IO80214@MAINE.BITNET (Jake) (02/11/91)
Just on a curious note; what causes the high pitched sound that one hears when all else is quiet? Also, is there any way to tone down the loudness of it? The one I am referring to may be the result of many things. I am not versed in the workings of the body, so I can only speculate that either it is the result of listening to things that are too loud or the like; or some internal sound maybe blood passing through veins or capularies. For point of reference, I've tried isolating myself for a day to see if it was a result of daily noise, but the sound still persisted. Sometimes the hum [buzz] is so loud I have trouble sleeping. If I concentrate on the sound it appears to be a combination of three separate pitches. So my question is; "What causes this and how can I quiet it?" Jake Thompson Bitnet: Io80214@maine University of Maine Internet: Io80214@maine.maine.edu
szarekw@lonexc.radc.af.mil (William J. Szarek) (02/12/91)
In article <91041.230852IO80214@MAINE.BITNET> IO80214@MAINE.BITNET (Jake) writes: > > Just on a curious note; what causes the high pitched >sound that one hears when all else is quiet? Also, is there >any way to tone down the loudness of it? The one I am referring YOU cause the "buzz"! It is caused by the auto-oscillation of the detectors in the inner ear. If someone puts their ear up next to yours when you are experiencing this "buzz" they will be able to hear it as it eminates from your ear! (dont try this with strangers!! :-)) It has been suggested that this takes place to desensitize the inner ear to certain frequencies, allowing you to hear *very* faint sounds with a remarkable ability to discriminate frequency and direction. It most often takes place when it is quiet. If you are *listening* for something in a quiet room this will most often trigger this "buzz". It will also happen after a rock concert because your ability to receive audio signals is attenuated. as you hear people talking this "buzz" will begin to enhance your ability to understand people as they speak. >trouble sleeping. If I concentrate on the sound it appears to be >a combination of three separate pitches. So my question is; "What >causes this and how can I quiet it?" The best way to prevent this from happening is to simply not *listen*. If you are listening for something, even this "buzz" you have been habitually hearing, you are setting up the necessary condititions for its existance. The possibly best way to prevent it is to play music (classical music is best due to its wide variation, and pleasant soothing tones. Do not however, play it too quietly, if so you will try to *listen* to it and again set your self for torment. If you play it too loudly and think you hear something in your house you will try to hear it and will again set yourself up. If you have had this problem for a while your most difficult challange will be to condition yourself *not* to expect it to happen. Breaking habbits is the hardest thing people try to do. good luck buzz
ajpierce@ulah.med.unc.edu (Andrew Pierce) (02/13/91)
In article <91041.230852IO80214@MAINE.BITNET> IO80214@MAINE.BITNET (Jake) writes: > > Just on a curious note; what causes the high pitched >sound that one hears when all else is quiet? Also, is there I don't know what causes the sound you here but I hear it too. I can also tell if a TV is on in the next room, even with the volume muted off, by the high pitched humming it makes. It is interesting that bats with their echo-location sensing are apparently able to hear up to 150 kHz vs 30 kHz max for humans. At 150 kHz is it almost getting to the point where the bats can hear thermal noise, ie. the motion of the molecules in air. -Andy
schumach@convex.com (Richard A. Schumacher) (02/13/91)
Some possibilities: 1) damage to auditory nerves caused by exposure to loud sounds or simple aging. 2) A version of a weird and amusing phenomenon reported in Science News sometime in 1989 [I haven't found it yet] in which some guinea pigs ears were found to generate high-pitched tones, occasionally loud enough to be heard several feet away. The mechanism was unknown.
lstowell@pyrnova.pyramid.com (Lon Stowell) (02/14/91)
In article <schumach.666405928@convex.convex.com> schumach@convex.com (Richard A. Schumacher) writes: >Some possibilities: > 1) damage to auditory nerves caused by exposure to >loud sounds or simple aging. > 2) A version of a weird and amusing phenomenon reported in Science News > sometime in 1989 [I haven't found it yet] in which some guinea pigs ears > were found to generate high-pitched tones, occasionally >loud enough to be heard several feet away. The mechanism was unknown. Can you say "tinnitus"?