Norman Verona Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Any loud noise will damage your hearing, be it a disco, a road drill or our cars. My hearing is damaged but I'm not deaf. The tiny bones are worn which "dulls" my hearing. However tests show I'm not deaf and expensive hearing aids would not help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robo1968 Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 I'm definately in favour of ear protection. My cosworth motor is really loud and I've discovered that it's the low frequency boomy sounds that were giving me tinnitus. Tried ear plugs and defenders but they were mostly cutting the high frequency sounds which didn't really bother me anyway but I was still getting all the boom. Plus ear plugs compact wax further down ear canal. I now use Bose QC15 noise cancelling headphones (the technology for which were originally developed for aviation and helicopter pilots) which almost completely cuts out low frequency sounds. I can still hear conversation (although voices sound a bit thin) and other traffic sounds etc. but can now drive the Westy for hours without discomfort or worry about ringing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman Verona Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Robbo, has your tinnitus been medically diagnosed or is it a buzzing sound that wears of after an hour or so? I suspect the later. I have had it when doing a non-stop (other than for fuel) from Calais to here - about 4 hours at 6000 RPM. One night I got back at about midnight and had the buzzing in my ears next morning. It wore off during the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robo1968 Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Robbo, has your tinnitus been medically diagnosed or is it a buzzing sound that wears of after an hour or so? I suspect the later. I have had it when doing a non-stop (other than for fuel) from Calais to here - about 4 hours at 6000 RPM. One night I got back at about midnight and had the buzzing in my ears next morning. It wore off during the day. It's a continuous high pitched whistle mostly in my right ear (exhaust side). Had it about 18 Months (had Westy nearly 2 years) although it's slightly less noticeable nowadays (or I'm getting better at ignoring it?) I've had ringing from loud noises before - they always go away soon after - drove the Westy from my house in North Devon to Bodmin (to see Matt Seabrook for geo check) and the next day the ringing started. Was duly expecting this to disappear after a day or so but it never did:( Doctor said there's nothing that can be done except learn to live with it:( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman Verona Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 When I was in Rotary we had a talk from a Danish professor who was working at Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield. He was curing 70% of his patients who suffered from tinnitus. He reckoned that tinnitus was mainly brought on by trauma, and mainly by bereavement. He used psychology to cure his patients. He said it was not a physical problem but a mental one. Sufferers were listening to white noise, which we can all hear but most of us ignore so no problem. A few listen (brains not ears) and this is called tinnitus. He also told us that many doctors dismissed his methods as they were taught that tinnitus was a physical problem that couldn't be cured. I checked up after his talk and his claim was verified, he was getting a 70% cure rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robo1968 Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Norman, did you say sufferers listen to 'wife' noise or 'white' noise. I get plenty of the former, would be quite interested in exchanging for the latter! Edited to add - I do of course mostly ignore the wife noise like most but can it be that what does get through can cause tinnitus?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman Verona Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 No, they are completely different. Wife noise is a low, continuous rumble whilst white noise is a clear high pitch hissing noise. Come to think of it, they're probably interchangeable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robo1968 Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Ideal, then is the cure the same for both? Just ignore... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestyNottm Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 As a Newbie with only 250 miles of WF experience. I'm grateful for everyone who has posted on this thread for alerting me to possible hearing damage. I supply disposable 3M ear plugs to my employees for when they are using power tools so I have just taken a packet of them out of one of the vans as a stop-gap measure while I research something better/more permanent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Don't forget though. It's not just the obvious induction/exhaust noises, it's also wind noise - particularly relevant to those touring etc, or even just having to do a long dual carriageway/motorway blast to get to their playground of choice. That wind roar at 70mph for a sustained period of time is considerably "louder" in db terms than most realise. Don't assume just because in some cases you're wearing a helmet either, that it will give you protection. You've only got to look at the issues many long term bikers face to realise it can be a significant problem later on in life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wile E. Coyote Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 As a Newbie with only 250 miles of WF experience. I'm grateful for everyone who has posted on this thread for alerting me to possible hearing damage. I supply disposable 3M ear plugs to my employees for when they are using power tools so I have just taken a packet of them out of one of the vans as a stop-gap measure while I research something better/more permanent. Personally I'd just stick with those (the 3M orange ones are the highest attenuation of any disposables I've found) unless you find them uncomfortable... I bought a box from eBay just after I got my car, and can't really see any benefit to anything else (save perhaps an "active" system when I get an intercom). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman Verona Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 I've been driving open topped cars for a very long time. I've had my Caterham since 1992 and it's been aero'd since 2003 (I think). I've got poor hearing but, apparently not from loud noise but wear to the tiny bones in my ear. Maybe I had a miniature hedge trimmer in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pantherman Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Norman, are there any scars on your ear's ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman Verona Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Only from when she whips me me. But that's an unrelated subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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