Defining "Everyday Noise"

Hi, Folks,

I hope I won't open up a heated debate (or come off sounding foolish), but I'm genuinely curious about this.

I often see in reference to tinnitus and hyperacusis that one has to gradually get used to 'everyday noise.'

What are the agreed-on parameters as to what defines 'everyday noise?'

I know for instance, that helicopters fly over my neighborhood often, but they fly low and it's loud. I almost always block my ears when they go over, depending on where I am in relation to it. This seems sensible to me, but at the same time it's an 'everyday noise' where I live.

Is 'everyday noise' the sound of a window fan, the refrigerator, the dishes in the sink, the television and everything in your immediate environment, or is it just getting used to all the noises that typically surround you outside, regardless of their volume? If so -- how does one 'gradually get used to them?'

I'm sorry if this seems like a stupid question, but the 'everyday noises' in my neighborhood may differ drastically from yours, and I'm wondering what people have done to differentiate between what you may need to protect against for a while and what you need to start getting used to right away before taking the next step. (I'm not talking about going into places that are known to be loud -- just the regular environment where one lives.)

How do you define "everyday noise" and what have you done to get used to it?

Thanks!

Mystery Reader

 

My house is located around 25 miles from Newark (NJ) airport.
The airplanes fly over our house frequently which is also my everyday noise.
They are a little better than helicopters.

 

‘Everyday noise’ is just a colloquial term which has no real objective meaning. The important part is the time-weighted average that you are exposed to dangerous levels of noise. The odd door slam, and dropped object, for example, is generally accepted as safe. But in the grander scheme of things: how are we defining safe? If you look hard enough you could make an argument against most things. I would say noise that isn’t sustained is generally not worth worrying about because you’ll never be free of sound in your life. There will always be occasions where something loud will happen. The obvious caveat here pertains to dangerous impulse noises, such as guns, explosives, etc. Dangerous impulse sounds can be instantly damaging. Coming back to what I said before, the rest of what we’re exposed to, on a daily basis, is believed to be ok as long as our average daily exposure doesn’t involve hours of prolonged, dangerous, levels of noise. Take for instance working in a factory for 8 hours a day for 48 weeks of the year; or being a bartender in a busy bar or restaurant for long hours many days a week. In both these instances - many more examples could be made - the people in question would likely suffer some degradation to their auditory system which could include having systems of tinnitus and/or hyperacusis.

So in conclusion, it’s about how much noise you are exposed to on a daily basis (as a weighted average). That is the key point. Noise damage is accumulated.

It is quite difficult to be exposed to solid averages of 80+dBs a day, for many hours at a time, day after day. The most likely scenario where this could happen is via ones occupation. One off loud sounds, and various bouts of modest noise on and off shouldn’t really concern the vast majority of the population. We have to be careful because it can be very easy to become unhealthily obsessed with sound, and it’s not usually necessary unless you meet any of the criteria above.

 

@Ed209
But when tinnitus is the result of a single brief sound coming from an everyday object, how do you not fear everyday noises?

 

Depends what the everyday object is? Everyday is too broad a term. Like I said in my post: an argument can be made against various things. This issue can never be debated under binary terms as it’s too complex. Generally speaking, most people don’t need to walk around with earplugs in 24/7. That’s when I think a line is crossed in an unhealthy way. Especially when it’s driven by fear and not severe hyperacusis.

 

Cabin noises on these is around 100dB(A). Especially the heavier like coast guard helicopters can be heard from mile away indoors because of the low freq rumble of the turbine and aerodynamic noise from the rotor blades that is quite heavy but it doesn't show in A-weighted values. I guess it's something not to be ashamed if one decides to get some protection or move into a more silent room if a big helicopter hovers above the house.

 

Incidentally, I took two helicopter flights whilst on Hawaii. One over Kauai and the other over the Big Island. I had a great time and loved every minute of it (with ear protection of course ).

 

Thats quite cool

 

I dislike helicopters and motor cycles NOISE.

 

"Everyday noise" refers to the noise an average person might encounter every day.

Sounds about right.

 

I guess my acoustic trauma can be chalked up to "user error."

But for me, everyday noises included . . .

• doors that blasted high-pitched beeps in my ear when I walked through them,
• subway cars that screeched so bad coming into the station that commuters would reflexively cover their ears,
• ambulances and fire alarms

None of these things seem safe to me now.

 

Subways can be dangerously loud, so repeated exposures - if you use it all the time - could be an issue for some people. Wearing plugs in a subway station isn’t a big deal and should be considered if you use the subway frequently.

Sirens are the same, but again, the things you are referring to are obviously loud. Covering your ears is a good idea in this instance. If you see an ambulance right next to you, or approaching, cover your ears if you’re concerned that it’s too close; that’s what I do. Most of the time, passing ambulances are far away and don’t pose a threat. Incidentally, about a year ago I was hit by an ambulance siren, full on, and it nearly gave me a heart attack as I was standing right alongside it. I quickly covered my ears and nothing came if it. In my opinion, if that had happened to me when I was protecting my ears all the time, I would have had the spike from hell because I wouldn’t have stopped thinking about it for days/weeks. All the protecting made my ears more sensitive to noise, at one time everything was giving me spikes, but it’s my belief that it was my fear causing it.

The problem is when people start fearing sound from the moment they wake up. I know there are people on here who rely on their earplugs, as a safety blanket, just to function, because their fear of sound is so bad. I’ll list some of the sounds that have been discussed below:

• rain
• wind
• birdsong (from inside the house)
• toilet seat falling
• footsteps on gravel
• conversation
• water coming out a tap (faucet)
• car door closing
• laughing

People with severe hyperacusis are in a different boat. However, some don’t have H and are still abnormally fearful of all sound. Once you acquire phonophobia it can be every bit as devasting to your life as the tinnitus itself can be.

There are dozens more, and in my opinion, it becomes a serious problem when you can no longer function without earplugs because you are absolutely terrified of causing yourself damage.

Most of the time, all that’s needed is a little rationality. If you find yourself somewhere loud, that’s dangerous and sustained, use earplugs.

 

@Ed209
Funny, I rode the subway 5-7 days per week for thirty years and never gave it a moment's thought. I never even knew there was such a thing as 'hearing protection.' Now I make one mistake with a speaker phone and my whole world is upside down.

I notice that you didn't mention door beeps. This is a big issue for me because my psychotherapy office hooked up something to the door so that it emits a loud high-pitched tone when it opens. In February I sat in a waiting room chair right next to it and when someone opened it, I got blasted for about three seconds. I got symptoms that I believe were TTTS. I still sometimes get these symptoms. I haven't gone back to the office since then.

 

I’m not entirely sure how loud the door beep is? I’m only familiar with the corner shop variety and they’re not that loud (at least the ones I’ve come into contact with). I certainly wouldn’t lose sleep over those.

Remember I’m no oracle. I’m just sharing my experiences and opinions. I went from being suicidal and overprotecting, to ditching the earplugs - for everyday use - and turning my life around. This is my experience and it just so happens to align with all the professional advice. We don’t have to all agree and there are grey areas in all this. We must do what’s best for our lives and sanity.

 

Neither am I at this point. Other people sit in that chair and I'm assuming they are not damaged by the beep. I walked through the door a few times prior and the beep scared me, but nothing happened. Then one day I wasn't paying attention and I sat in the chair near the door. The beep seemed louder from the chair, possibly because my ear was lower or because I was stationary, but I got the TTTS symptoms. I honestly don't know if it's dangerous to me (but not to healthy ears) or if the TTTS symptoms were entirely caused by muscle tension created when I panicked.

It's horrible to not know whether something is truly dangerous because the only way to find out is to risk louder tinnitus forever.

 

If knowing the loudness of these sounds would make more relaxed, why don't you just measure them with reliable dB-meter? Then you can either forget the whole thing or choose a seat further away at a distance you consider safe, depending how loud it actually is. Either way it goes, you don't need to stress about it that much then.

 

This is exactly what I did. Early on, I worried about loud noises and had hyperacusis, which did not help matters. I began checking dB readings and realized that I was continually thinking sounds were far louder than they were. For example, I would think a noise was 90dB but check and realize it was only 75dB. That is a huge difference!

I very rarely use my meter now. After using it off and on for a couple months, I became much better at gauging volume levels and in turn lost my sound anxiety.

 

@RingerBell
@Tinker Bell
I would have to stand in the doorway with the meter to know how loud it is when walking through it. And I would have to wear ear muffs to protect myself while doing it. (I won't stick plugs inside my ears.) And I would be doing this in a psychiatric institute. But I guess if push comes to shove I may have to do this. I just hate to look like the craziest person in the crazyhouse.

 

@robHing @Ed209 @SugarMagnolia @RingerBell @Tinker Bell @Bill Bauer

Thank you all for your input, here. Very much appreciated.

Mystery Reader

 

Hey I can only speak for myself. My attitude towards everyday sounds has changed quite a bit since I got T. & H.

Here's my two cents. Since our hearing is now compromised I think what applies to healthy people doesn't apply to us anymore. We should be more protective of our hearing now as certain sound intensities (in dB) and frequencies can cause us a tinnitus flare-up or in the worst case scenarios permanent worsening of tinnitus. That being said it also depends on one's hearing damage, sound sensitivity, mental state etc. This is very individual.

To me normal daily sounds as of now include: mainly nature sounds (except for really loud birds yelling at each other and super loud crickets outside this time of a year), rain is calming but a thunderstorm isn't. When I'm typing on my keyboard, that's ok. Someone slamming the door shut absolutely is not (same goes for kitchen cabinets). Clanking plates while washing dishes is a no no and I've got to wear earmuffs. Showering is fine now again. City traffic and living in a noisy city in general I consider as noise pollution and thus not ok (ambulance siren e.g., cars honking, tube and rail etc.). Visiting a dentist, well, that's a big question. Visiting other loud places (malls, hospitals even..), again, for most healthy or habituated people with mild tinnitus is an ok everyday noise. I think when one has tinnitus and hyperacusis or sound anxiety, he or she should slowly try to reintroduce themselves to noises around 80 - 85 dB at most and when unsure use ear protection. If one has a noise-induced tinnitus this might make defining what's ok and what isn't even more complicated. Ultimately, it is down to everyone to find out what sound levels they find tolerable.

You might find this chart helpful:

 

@Jiri
Thanks for your response. How is everything going with your taper, and in general?

Mystery Reader

 

@Mystery Reader
No problem. Hope it helped a bit. The less medication I'm taking the harder it gets. My family thinks I'm just being neurotic or smth, so no real emotional support there.

 

@Jiri
I truly admire the way you have worked so hard to get yourself back on your feet. You've got my support, and the support of a lot of people here who really want the best for you. I think about the folks I interact with here on the forum often, and hope that all will be well. Keep us updated as to how you're doing.

Mystery Reader

 

@Mystery Reader
I appreciate your kind words. I really do. Though, I'm still not fully on my feet. More like limping trying to find a reasonable hope to not give up. It's a code of honor: You watch my back, I watch yours. For as long as I'm here you'll always have my support, and so will the other caring, good people on this forum.

I hope all will be well too. I think it's about how to stay motivated on our quest for reasonable hope, relief and ultimately cure.

 

Wow that's pretty awesome @Ed209 !

What kind of ear protection did you use when you were flying out of curiosity?

 

I think cities are unreasonably loud and my audio system calmed down to some extent just from moving from the city to the middle of the woods.

I still do all kinds of loud stuff (saws, motorbikes, etc) but my overall cumulative noise exposure is vastly lower because "outside" is now quieter than "inside" used to be.