Another Acoustic Trauma (Neighbor Cut His Lawn with a Gas Powered Weed Wacker)

HI Everyone

I had something crazy happen to me this weekend that I have a hard time understanding or accepting.

As luck has it over the weekend I had another problem, another acoustic trauma.

I was sitting in my house and my next door neighbor decided to cut his entire lawn with a gas powered weed wacker. She did that for about little over an hour on and off, I guess stopping to refuel and moving around to different parts of the house and driveway. I was so deep into a movie with my girlfriend that I was just not paying attention, and did not notice the high pitched sound of the weed wacker outside at first.

But later that afternoon I got a very bad spike and my tinnitus went through the roof. You would think that a person is safe in his own home from something like this, but it seems that I was not. Even with all of my double pane windows and heavy cloth blinds closed I guess that high pitched noise from the weed wacker just went right through it and nailed my ears.

So I have been suffering the past 3 days with increased tinnitus. It started on sat after noon around 12, and here it is today Tues and I'm a little better, but not back to my baseline again yet.

It's really freaking me out. I'm very mad and frustrated at myself for not using in my ear plugs or gun muffs to protect myself, but who would have thought that their would be any danger inside of my own home ?

I did measure it on my dB meter on my phone and it seemed to be around 58 dB. I have no idea how accurate that a cell phone's dB meter is.

My neighbors house and driveway are about 30 to 50 feet away from my house and driveway depending where they are using the weed wacker or where I was in the house I happened to be in the front room. I did notice that I could hear the movie over the sound of the weed wacker it wasn't until I paid attention that I realized how loud the sound from the weed wacker was.

I was wondering, how many dB reduction there is when the distance is increased from the source to me? I could not find any kind of chart on the Internet.

I mean how loud could it have been inside my house, how many dB? It seems that no one seems to know that.

I have been living next to this neighbor for 4 years and I never had a problem from her weed wacker before, but then again, she has never tried to cut most of her yard with it before or ran it so long either. In the past when ever I hear her using the weed wacker, I generally would just go to my office until she was done.

When I woke up this morning I was better, my tinnitus was down some, for me that's a good sign that I'm heading towards recovery.

This just goes to show how we are never free of hurting our ears, not even in our own homes. I still don't believe this even happened.

If anyone has had a similar experience I would be very interested to hear about it, and or their outcome.

Sorry for the long message, I was just thinking out loud, thank you taking the time to read it.

Thank You

Louie
Quietatnight

 

I doubt that your spike is due to the neighbor.
First of all, what you measured (58 dB) isn't really loud.
Second, walls/windows act as low pass filters on the noise, further reducing the high frequencies that you are claiming have caused you harm.

Maybe you're super-duper-extra sensitive, but if that's the case I'd be more worried about the movie you were watching while this was happening outside of your house.

 

@GregCA


Yeah I understand what you mean and in the back of my mind I felt the same way. I know that their is a lot of sound deflection that reduces some of the SPL's between me and my neighbor. I was very surprised that I got a spike. I have never really thought about sounds outside of my home. I did look up the specs of weed wackers and they are around 105 DB, of course that's right at the source. I found it interesting that I was unable to find any info abut sound attenuation. There must be some kind of formula or chart to tell what the amount of DB drop their with distance. I found something that says " with every double of distance their is 6 DB decrease. I would have thought that it would have been more.


Anyway,

For me, DB levels has always not been a factor when I get spikes, it's more what the frequency of a sound is that effects me. I could be watching TV and if it's a hospital seen were a person is hooked up to one of those heart monitors that go Beep Beep, and then that person dies and the machine goes flat line with that Beeeeeeeeeeeeeep sound. No matter what volume my TV is set to, if I can't mute it fast enough, that sound will give me a spike for days. This I know for a fact. I think it may be because my hearing damage is at that exact frequency I guess and or my mind over time has memorized that tone.


Thank you for getting back to me and your input.


Louie

Quietatnight

 

You can play with this calculator.

 

Thanks Greg


That's the same chart that I found.


Louie

Quietatnight

 

Check out
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...or-spike-2-months-ago-—-now-its-better.10696/

 

It's more than a chart actually: have you plugged in values? It will compute the results for you. The calculators are a bit buried behind walls of text and formulas, but they are usable.

 

@Bill Bauer & @GregCA

Thank You for the words of encouragement

Right now it's petty tough but with a little luck I'm hoping that I will get back to here I was at a few days ago. It seems to be getting better each morning after I get a good night sleep, I agree sleep is very important. I just can't seem to be able to stop beating myself up for making such a bad decision this did not have to be this way, I have no idea what I was thinking. I was doing fine until this past event on sat afternoon. The minute I hear that weed wacker's loud sound I should of acted, I had many ways of dealing with it. I have no idea what I was thinking or why I did not act, I know better.


Anyway,,,


I know that I can't go back and their is no rewind or redo button in the world of tinnitus.


Really frustrated and disappointment in myself, their is no excuse for my stupidity


Thanks for the support


Louie

Quietatnight

 

I know how you feel... These momentary lapses of judgement can happen to anyone (and can lead to a lifetime of suffering)...

 

@Bill Bauer

It's still early I may still get back down to mt baseline, it's only been 4 days I'm still keeping my fingers crossed. I have had spikes that have lasted a couple of weeks before and still made it back. It's not like I was running it outside right next to my head for 8 hours . I was in side my house, and it was only going about an hour on and off. I'm not going to looses hope just yet. One thing for sure though, I will never do something stupid like this again that's for sure.


Louie
Quietatnight

 

If tinnitus is subject to logic and/or physical laws, your spike should be temporary.

 

Before my initial ent visit I thought I had misophonia because certain sounds just seem to attack. Almost like a raw nerve and it just triggers it. But the Dr says its H so I guess he would know. And it was no loud sound that acted as a trigger but a neighbors clock - something no one else noticed until I pointed it out. But to me it was like an ice pick. No explanation I've gotten for that. So I get nervous whenever I hear constant sounds.

I also have T and balance issues and that was the reason for the ent visit.

 

Don't beat yourself up, dB is pretty quiet and is considered quite safe. It's as loud as a conversation in restaurant or office.

 

Having really bad day today my tinnitus is all over the place and driving me up the wall. I can't seem to do anything, It's now impossible for me to concentrate on anything. I can't watch TV, I can't read, I can't even work on my hobbies I can't focus on anything. Very depressed I don't know how much longer that I can do this.

I wish this would just stop or stop me


Totally unfair for any of us to have to endure such endless painful torture

 

quietatnight: Sorry that you got a spike. Do you have a strong case of hyperacusis?

I have a cat that was treated by radiation - i -131 for hyperthyroidism which was cured, but after that she attained hypothyroidism which also lasted for months. She became deaf, which is common after these illnesses. Deaf cats are often loud. She makes loud sharp sounds.

 

@Greg Sacramento

Yes I have hyperacusis. I'm not sure what the cat has to do with our conversation, but I'm sorry that she was sick.



Thank You for your concern


Louie

Quietatnight

 

His cat makes loud noises, which is not good when one has H. I hope that they will both end up being well.

 

Quietatnight: I guess by mentioning my cat - shows that it's hard for the both for us and all of us to avoid loud noises. I should had discussed your situation, but I just don't know what to say. You know more about this stuff, than I do.

You have been so kind to me, private conversations and all. I have been thinking about you everyday. I haven't stop thinking about you since I read about your new exposure a couple of hours ago.

 

This is loud , weed edgers 105 dB. Thanks to mention the noise specification.

 

Rajin

Just wear some ear plugs and or gun muffs and you will be fine even at 105 DB, you will be cutting it down to half, well below the level of concern.


Have fun


Louie
Quietatnight