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Tinnitus question (2 Viewers)

Stan

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Years ago, did network admin and tech support for a company. On the floor where my office was, suddenly started hearing this super high pitched noise. Drove me crazy because it echoed throughout the entire area and I couldn't find the source. None of the other 50-60 people on that floor noticed, said it was just my imagination.

Finally tracked it down to a particular PC and its hard drive. The woman using it and all the people around her, nothing, never noticed a thing.

Surprise, surprise, the hard drive croaked a week later. Fixed everything and finally, peace and quiet.

Maybe I've got Superman or Bionic Woman hearing :P
 

BobO'Link

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Years ago, did network admin and tech support for a company. On the floor where my office was, suddenly started hearing this super high pitched noise. Drove me crazy because it echoed throughout the entire area and I couldn't find the source. None of the other 50-60 people on that floor noticed, said it was just my imagination.

Finally tracked it down to a particular PC and its hard drive. The woman using it and all the people around her, nothing, never noticed a thing.

Surprise, surprise, the hard drive croaked a week later. Fixed everything and finally, peace and quiet.

Maybe I've got Superman or Bionic Woman hearing :P
I'd do pretty much the same with CRT monitors. I was in broadcast (20+ years) and was usually the first to detect the whine from a failing flyback transformer. Like your HD whine it'd bore through my skull and would be "everywhere" in the room. Because of my tinnitus I'd have to go up to each monitor (there were 20 on the main wall) using my right ear to find the one with the issue. I'd then go get one of the engineers to check and was never wrong.
 

David Norman

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Years ago, did network admin and tech support for a company. On the floor where my office was, suddenly started hearing this super high pitched noise. Drove me crazy because it echoed throughout the entire area and I couldn't find the source. None of the other 50-60 people on that floor noticed, said it was just my imagination.

Finally tracked it down to a particular PC and its hard drive. The woman using it and all the people around her, nothing, never noticed a thing.

Surprise, surprise, the hard drive croaked a week later. Fixed everything and finally, peace and quiet.

Maybe I've got Superman or Bionic Woman hearing :P

Let me hazard a guess -- you were less than 25 and most of the rest of the employees were above 30.
I think I have a frequency rolloff above 14K now (mid 50's+), but I remember testing about 18K in my 20's and in Grad School. I tested some of my kids when they were
teens when the whole High Freq ringtone craze was going around and they easily did 18-20K

I could always hear that CRT whine and could tell when many sets were on even when I wasn't in the room. Seems like even normal CRT make a little noise.
I only have a couple 14 in sets left and don't think I notice it anymore though
 

Stan

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Let me hazard a guess -- you were less than 25 and most of the rest of the employees were above 30.
I think I have a frequency rolloff above 14K now (mid 50's+), but I remember testing about 18K in my 20's and in Grad School. I tested some of my kids when they were
teens when the whole High Freq ringtone craze was going around and they easily did 18-20K

I could always hear that CRT whine and could tell when many sets were on even when I wasn't in the room. Seems like even normal CRT make a little noise.
I only have a couple 14 in sets left and don't think I notice it anymore though

Also mid '50s now, but I was maybe mid '30s when this happened.

My city also installed some High Freq things in the downtown area to annoy the teens and stop them from loitering. Supposedly older people couldn't hear them. Wrong.

I could hear them, incredibly annoying, kind of like a mosquito buzzing around your ear. No wonder our downtown has been fading for years.

Same thing with the CRT whine, I could hear it, but nobody else seemed to notice. Also had software where the icon and program itself would "flutter"? because of the screen refresh rate frequency. Not sure if that's the right word, but same thing, nobody else saw it.

Maybe I'm an alien :)
 

David Norman

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If your are lucky - genes, weren't really into superloud music and/or Head phone when you were younger I still know some even 60+ yo that can hear at 16-18K level.

I did that off the computer inside a roomful of 20-30 adults (30-80yo) and a couple teens about 10-12 years ago -- none of the adults could hear the 18K Frequency, but the teens were decidedly uncomfortable even at low-mid volume and not knowing what I was doing. After explaining to the adults in the room Even turning up the volume didn't help the adults at 18k. At 16-17K many of the younger adults could hear it all of the sudden -- I could hear at 16 then, but not now. The 60-70yo (none with any significant hearing loss at regular Conversation/Music levels) couldn't hear it until I moved down into the 10-12K range.
 

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