Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

threadreaderapp.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

141–150 of 405 posts

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

#141

Post by buttcoinslol »

fwdpropaganda wrote: post #56
LukeShu wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dr. Philip Metzger is a planetary physicist who recently retired from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, where he co-founded the KSC Swamp Works. He now is now at the University of Central Florida -- but still a part of the Swamp Works team -- his website

Jesus Christ, so they don't pay him enough and he's fixing toilets on the side?

It takes about 5 minutes and $15 max in parts to fix anything inside the cistern on a toilet if you have a wet/dry vac, you don't even need any other tools. A bit of knowledge can save you a $150 service call from a plumber.

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

#142

Post by jstanley »

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…

If the sound engineer tunes for the coloured sound, and the sound that he is hearing is coloured the same regardless of whether he is wearing ear plugs, does it not then follow that the sound that you are hearing is coloured the same regardless of whether you are wearing ear plugs?

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

#143

Post by psyc »

metaobject wrote: post #128
psyc wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I may be biased since, honestly, I'm never not staring at a monitor.

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

#144

Post by buttcoinslol »

gowld wrote: post #97
lotsofpulp wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fixing a toilet is dead simple, as are most household tasks. Either you'd have to be very rich to not have it be worth 1 hour of your time, since a plumber will surely be $100 at least, or you can't be bothered to watch a couple short videos on youtube.

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

> it's insurance against permanent hearing damage, breathing fiberglass, etc.

You can buy ear plugs and N95 rated masks for cheaper than paying someone to do the work.

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

#145

Post by jstanley »

eaandkw2 wrote: post #118
astura wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not even a cost, I have free healthcare through the military and I hesitate to visit doctors. First off, 99% of the time whatever it is fixes itself with time. Going to the doctor requires lots of time and effort, outside urgent care or the ER you're going to have to be going during the workday. Then they might refer you to other doctors and each one wants more and more of your time. I know a guy who goes to the…

Going to war in Iraq a few times I have heard and experienced a lot of loud sounds. Being about 20m away from the impact of a 105mm canon from an AC-130 was pretty loud. Being right next to a M1 Abrams was probably the worst. A Marine near me actually had a collapsed lung from being in the blast zone. I also RSO’d for a range that shot off 41 SMAW rockets. I had a bad headache for a couple of days after that. Then th…

The families of the people you were out there to kill will never get their loved ones back.

But I hope your bad hearing isn't too inconvenient.

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

#146

Post by scarlac »

abalone wrote: post #138

Apart from all the good discussion on hearing loss... now I’m thinking about “safer” toilets. Why are lids made from ceramic anyway? I get why the bowl is, but the lid? Beyond the loudness / hearing loss issue, it’s just so darn heavy!

> Why are lids made from ceramic anyway?

Could be because of production reasons. Easier to get it produced in the same place than to coordinate shipping to another place and assembly.

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

#147

Post by Johnny555 »

abalone wrote: post #138

Apart from all the good discussion on hearing loss... now I’m thinking about “safer” toilets. Why are lids made from ceramic anyway? I get why the bowl is, but the lid? Beyond the loudness / hearing loss issue, it’s just so darn heavy!

Probably the same reason the rest of the toilet is -- it's strong, durable, scratch resistant, doesn't degrade with age (toilets can last for decades, my parent's toilet is original with the house, so is 40+ years old), and is easy to clean. It's heavy enough to not need any fastening mechanism to keep it on. And it perfectly matches the rest of the toilet, so you don't end up with a yellowed plastic lid on your bright white ceramic toilet.

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

#148

Post by kuschku »

abalone wrote: post #138

Apart from all the good discussion on hearing loss... now I’m thinking about “safer” toilets. Why are lids made from ceramic anyway? I get why the bowl is, but the lid? Beyond the loudness / hearing loss issue, it’s just so darn heavy!

> Why are lids made from ceramic anyway? I get why the bowl is, but the lid? Beyond the loudness / hearing loss issue, it’s just so darn heavy!

I've never seen a toilet that had a ceramic lid in Germany.

Is this just a US thing?

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

#149

Post by lttlrck »

fragsworth wrote: post #67

My hearing was ACTUALLY permanently damaged when a sticky iron weight fell on a leg press machine at a 24-hour fitness about 5 years ago. The weights looked like these: http://www.presentationzen.com/.a/6a00d83451b64669e201156eb4... One extra weight slab was "stuck" to the group that was supposed to get lifted. It was stuck because the weights at the gym were grimy from many years of use without being cleaned. The ex…

It may recover with time.

When I was a teen I dismantled a shotgun cartridge and removed the shot and paper charge (lots of tiny paper discs). I stuffed them down the thick end of a car telescopic antenna cut to about 4” with the end folded over. I threw in a couple of pieces of lead shot, tamped it down with a piece of paper, stuck the tube under a rock and set up a paper target 6” away. I was optimistic.

Then, with a friend, held a lighter under the closed end. Fortunately I was to the side. Predictably it fired out the back... it was very loud.

Possibly the stupidest thing I’ve ever done. It could have gone wrong is so many way. The adolescent brain is a strange thing.

The ringing lasted a few years but went away.

Post reply on HN