Years ago I noticed that when I fell asleep in front of the TV…the volume would be set around 25(for example). If I woke up maybe at 4 in the morning, the TV seemed to be way too loud. I would be able to turn down the volume to around 5 or so and be able to hear just as well as when it was on a higher volume. Since then, I have noticed how much better my hearing right after sleep. There must have been studies done on this and I am betting that it is a survival reflex or something. It makes me realize how strong the hearing of a blind person might actually be.
Sorry, no information about studies and so on, but I’ve noticed something that might be related. I never considered it to be physiological in origin though:
If it’s daytime and you’re going about your business, opening doors, dropping teaspoons into the sink, flushing the toilet all seem to be at acceptable, or even quiet, sound levels. However, if you try it again late at night when there’re no background sounds coz all sensible people are in bed, the noises seem very loud indeed.
I’ve always assumed that this was psychological in origin, that the lack of background noise and (possibly) the worry of disturbing nearby sleepers made me think the noises were unacceptably loud. Thinking about it, however, it’s not inconceivable that when it is quiet at night, your ears try harder to hear things and hence things sounds louder.
On a related note - I once had a wax build up in my ear that meant I could hear almost nothing through the left ear. My right ear was fine. I just didn’t get round to going to the doctor for a while, so it was over a month before it was syringed and cleared out. Once it was out, my body was still “correcting” for the build up of wax. It was as though I could hear everything in the world… all sounds in my left ear were greatly amplified. The effect wore off within about a day… but it was pretty weird all the same.
I’m not sure if it has to do with being asleep or the fact that you get acclimatized to the sound of the tv in the evening. I have noticed that just about every time I turn on the tv it’s too loud. Then during the course of the show I keep having to turn it up. Maybe the furnace comes on or a plane passes over, each time I turn it up. Then I turn it off and go to bed, and the next day when I turn on the TV it’s too loud again.
You get acclimatized to lots of conditions in the environment. The same way you can’t smell your own body odour or you don’t notice the sound of the fridge, or the way a toilet flush sounds much louder in isolation. Everything is relative. I really suspect that it’s the reason the TV sounds too loud in the morning. Your idea of loud was reset while you were asleep. By the end of the day, it’s been distorted again and you want the TV louder again.
I know exactly what you mean. When I used to stay up late partying, then have work at 6:00 in the morning, I’d come home from work (apartment totally quiet) and would love to fall asleep to my CD’s/Stereo. Remote in hand, I’d play a track and start to drift off. As I’d begin to enter that initial stage of sleep, I’d suddenly awaken to the sound of the stereo, absolutely stunned that it was so loud, and yet the volume hadn’t changed. I’d be AMAZED at how much I could turn DOWN the volume, close my eyes, and still hear it as I had when I laid down the first time.
Does this sound kind of like what you’re talking about?
More anecdotal information. I have noticed that the stereo seems a lot louder when I turn off the lights. Example, I go to bed and turn the stereo on, after 5 or 10 minutes I turn the lights off, I immediately have to turn the stereo down as it seems a lot louder. I always thought it had something to do with my brain having less sensory input and being able to focus much more on the sound. So you then don’t need the sound as loud.