This could just as easily be in MPSIMS but what the hey. Last night around 9:30ish I was outside rounding up the cat when this very loud, very high pitched . . . ringing(?) sound started. I don’t really know what to compare it to but it didn’t sound like a plane engine or a siren or a car alarm or anything I could identify. I didn’t see anything in the sky in the way of planes (or flying saucers). Out front I didn’t see anyone else come out of their house or hear the neighborhood dogs bark; my cat didn’t seem to notice it.
It wasn’t deafening to where you’d clamp your hands over your ears and fall to the ground, 1950s horror movie style, but it was still clearly audible from inside the house. I debated whether or not to call the non-emergency police line, if for no other reason to confirm another human being was hearing it. It went on for (I think) about eight minutes and I had just picked up my phone when it stopped.
Has anyone experienced anything like this? I know it’s hard to say since you don’t know what it sounded like but have you ever encountered a noise you couldn’t identify? If it makes any difference I am a couple miles from a small, private airport and am across the bay from an air force base.
I googled using phrases like " St Pete Mar 6" and “loud noise, St Pete”. I even looked at the AFB site (as if they’re going to advertise to the world what they’re testing :smack:)
[QUOTE=Count Blucher]
Could it have been an oil truck filling a neighbors in-ground oil tank?
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I don’t know; you tell me I have no idea what that would sound like. There is a gas station a less than a quart mile away (?)
Enola Gay, It seemed to last about 8 min. Admittedly I didn’t look at the clock but I wandered in and out of the house and around out side and generally tried to “wait it out”. As to tinnitus, can’t the sufferer tell the sound is coming from within their own ears? This definitely sounded like it was coming form outside and there was even sort of an echo effect. Of course, tinnitus is preferable to my just losing my marbles. . .
My Dad has tinnitus and it is very weird and individual. For years he thought he was hearing external sounds because it was happening when he was alone. Then when it happened when he was with someone, he got confirmation that it was in fact, tinnitus.
He was also confused because he always thought tinnitus was ‘ringing in the ears’, but he describes the sound he hears as more like a whirring, whistling & very loud noise, similar to a missile.
:eek: Eep. I listened to the sound files on that web site and while it doesn’t match exactly, one of them is kind of close (though obviously not nearly as loud). If that’s what I experienced, it’s hard to believe it was coming from inside my own head. Those are some mighty good special effects I’ve created
Does your neighborhood have a presence on a site like Nextdoor or a Facebook page? You could check those and see if anyone mentions hearing anything, or join and post about it yourself.
Most people think of tinnitus as a high-pitched ringing sound, but it can be low frequencies, too.No, it’s not easy to tell if it is self-generated.
About 20 years ago, I kept hearing a very faint, low frequency sound, much like a diesel engine surging. Low frequencies are non-directional, and it’s hard to pinpoint the source direction, which is why subwoofers work in hifi systems.
I tried to find the source of the sound by driving around, stopping the motorcycle, and listening. Low frequency sounds also can travel quite a distance. I thought it might be a logging operation in the vast woods near me, but never could pinpoint it or get closer, and a logging operation probably wouldn’t continue into the night and on weekends as this sound did.
I came to the conclusion that the sound was in my head. After many years, I no longer heard it.
You guys are freaking me out about the tinnitus :eek:Would the noise sound lower in volume by going indoors if it was self-generated ?
I noticed one of the examples on the page Enola Gay linked to is called “cicadas” . Does that mean I’m not really hearing them either?:o
Guess I’ll probably never know unless it happens again and it’s certainly not worrisome or anything but it was just so odd; I *almost *feel like I dreamed it (I didn’t).
You have an exaggerated opinion of cellphone capabilities. For an obscure, low-level sound, this won’t work well.
It shouldn’t make any difference indoors or out if it is truly self-generated, but other sounds (wind, traffic outside; appliances, etc. indoors) can mask what you hear.
It sounds like your sound is low-frequency, and such sounds are often subject to room acoustics. I have a room in my house where I can hear the garbage truck’s rumble better than standing outside due to the shape and composition of the walls and ceiling. It acts as an acoustic amplifier for some frequencies. But the same walls attenuate high frequency sounds like bird calls and frog chirps.
You shouldn’t get freaked out about tinnitus. It is VERY common, treatable, and often happens only once, or sporatically–it is not necessarily a chronic condition and it’s really not a big deal --easy for me to say, I know.
ETA: Do you produce a lot of earwax? That can be a cause…or maybe it’s just your neighbor’s air conditioning unit. Though the cat not reacting leans me towards tinnitus.
If the cat’s outside more than WOOKINPANUB is, the cat may already be familiar with that sound. IME, cats are damn good at filtering out sounds they have encountered with some routineness, even sounds you’d think would be disturbing.
I have heard a very loud high-pitched whine outside. I assume it comes from one of the houses behind mine. Closing the window makes it quiet enough to ignore.
I have no idea what that would sound like. There is a gas station a less than a quart mile away (?)