the new broadband router and entrance hole for the incoming fibre optic cable. Exterior house walls in the UK are around 300 mm thick and over. This allows for a 50 mm cavity, internal plastering and any outside render. I am a retired carpenter and joiner, so it was no surprise to see the engineer select a 450 mm long, 16 mm diameter drill bit from his tool box, then hearing that familiar dull clunk as it was slotted into the DeWalt. From experience I knew there was going to be a lot of noise, so made my excuses and vacated the room to more quiet surroundings of my kitchen some distance away, but I was wrong.
The level of noise was excruciating as it felt like every corner of the house was vibrating from the sound of the pneumatic drill, as it bored its way through the brick wall and seemed to go on forever. By nature I am a fastidious person, especially when doing any kind of work in my home. Whilst I don't want to stand over the engineer, curiosity piqued my interest. With my noise reducing earplugs securely in place, sound levels were much more tolerable, so I decided to take a peek just to make sure all was well.
Standing at the doorway I watched in disbelief, to see the engineer wasn't wearing ear defenders or foam earplugs, the type that's squeezed between the fingers and compressed, then gently inserted into the ear canal where they slowly expand to block out most external noise. I left to go upstairs to print off information from my computer about the dangers of excessive noise, hearing loss and tinnitus.
The engineer's work was neat and tidy. As he began packing up his tools, I asked how long he had been installing fibre broadband, and then steered the conversation towards the DeWalt, saying it's an impressive piece of machinery. With an element of pride he remarked that it will go through any brick wall no matter how tough, then affectionally stroked it saying it's the Daddy! Not meaning to burst his bubble, I noticed his facial expression changed becoming quite subdued, when I said I noticed he hadn't been wearing ear defenders or earplugs to reduce the loud noise of the drill, and that this can cause hearing loss and a condition called tinnitus. Like my postman, he asked what is tinnitus? I now had his full attention.
To my surprise this young man became very interested in learning about tinnitus. In the two years he had been working as a fibre broadband installer, no-one had told him about the risks of exposure to loud noise which could lead to hearing loss and tinnitus. He gladly accepted the information I had printed and said, from now on he will be using ear defenders.
As he was going through my front door, his last words were: "Thank you so much, I just didn't know".
Michael
I can hardly believe there are still people in 2023 that have never heard of tinnitus, but it's true. Some casually go about their day listening to music through headphones and earbuds at high volume levels blissfully unaware of the dangers of exposure to loud noise. I pass them on the street and see them on public transport, people that are content to shut themselves off from the world around them. There is nothing wrong with this, unless sound levels are too high which sadly it often is. When their music is clearly audible at a distance of a metre or more, then something is seriously wrong.
My postman regularly listens to music through wireless earbuds while doing his rounds. One day he rang my doorbell to deliver a parcel that required a signature. My attention was immediately drawn to the music that was blaring through his earbuds. Normally I don't interfere with people but on this occasion decided to say something, as it might just save him from a lot of misery and heartache in the future. I touched my ears to signal that I would like to have a word. When he stopped the music, I briefly explained about the risks of exposure to loud noise that can lead to hearing loss and tinnitus. One of the most common causes of tinnitus, is listening to music too loud through headphones and earbuds often without realizing it.
I watched his jaw drop and the look of total surprise in his eyes as the realization of what I revealed hit him. He said he'd never heard of tinnitus and grew more alarmed to learn there is no cure. I mentioned tinnitus is quite a common condition that many people are able to live with but some people have it very severe which can affect their life tremendously. He thanked me and said later he will be looking up information online. Whether he will or not is another matter, because people quickly forget once the moment has passed. I feel better having said something.
I recently had fibre broadband installed that increased my Internet download speed from 60 Mbps to 150 Mbps. 60 Mbps is not slow and suits all my needs but my Internet service provider made me an offer that was hard to refuse. When I think back to when I first got Internet access some 26 years ago, the download speed was a ponderously slow 56 kbps. I remember waiting patiently for 20 minutes while Norton Antivirus updated itself by downloading a meagre 3 megabytes and prayed there wouldn't be a glitch in the telephone line causing the connection to be dropped, meaning I would have to start the download again.
The engineer was punctual calling at my home at 8 o'clock sharp. Opening the front door to a young man that looked about 23 took me by complete surprise, as he could have easily been mistaken for a member of an elite combat unit in the Army. His attire from his heavy duty boots were all black except for 4 bright yellow straps, two looped around the upper thighs and were fastened to a utility belt around his waist. They went up over his shoulders and down the back and fastened again to his belt. I assumed this was a safety harness.
Companies are heavenly into health and safety these days especially when their employees need to work off ladders or climb up tall telephone poles on the street. All that was missing to complete the picture of a military commando, was a green beret and an AK47 assault rifle. Instead he was armed with an assortment of equipment in an open top tool box in one hand and carrying a hefty DeWalt battery operated pneumatic SDS (slotted drive system) drill in the other which looked an impressive piece of kit. This type of machine delivers quite a punch, having much more power than an ordinary hammer action drill sold at DIY home improvement centres. It emits a sound similar to a Kango concrete breaker that workers use when digging up road tarmac, albeit on smaller scale.
We discussed the best location for the new broadband router and entrance hole for the incoming fibre optic cable. Exterior house walls in the UK are around 300 mm thick and over. This allows for a 50 mm cavity, internal plastering and any outside render. I am a retired carpenter and joiner, so it was no surprise to see the engineer select a 450 mm long, 16 mm diameter drill bit from his tool box, then hearing that familiar dull clunk as it was slotted into the DeWalt. From experience I knew there was going to be a lot of noise, so made my excuses and vacated the room to more quiet surroundings of my kitchen some distance away, but I was wrong.
The level of noise was excruciating as it felt like every corner of the house was vibrating from the sound of the pneumatic drill, as it bored its way through the brick wall and seemed to go on forever. By nature I am a fastidious person, especially when doing any kind of work in my home. Whilst I don't want to stand over the engineer, curiosity piqued my interest. With my noise reducing earplugs securely in place, sound levels were much more tolerable, so I decided to take a peek just to make sure all was well.
Standing at the doorway I watched in disbelief, to see the engineer wasn't wearing ear defenders or foam earplugs, the type that's squeezed between the fingers and compressed, then gently inserted into the ear canal where they slowly expand to block out most external noise. I left to go upstairs to print off information from my computer about the dangers of excessive noise, hearing loss and tinnitus.
The engineer's work was neat and tidy. As he began packing up his tools, I asked how long he had been installing fibre broadband, and then steered the conversation towards the DeWalt, saying it's an impressive piece of machinery. With an element of pride he remarked that it will go through any brick wall no matter how tough, then affectionally stroked it saying it's the Daddy! Not meaning to burst his bubble, I noticed his facial expression changed becoming quite subdued, when I said I noticed he hadn't been wearing ear defenders or earplugs to reduce the loud noise of the drill, and that this can cause hearing loss and a condition called tinnitus. Like my postman, he asked what is tinnitus? I now had his full attention.
To my surprise this young man became very interested in learning about tinnitus. In the two years he had been working as a fibre broadband installer, no-one had told him about the risks of exposure to loud noise which could lead to hearing loss and tinnitus. He gladly accepted the information I had printed and said, from now on he will be using ear defenders.
As he was going through my front door, his last words were: "Thank you so much, I just didn't know".
Michael
