Wind Noise from Driving Car with Windows Down Causing Setbacks in Hyperacusis?

I have been driving recently with my car windows down due to the heat in the UK. I’ve been using foam earplugs which have 28 dB reduction. At the very least I will have 19 dB reduction from the earplugs.

I drive within limit, and just wondering as on decibel meter it records for 100 dB - could this be causing me a problem for my hyperacusis? It’s almost local driving, and it’s really to get me out the house. Is the wind noise really the issue here? I won’t be driving consistently; sometimes I stop for 5 minutes or get some food at drive-thru. So the wind noise isn’t consistent.

Can occlusion make the wind noise twice as bad? As this would mean foam earplugs are useless.

Before this, I was going for bike rides but I have stopped now as I’m allowing my anxiety to get ahead of itself.

Could anyone reassure me so I can resume my somewhat normal life?

 

I get wind noise is bad, but even with earplugs? I drive to pick family up so not driving isn't a option. But also melting isn't an option. My AC isn't cold enough and so windows being open is my only option.

 

I can't tell you whether or not it causes setbacks. Others with experience could chime in. I guess it varies case by case, but a 100 dB reading seems very loud to me. I'd personally never subject myself to that kind of noise, be it using single or double protection. I try to keep the cabin noise below 70 dB and utilize double protection, but that's just my case which is really bad with regards to loudness hyperacusis and spikes.

I'm pretty surprised that the AC isn't enough. In my experience, driving through warm summers in my old car with broken AC, the wind does a very poor job of cooling. Maybe your AC needs to be serviced?

All the best,
Stacken

 

How does it make you feel? Do you get negative symptoms from doing it? Because that's your best gauge... If it doesn't hurt you, you are likely fine to continue. Be careful and I wouldn't be doing freeway speeds obviously. I had a few days of setback by being on a speedboat so just be careful.

 

You should be ok with earplugs

 

So I went to collect my family member from work today. It was at night so less sirens and traffic. But my window is stuck at the minute so open very little. I measured the noise on 2 apps. It hit 90 dB in one, and 100 dB in another. I have to say it wasn't consistent up and down so I can't give accurate reading.

If wind noise is low frequency, and going off my earplugs' description of 31 dB reduction in low frequency, that would bring me down to 70 dB.

@Lukee, I really can't tell, at the time I feel nothing, when I came home, I felt nothing. It's hard to tell because I'm in constant pain. So I can't tell if it's making me feel negative.

To be on the safe side though, I'm definitely getting my car's AC serviced ASAP and get it sorted. Just makes me realise about how these conditions make you reevaluate even the simplest things we used to do.

 

Hi, can I ask if you had earplugs in? If yes, which ones? I am asking because I will be on holidays later this year and my friends want to go with a motorboat to some beautiful beaches, and I would really like to go. Of course I would use foam earplugs.

@Bimmerboy, I personally always go with how loud it feels to me. If you don't experience any problems you probably will be ok, but nonetheless I would not do that regularly or for longer periods of time. I would use the AC and drive with my windows closed.

 

I did not have earplugs in.

 

Ok, thanks for the info. Was it very loud? Do you think it is manageable with foam earplugs?

 

I can’t say but I think with the foam earplugs would be a lot better. It wasn’t the noise as much as the wind noise that hurt me more than anything.

 

My own experience is wind noise creates low frequency turbulence not captured on dBA meter and for me created the beginnings of my I don't want to say descent into hell.

After I had the spike, which lasted three days, I started wearing hearing protection all the time. I also got the bicycle wind turbulence hyperacusis, in time. It all crept up gradually over the years until I ended up admitted to hospital where the diagnosis was depression. I'm not a depressed person, but doctors back then did not know much. Even my sister-in-law, who is an audiologist, couldn't figure it out. Real diagnosis was tinnitus, hyperacusis and low frequency hypersensitivity.

So yes, driving with windows down is way more dangerous than your dBa meter indicated. You need a dBZ meter or minimum dBC. Just the fact your hearing did what it did is already evidence, and same thing happened to me in 1982. It was scary. I got admitted in 1991. They kicked me out of job saying it was too stressful, which was lie, and I was very lucky to get another job, because doing interviews with tricyclics is shitty, your mouth goes dry and you can't speak because your tongue sticks to your mouth.