I’m often bothered by loud, very low frequency sounds that most people can’t hear. I avoid one of my local superstores becsuse, for me, it sounds like a flight of propellor driven planes are flying through the place. In open country I can hear traffic on a motorway 5 miles away.Some cars produce hardly any low frequency sound, others, even small cars, have an awesomely loud rumble.
Since this is asking about personal experiences, let’s move it to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
Have you been tested for tinnitus? Sounds like the symptoms. (No pun intended.)
You should have baseline audio hearing tests performed by an audiologist to gather more information.
Seconding tinnitus. Most often its a loud ringing or buzzing, sometimes always present, sometimes on occasion. Or you might just have sensitive hearing, allowing you to notice lower pitch.
My hearings test in the “social deafness” range, and I have hearing aides which I even occasionally wear. Actually I have an appointment to get them fixed so I will be wearing them full time around the begining of September.
I have told ENTs that I hear two kinds of noise. A low marching sound, and occasional high pitched frequencies. I was told the low marching thud thud sound is due to hearing my own pulse in my ears when I have fluid behind the eardrum. The high sounds are damaged nerves resonating for no reason.
When my ears are particularly blocked from a cold or ear infection, I can only hear very low noises. For a while back in 2011 the only human voice I could hear was a kid who worked part time for my husband, his voice was a very deep bass. I used to beg Cory to come over for supper just so I could hear him.
No, you can’t. You need to see a doctor.
I have a hyper-sensitivity to sounds, as well. I am not sure whether I have some similar problem, but I have thought about this type of subject for a very long time. Sometimes there can be tiny little holes in your little ear bones and such which make sounds really loud.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superior_canal_dehiscence
For me, I just think I am in a perpetual fight-or-flight state. I am highly aware of those tiny noises just out of range of hearing. My brain will focus on them so much they seem to become as loud or louder than someone speaking a foot away from me and I won’t be able to hear someone talk to me over those micro-noises. Somehow I don’t filter out unimportant sounds, and the ones just out of range/nearly imperceivable are the worst.
It is possible if the conditions are right.
To the OP, when I was younger, my dad had a diesel pickup that hit a certain low frequency when it idled. It made me nauseaus. My family apparently could not hear it. It was a very low rumble, almost out of the range of hearing. I would have to get out, I couldn’t tolerate it.
Theoretically, yes. But it’s not going to happen in any realistic conditions.
Maybe “the Hum”?
Yes, I hear it sometimes.
Extract:
The helicotrema can have a significant impact on low-frequency auditory sensitivity due to its influence on cochlear input impedance.