High-pitched noise when I use earplugs to sleep... Am I hearing something or is it my brain being stupid?

[brxndxn]

I have been having trouble sleeping lately, and though I doubt it is because of ambient noise, I decided to use a pair of ear plugs. When I put them in, everything that I heard in my room before seemed to be quieter. But, they didn't seem to block any of the extremely high-pitched ambient noise - like my roomate's TV and computer monitor and the streetlamp outside my room (I think that's where the noise is coming from). When I take the ear plugs out, I can still hear those noises, but they are made less annoying when the other ambient sounds are there to help drown it out.

They say that human hearing is at a range of 20-20,000hz.. Is that a set range? I swear I can hear things we're not supposed to hear - like my wireless router makes a high-pitched sound and so does my cable modem. When I plug in AC adapters - the big bulky ones - I can hear them usually, too. I also hear dog whistles - and not just up close.

Am I making this up in my head or am I actually hearing them? Also, when I put the earplugs in, are these high-pitched noises in my head or am I actually hearing something?

Is there any way to make the high-pitched noises go away when I try to sleep?

 

[d33pt]

that's cool..i think..

 

[MacBaine]

Looks like you've finally lost it.

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: brxndxn
I have been having trouble sleeping lately, and though I doubt it is because of ambient noise, I decided to use a pair of ear plugs. When I put them in, everything that I heard in my room before seemed to be quieter. But, they didn't seem to block any of the extremely high-pitched ambient noise - like my roomate's TV and computer monitor and the streetlamp outside my room (I think that's where the noise is coming from). When I take the ear plugs out, I can still hear those noises, but they are made less annoying when the other ambient sounds are there to help drown it out.

They say that human hearing is at a range of 20-20,000hz.. Is that a set range? I swear I can hear things we're not supposed to hear - like my wireless router makes a high-pitched sound and so does my cable modem. When I plug in AC adapters - the big bulky ones - I can hear them usually, too. I also hear dog whistles - and not just up close.

Am I making this up in my head or am I actually hearing them? Also, when I put the earplugs in, are these high-pitched noises in my head or am I actually hearing something?

Is there any way to make the high-pitched noises go away when I try to sleep?

Yeah, I can hear my TV when it changes channels. You aren't crazy.

 

[Amused]

It's called Tinnitis.

 

[Sundog]

Originally posted by: Amused
It's called Tinnitis.

Yep, the true test is if you go out somewhere remote, like camping 30 miles in a wilderness area, and you still hear the high noise.

 

[Kelvrick]

Originally posted by: Sundog

Originally posted by: Amused
It's called Tinnitis.

Yep, the true test is if you go out somewhere remote, like camping 30 miles in a wilderness area, and you still hear the high noise.

Yep, I got a mild case of it. Everything would be perfectly fine, but then when its like 4 in the morning and I'm getting ready to go to sleep and there is no noise at all and I lay down to sleep, I can hear sort of a high whistle. Its pretty soft and I think it only happens once in a while. At first, I was like, wtf was wrong with me, but now I'm used to it so I can go to sleep ignoring it.

<== monkey dance

 

[911paramedic]

Originally posted by: Sundog

Originally posted by: Amused
It's called Tinnitis.

Yep, the true test is if you go out somewhere remote, like camping 30 miles in a wilderness area, and you still hear the high noise.

Tinnitus is a medical condition when you hear that noise all the time, or better described as a "ringing in the ears". Like when you leave a concert and your ears are ringing, that is a temporary form of tinnitus.

Earplugs are meant for noises like gunshots, helos, etc. They keep out most of the very loud noises by decreasing the decibels you get, by about 35db or so. The frequencies you are talking about probably just pass right through.

 

[Kev]

Have you been to a concert recently? I had horrible tinnitis when I went to a concert once and was up at the front. My ears were ringing for 3 days, really loud. I almost went crazy.

 

[imported_Papi]

My dad has Meniere?s disease. It's not pretty. He's have his left ear drum removed and a portion of his right (I think) He's been thought tests from hell. One of tests involved him being strapped to one of those things that circus people use for knife throwing. Only this one spins at 100 miles an hour, in all directions. They needed to run this test to measure the water in his ears and how it contributes to the nauseous feeling and dizziness. There would be times when I would come home from school to find my dad lying on the ground, crying, screaming, wanting to die. It made him so dizzy that he could not get up off the ground. I would he him tell my mom he wanted to die. Imagine feeling sickly drunk 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year for 5 years.
Apparently this is not hereditary, so my chances and my sisters chances are slim to none of getting this. (knock on wood)

As long as its just the ringing you hear and its not causing dizziness or nausea, I think its just a normal thing you are experiencing. Your body have just become more aware. There's a name for sonic waves or something like that. Electricity. It's a very annoying sound. Sometimes at night when I've very tired. The kids are in bed, and everything is turned off I can still hear the staticy sound of the Television and it annoys the phuck out of me.

 

[911paramedic]

Originally posted by: yayo
My dad has Meniere?s disease. It's not pretty. He's have his left ear drum removed and a portion of his right (I think) He's been thought tests from hell. One of tests involved him being strapped to one of those things that circus people use for knife throwing. Only this one spins at 100 miles an hour, in all directions. They needed to run this test to measure the water in his ears and how it contributes to the nauseous feeling and dizziness. There would be times when I would come home from school to find my dad lying on the ground, crying, screaming, wanting to die. It made him so dizzy that he could not get up off the ground. I would he him tell my mom he wanted to die. Imagine feeling sickly drunk 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year for 5 years.
Apparently this is not hereditary, so my chances and my sisters chances are slim to none of getting this. (knock on wood)

My Father has Meniere's too, diagnosed about 6-8 months ago. He only gets the spells 1-3 times a week, but they can last up to 24 hours. I only saw him with the Sx once, but it is not pretty and no real cure that I know of.

Has there been any success with your fathers treatments?

 

[brxndxn]

My dad has Meniere?s disease. It's not pretty. He's have his left ear drum removed and a portion of his right (I think) He's been thought tests from hell. One of tests involved him being strapped to one of those things that circus people use for knife throwing. Only this one spins at 100 miles an hour, in all directions. They needed to run this test to measure the water in his ears and how it contributes to the nauseous feeling and dizziness. There would be times when I would come home from school to find my dad lying on the ground, crying, screaming, wanting to die. It made him so dizzy that he could not get up off the ground. I would he him tell my mom he wanted to die. Imagine feeling sickly drunk 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year for 5 years.

That sounds absolutely terrible... and it sounds an awfully lot like me once in a great while. I'm dizzy quite often - almost every morning.. but it's usually just in the morning right after I make myself get up. Although there's been a few times where I woke up because I felt violently dizzy - like it felt like I was being shaken back and forth even though I was just sitting there. It made me cry and I NEVER cry. I highly doubt I have what your dad does, though. That really sucks.

I really think I'm hearing actual noises, though. Because when I go outside, I usually do not hear the high-pitched sounds - but maybe that's just because outside noise drowns it out.

 

[imported_Papi]

brxndxn:
Maybe its just a equilibrium problem you have. Even still I'd have it checked out. It could be anything really. Good Luck and, yes I hope its not Meniere?s disease.

911paramedic:

The only think I can suggest is for your father to get as much information as he possible can about Meniere's. There are foods he should stay away from like Salt's, citrus (lemons, oranges, tomatoes) He should try to increase his potassium levels. Take water pills so that he doesn't retain water which can cause him to spin. And try to find a doctor he feels not only comfortable with but a doctor that takes it seriously, and will run tests.
No there is no cure for it. Other then the removal of the ear drum, which my father has had done and still some days its not different from when he actually had his ear drums still. Its scary because its new to him and his body hasn't accepted it yet. Sooner or later it becomes just a part of his life and he learns from it. He will know what he can and cant eat. Encourage him not to let it stop him from doing what he loves.
My dad's a drummer, never once did he let his Meniere's get to him and rob him of what he loves.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
Yeah, I can hear my TV when it changes channels. You aren't crazy.

I hear electrical resonance all the time. I also hear way above 20KHz. Chalk another one up for "not crazy".

If it's tinnitus, you hear it all the time, no matter what. It doesn't have a discernable source, other than "inside your head". Electrical resonance or sound outside normal hearing range you can pinpoint where it originates from.

( And thanks for reminding me of this. Now I've got to crank up the MP3s at work to drown out the *counts* 15 computers here at work )

- M4H

 

[AlienCraft]

It's tinnitus and it's a bitch. I have it. I've used and abused my ears for my entire life. (duhhhh)
Being in the "Muse-sick Business", it is an occupational hazard, like lead fumes from solder or the hazard of lifting a heavy amplifier into place incorrectly. The ears are amazing organs with an incredible range of sensitivityand ability to repair themselves, but they can be ruined by "accident" or carelessness. Repeated high level exposure WILL HARM you. Babies should be protected at every opportunity.
If an auditory "threshold" is reached it (tinnitus) will kick in. It is generally irreversible. The U.S.NAVY is conducting clinical experiments with a pill that reduces the effects.
Did I say it's a bitch?? I now use earplugs (custom molded) with a vaiety of attenuators for different purposes, and I use an In Ear Monitoring System whenever possible.
Oh yeah, ROLL UP THE CAR WINDOW... Most people have a dip in left ear response due to the damage wind creates.
Damn organic receptors......

Cover'em up.....

 

[arcas]

Mark me down as another person with Meniere?s syndrome. I've had it since my college days and I can attest to the spinning/dizziness sensation. At first, I didn't know what the fsck was going wrong with me. I was reading the newspaper and noticed that anytime I looked down, the room would start spinning and "twisting" violently. It's difficult to convey the sensation. I've been on spinning amusement park rides where I've gotten dizzy enough to become sick but there's just no comparison. So...I high-tailed it to the doctor thinking that it might be some kind of brain problem. After lots of electrodes, it was finally decided that I had Meniere's. As a kid, I was prone to inner ear infections and even had tubes put in my ears as an infant to help them drain properly so I guess this is just another in a series of ear problems for me.

Anyway, it's been 10 or 11 years since and it still happens from time to time. But there is good news. At first, I was like the guy's dad who's had it for 5 years. I literally couldn't sit up in bed. Soon, though, it began to fascinate me...I mean, the brain ties all the senses together in order to form a (normally) coherent picture of what's going on and vision is closely tied to the brain's sense of balance. For some reason, I found that to be intriguing. I found that I could almost always "induce" this if I tilted my head far back and to the side. The nice thing about these "induced" spells was that they'd go away within a few minutes if I stopped tilting my head. So I used that to try to get used to it for when the next "real" spell happened.

After a while I'd grown used to vertigo so dizziness no longer made me sick. Yay. It wasn't long before I could stand up and keep my balance when the room was spinning around wildly. Standing was easy. Maintaining balance without looking like a fool took a little practice. These days I can usually walk around my house and office while dizzy but I've been too afraid to ever try the stairs. Still maybe once a year I'll get dizzy enough that I have to sit down so it's not a perfect solution but it's alot better than not being able to get out of bed.

 

[Jzero]

My mom had a vertigo attack, but it doesn't seem to be Meniere's, but man if it was.....my mom gets really bad motion sickness very easily.
It's humorous to retell it, but that day she woke up, got out of bed, fell flat on her face. She crawled to a couch waiting for it to pass thinking she just had a head rush, but it didn't pass, and everytime she moved, she'd get sick. She told my dad she was just going to stay on that couch forever and never move her head.

She said it was the worst thing that ever happened to her.
"I spent my entire life avoiding going on the merry-go-round because it made me sick, and suddenly, my entire life WAS the merry-go-round!"

 

[silverpig]

One of my teachers had this odd condition that arose from an ear infection. The fluid in his ears solidified for a few days until the doctor gave him something to fix it. Basically he'd be walking along, and then he'd notice the ground getting really close, really fast. He had no balance at all. It was kinda funny when he was telling us the story actually. It'd suck to have that condition for an extended period though.

 

[tk149]

Originally posted by: brxndxn
They say that human hearing is at a range of 20-20,000hz.. Is that a set range?

No. It varies from person to person. Some people can hear considerably higher frequencies, and some can hear lower than 20 hz. I knew a guy who could hear the security alarms in stores buzz.

In general, most young children can hear in this range (20-20,000 hz), but as you get older, you lose the ability to hear the higher frequencies. I don't know if this is just linked straight to age, or stupid people listening to very loud music. I think some older people can't hear above 16,000 hz. IIRC, the hair cells in your ear that actually detect sonic vibrations are very sensitive, and once they die, they never get replaced. And they can be killed by excessively loud noise.

BTW, Audio Compact Discs were designed to yield a range from 20-20,000 hz. Analog recordings (vinyl records) yield a greater frequency range.

 

[OS]

Originally posted by: AlienCraft
It's tinnitus and it's a bitch. I have it. I've used and abused my ears for my entire life. (duhhhh)
Being in the "Muse-sick Business", it is an occupational hazard, like lead fumes from solder or the hazard of lifting a heavy amplifier into place incorrectly. The ears are amazing organs with an incredible range of sensitivityand ability to repair themselves, but they can be ruined by "accident" or carelessness. Repeated high level exposure WILL HARM you. Babies should be protected at every opportunity.
If an auditory "threshold" is reached it (tinnitus) will kick in. It is generally irreversible. The U.S.NAVY is conducting clinical experiments with a pill that reduces the effects.
Did I say it's a bitch?? I now use earplugs (custom molded) with a vaiety of attenuators for different purposes, and I use an In Ear Monitoring System whenever possible.
Oh yeah, ROLL UP THE CAR WINDOW... Most people have a dip in left ear response due to the damage wind creates.
Damn organic receptors......

Cover'em up.....

That's interesting you mention all that because I'm worried i've taken some hearing damage, i have ringing in my ears when it's dead silent at night.

If i do have damage, it'd be from the clubs and raves I've gone to, but I haven't been to that many.

 

[Jzero]

That's interesting you mention all that because I'm worried i've taken some hearing damage, i have ringing in my ears when it's dead silent at night.

If i do have damage, it'd be from the clubs and raves I've gone to, but I haven't been to that many.

You'd be surprised just how little it takes. I am a bona fide earplug junkie. I now keep a plastic bag full of foamies in the trunk of my car. Just in case.

 

[Paulson]

I hear this almost all the time..

I listen to loud music all the time, but I can still hear when a tv is on in a room (even if the screen is blank and w/out fuzz)..

I can also hear a variety of other odd signals (such as power and things like that)

weird.

 

[AlienCraft]

Welcome to the club< Pun intended....
It only takes one time to break them..... and they never fully recover after that trauma.... and then gets progressivly worse. An Ex I hadn't seen in a while came by last week and said my TV was louder than when we were living together, more than 7 years ago.... 'Eehh Whats that Sweetie??? Speak into the tin horn...heh heh heh.... < senior moments are so ... old....

 

[OS]

Originally posted by: Jzero


You'd be surprised just how little it takes. I am a bona fide earplug junkie. I now keep a plastic bag full of foamies in the trunk of my car. Just in case.

Yeah that's why it bothers me. OTOH, I don't want to stop going to clubs/raves and wearing earplugs during one looks seriously gay especially when you're hitting on a girl. 'Hi, I'm Pointdexter, I post on anandtech.'

ahhh, the decisions and dilemmas I face.

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: OS

Originally posted by: Jzero


You'd be surprised just how little it takes. I am a bona fide earplug junkie. I now keep a plastic bag full of foamies in the trunk of my car. Just in case.

Yeah that's why it bothers me. OTOH, I don't want to stop going to clubs/raves and wearing earplugs during one looks seriously gay especially when you're hitting on a girl. 'Hi, I'm Pointdexter, I post on anandtech.'

ahhh, the decisions and dilemmas I face.

I used to think that. At the ripe old age of 18 I decided I didn't want to go deaf just so I could look more fashionable. Besides, a lot of earplugs aren't all that noticeable. The ones I keep in my car are green foamies and they aren't very discreet, but I do have some better ones that have little stems that are hard to see.