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I almost lost my hearing from the lid on the tank of a toilet

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Re: I almost lost my hearing from the lid on the tank of a toilet

#121

Post by ThrowawayP »

cian wrote: post #6
kbutler wrote: post #3

> An audiologist friend told me to go to an ENT physician if not better by 48 hours or the damage could be permanent. Much longer than that and it would be too late to try any of the interventions This seems like poor advice. If there is significant, realistic concern about permanent damage, I'd suggest checking immediately, rather than give it extra time...

Yes, I always find it amazing how patients can have a sudden sensorineural hearing loss and wait days before presenting. In my opinion patients and the public should treat it as urgently as a sudden sight loss. High dose steroids are regularly prescribed in this sort of scenario in an attempt to minimize damage, and are likely to be more effective the sooner they are given.

> Yes, I always find it amazing how patients can have a sudden sensorineural hearing loss and wait days before presenting.

Having gone to the physician with complaints many times and be told to wait to see if the issue goes away (most of them didn't) or that there's nothing to be done about it, one is quickly trained not to bother going to a physician for anything short of a major injury.

(And this behavior is from a physician who is a Ph.D at a teaching hospital, no less.)

Re: I almost lost my hearing from the lid on the tank of a toilet

#122

Post by jdietrich »

flyinglizard wrote: post #55
0xfaded wrote: post #45

I have mild tinnitus in one ear, from what I suspect was a friend screaming into my ear that she was going to the bathroom at a noisy club. I'm relatively lucky, my hearing is still better than most, but it does suck. I've decided I will never go to another club, and in bars I wear ear plugs. I have more to lose, since any additional damage will likely make my tinnitus more severe. Seriously though, hearing is one of…

I get to visit clubs/shows every few months and I always use a pair of musician earplugs, (Etymotic, standard - not custom fitted). It gives a nice and even attenuation, which after few minutes you don't even notice (other than perhaps slightly elevating very low frequencies relative to the rest). Your mind is very quick to normalize the volume level anyway, no matter if you're with or without protection. Why suffer…

Any competent sound engineer is wearing ear protection, so you're usually hearing a better mix with ear plugs in. Your plugs colour the sound slightly, but the mix engineer is subconsciously compensating for the colouration of his own plugs.

If the sound engineer isn't wearing ear plugs, the same logic probably applies. Noise-induced hearing loss has roughly the same effects on your hearing as earplugs, acting like a shallow lowpass filter.

Re: I almost lost my hearing from the lid on the tank of a toilet

#123

Post by ams6110 »

lsaferite wrote: post #10
Keverw wrote: post #8

That's insane! Never would of thought it would mess with your hearing. I figured just a nasty mess to clean up. Our toilet seems like it wants to run every so often but usually wiggling the lever helps. I hate lifting that thing up, always imagine what a mess it would be if you dropped it. I wish they made the tank lids out of plastic.

You could go the wall-mount toilet rout like you find in Europe. The only ceramic there is the bowl itself. https://www.homedepot.com/p/300820608

Most American homes are not roughed in for a toilet like that. The waste pipe will be in the floor, about 12 to 14 inches from the wall. So installing one of these in an existing home is going to require changing both your water and waste plumbing and opening a pretty big hole in the floor and the wall to get at all of that. Additionally this is about 6x the price of a standard toilet. Not too surprising why they aren't that common.

Re: I almost lost my hearing from the lid on the tank of a toilet

#124

Post by trott »

Zitrax wrote: post #107
trott wrote: post #79

> This predicts 138 dB of sound. I doubt that one can calculate the sound amplitude accurately without doing experiments or complex simulations here. It's possible that the toilet bowl or lid focused the sound like a satellite dish, and the protagonist's ear was in the exact wrong place at the wrong time. Visual aid: https://blueandgreentomorrow.com/energy/in-pictures-new-wave...

Which is also mentioned in the article: "This lid was concave up like an antenna, near my face when it hit, focusing the energy into my face."

Thanks. The spherical wave assumption used in the calculation is not compatible with the focusing effect, and could be wildly wrong in this case.

Re: I almost lost my hearing from the lid on the tank of a toilet

#125

Post by metaobject »

jdietrich wrote: post #122
flyinglizard wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get to visit clubs/shows every few months and I always use a pair of musician earplugs, (Etymotic, standard - not custom fitted). It gives a nice and even attenuation, which after few minutes you don't even notice (other than perhaps slightly elevating very low frequencies relative to the rest). Your mind is very quick to normalize the volume level anyway, no matter if you're with or without protection. Why suffer…

Any competent sound engineer is wearing ear protection, so you're usually hearing a better mix with ear plugs in. Your plugs colour the sound slightly, but the mix engineer is subconsciously compensating for the colouration of his own plugs. If the sound engineer isn't wearing ear plugs, the same logic probably applies. Noise-induced hearing loss has roughly the same effects on your hearing as earplugs, acting like a…

That might be why when I go to clubs/etc it seems like the treble is cranked up to 10 on those large speakers. I've changed my EQ preferences as I've gotten older to prefer a somewhat diminished treble/higher frequencies.

Re: I almost lost my hearing from the lid on the tank of a toilet

#126

Post by rocqua »

owlsaway wrote: post #99
leetcrew wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

if i understand correctly, the noise is caused by physical vibrations (as opposed to electrical waves) propagating up the cables. i think it's basically insoluble for earbuds/iems.

Microphonics!^[1] This is why you'll see IEMs designed with the cable going up and around your ear, rather than straight down. [1]: http://ear-buds.org/microphonics-and-how-it-affects-your-ear... (I have no idea how sourcing things works here. Hopefully I did it right?)

Pretty close to how most people source. You can just leave out the ^ it's just an inline [1], [2] etc. There are now hard and fast rules though, it's just common practice.

I think this is essentially people copying the ACM reference style.

Re: I almost lost my hearing from the lid on the tank of a toilet

#127

Post by amelius »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #114
gowld wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Handyman is more like $50, and it's insurance against permanent hearing damage, breathing fiberglass, etc.

As an independent contractor, if you're charging $50/hour, I question your finances/skills unless you're in a very low cost area and even then it's pretty unbelievable. The risks for household tasks are so rare that they do not come into calculations, it's like worrying about tripping every time you take a step.

Isn't there a saying: most accidents happen at home?

Re: I almost lost my hearing from the lid on the tank of a toilet

#128

Post by metaobject »

psyc wrote: post #116
macintux wrote: post #83

I very recently thought I might have permanently damaged my eyesight. I was working from a library, and stood to start closing up for the day. As I started to close my laptop, the screen (hi, glossy MacBook Pro) directly reflected the sun behind me. For the next 15-20 minutes a significant portion of my vision in both eyes was wavy. I could still safely drive home, thankfully, but it was a severe distraction. While I…

I've had occasional ocular migraines for about 20 years. They aren't painful. They show up as golden, wavy distortions in my visual field. I can't work or drive when it's in effect. Typically triggered by staring at a screen for a long time without a break.

I've had ocular migraines for many years as well, maybe 10-15 per year. No pain either, but I've been unable to correlate their occurrence with any specific activity. They just (seemingly) pop up out of nowhere.

Re: I almost lost my hearing from the lid on the tank of a toilet

#130

Post by colanderman »

macintux wrote: post #83

I very recently thought I might have permanently damaged my eyesight. I was working from a library, and stood to start closing up for the day. As I started to close my laptop, the screen (hi, glossy MacBook Pro) directly reflected the sun behind me. For the next 15-20 minutes a significant portion of my vision in both eyes was wavy. I could still safely drive home, thankfully, but it was a severe distraction. While I…

Glossy screens really ought to be buried in the trash heap of technological hype history. They're worse in every way than matte screens (and dangerous, as you point out) unless you live in a dark cave. It continually amazes me that so-called "high-end" products use them.
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