I think we spoke about this in another thread but I can't tell you when or what thread (I did go looking).  Most of you know my mom and I share a house. We are both susceptible to certain noises, but they seem to be at different frequencies. For instance we have a refinery by us that 'flares' and it often makes a rumbling noise like a plane taking off the tarmac but for hours at a time. It drives my mom crazy, but I rarely if ever hear it. My mom and I joke it must be on the same frequency as her voice because I don't seem to hear her either when she speaks. :lol: On the reverse of that my mom can listen to things beeping intermittently for hours and it not bug here where I am crawling up the wall within seconds. 

I came in from shovelling last night and there were 3 alarms going off. One on her phone in her office down the hall (to remind her of an online thing), the stove timer (to remind her to put her eye drops in) and she had a mug of something in the microwave beeping to remind her every minute and there she is watching TV. I should mention there is nothing wrong with my mom's hearing it just doesn't bother her whereas within 5 seconds of entering I was losing my crap. I mentioned it to her and she says 'yeah I know', but moved to do nothing. :eyepop:   We used to have a home alarm and everyday when a notification would come in it would beep every minute to let you know until you cleared it. She would let that thing go for hours and hours. Didn't bug her one iota.  Me...well we no longer have that system. *eye twitches*

Are you more susceptible to some sounds or sound frequencies than others? 

I work with fire alarm systems so I am incredibly good at ignoring beeping sounds because that is all they do. But at the same time, the second I notice it I have to do something about it. I can't do anything else until the sound is gone.

The other day Mrs RT noticed a high-pitched sound. I didn't hear it as I was blissfully playing video games and focusing on that. She mentions it, I listen and hear it, then that was it. Video game time was over until I figured out what it was.

It was our humidifier. Needed to clean it.

My Dad, he's 69.. he complains about the train that comes in at night.

It's not a commuter train, it's usually got a tonne of shipping containers on it.

Now, I technically.. as the crow flies, I am closer to the track. Yet, I rarely hear it.

He hears it and it disturbs his sleep.

He's also booked in for a hearing test. Because he thinks his earing isn't great. Yet he can hear a train crawling through the bushland 2kms away at low speed.

It's a fact that as we age we lose the ability to hear higher frequencies. I had a hearing test a few years ago and my hearing was fine. I definitely have "selective hearing" where I automatically ignore certain sounds. My wife doesn't like it, because it's mostly ignoring her. :lol:

The easiest way to drive me irreparably insane would be to lock me in a room with a clock that ticks every second.

I can exist in a room with a ticking clock if I know it's not there. But once my brain processes a single tick, it processes every tick and nothing else matters. The clock has to leave the room, or I have to leave the room. It's an all-consuming noise of the devil.

I had a hearing test 2 years ago or so and I had the expected hearing loss of someone my age but I still don’t feel it’s great. As you can probably guess from all the discography threads I’m listening to music or watching something at a high volume frequently.

My younger brother had a hearing test and he had extreme hearing loss for someone of his age. He had to go speech therapy when he was younger and I’m guessing that’s the reason.

My New Year’s resolution is to talk louder as I’m more than over repeating myself or making a joke that only works in the moment to “huh”. Problem is I can talk at my normal voice or yell and it comes across as angry. Either that or just give up talking to people as I feel like Paulie Walnuts sometimes.

The song of the chickadee penetrates my brick walls. It sounds like a small rusty swing to me. And if it swings one way and not the other it would drive me even more mad than the complete swing back and forth already does.

For anyone losing hearing, get your checked. Early 20's thought I was going deaf from too many rock shows. Turned out ears had compacted wax about 3/4th of an inch deep. Got it cleared and hearing return instantly. Grandpa said something similar happened to him.

Currently waiting for an ultrasound on my ear. Noticed some hearing loss and a lot of buzzing in my ear summer 2022. Had a hearing test December 2022 and everything came back fine. Went back to the ENT a few weeks ago for a 1 year follow up. She assumes there's damage to one of the bones in my ear but needs to do an ultrasound to confirm.

Not great, Bob.

Feb 8, 2024 16:31:53 GMT c said:

For anyone losing hearing, get your checked. Early 20's thought I was going deaf from too many rock shows. Turned out ears had compacted wax about 3/4th of an inch deep. Got it cleared and hearing return instantly. Grandpa said something similar happened to him.

So many instagram videos of earwax cleaning...

I'm surprised it still works, mostly. Always have music blasting straight into my ear holes at maximum.

I thought I had bad hearing, I was at a shopping mall with my wife and there was a place that did hearing tests.
My wife thought I should get tested because I never hear her, I have the same problem with other people.
The lady running the hearing tests had enormous hearing aids and was incredibly slightly intellectually disabled, but she was absolutely lovely and a great worker.
I did the test and she asked me how I thought I went... I said I didn't know.
She told me my hearing was "Perfect" and my wife burst out laughing and asked why I never hear her.

This very sincere and very slightly intellectually disabled lady looks at my wife with deep empathy and launches into a big explanation about how the issue isn't about hearing... But the issue is that many men do not listen to their wives.
My wife is trying very hard to hold a straight face while I am waving the lady off like John McClane in Die Hard 2




I was as shocked as anyone I thought my hearing was "rooted" (to borrow a much loved Australian phrase)
This should have been my first clue about a probable ADHD diagnosis.
Particularly in crowded rooms, restaurants etc.

This thread also reminds me of:







PLEASE EVERYONE HAVE A NICE DAY!

My hearing could be better, but it really sucks when there is a lot of background noise.

One noise I cannot stand is other people brushing their teeth. I can tolerate it, barely. It's as irritating to me as nails on a chalkboard is to others. But not as the mental torture that is a ticking clock.

To answer the question that is no doubt on your minds, I am unaffected by the sound of me brushing my own teeth. Doesn't bother me at all. I think about that when enduring the sound of other people doing it. It helps a little.

Emperor gonna force Wife to brush outside.

A group of friends and I went to lunch for a birthday yesterday. The music was a little louder and of course the other people, but it wasn't terrible and even then we remarked how we we are seemingly yelling at one another cause none of us could hear.

Me: Can't you hear?
Friend: Sure. I'll have another beer.

Even while we were talking about it, some of us were like 'what?' Further proving our point. :lol:

One of the worst cases of this was when my mom and I joined RT and Mrs RT to celebrate her 40th. We were all really amped up to try this new restaurant, but my god was it loud in there. It was one of those open industrial ceilings that just amplified everything x100. We couldn't even hear each other sitting at the same table. Really annoying, but we made the best of it. I always have a good time with the RT's.

Feb 20, 2024 23:01:21 GMT iron maiden said:

A group of friends and I went to lunch for a birthday yesterday. The music was a little louder and of course the other people, but it wasn't terrible and even then we remarked how we we are seemingly yelling at one another cause none of us could hear.

Me: Can't you hear?
Friend: Sure. I'll have another beer.

Even while we were talking about it, some of us were like 'what?' Further proving our point. :lol:

One of the worst cases of this was when my mom and I joined RT and Mrs RT to celebrate her 40th. We were all really amped up to try this new restaurant, but my god was it loud in there. It was one of those open industrial ceilings that just amplified everything x100. We couldn't even hear each other sitting at the same table. Really annoying, but we made the best of it. I always have a good time with the RT's.

Accoustics are an underrated part of the dining experience.
I equally hate places where you feel like you have to whisper because it is so quiet and places where you have to lip read to know what the person across the table is saying.
A nice ambient buzz in the background is good, but I will still really struggle to hear someone speaking in a room with background noise.
I don't think it is my ability to hear that is the problem, but an inability to tune other sounds out.


To go full boomer... I don't understand why some concerts are so loud, making music loud doesn't make it better, it also doesn't hide imperfections.