got a question for hearing

[Diesel]

this is my time in any chat room and I'm at a loss. I'm just trying to talk to someone in the deaf community about training to be a Diesel Mechanic. I presently teach Diesel Mechanics at a Technical college and this is the first year I will have a Deaf student. My first concern is safety, we work primarily on Heavy equipment and part of our training is operating the equipment. If anyone is interested in helping me please reply.

 

[Hear Again]

I don't think most deaf who use devices to help them hear realize just how accustomed we are to all the various sounds. I've spoken several times with friends who said all the different sounds they can hear when they have they're CI or aids in makes them go insane. We're just used to all the background noises. In fact, I don't think I have ever experienced complete silence.

When my first CI was activated, I couldn't believe how LOUD the world was. In fact, wearing my processor for more than 2 hours at a time gave me a headache because I couldn't stand all of the noise. Prior to receiving my CIs, I had severe-profound hearing loss for 10 years and had forgotten about soft environmental sounds, how many sounds there can be in the environment, how sounds can change in intensity (i.e. from loud to soft or soft to loud) as well as clarity of speech. Even though I've had over 20 years of auditory memory, my CI activation was quite an "awakening" because it made me realize just how much sound and speech clarity I was missing all these years with hearing aids.

 

[restless_heart]

Total silence is VERY un-nerving. This happens in two places for me. One was in a house I grew up in built in the 1850's. On a hot still summer day when no one else was home and there were no appliances on, the only sound was my own breathing and hearbeat. After an hour or so it was tough.

The other place is in "sound proof booths". Not sound proof actually, but very small studios in a radio station. About a 4 x 4 foot room with sound absorbing materials on the walls, ceiling and floor. This was to stop reverberation. So in this case, I could not even hear my heartbeat. If I held my breath, I could hear the blood moving through my head. Try to sit in that studio for 20 minutes withou talking to yourself. It gives me the creepy-crawlies. I helped build two radio stations and when you are in that little room wiring up microphones and lights, I might have been in there for an hour at a time. arrrrrgh.

A normal schedule we would go in the booth about 1 minute befor air-time. I learned to keep my keys in my pocket and keep jingling them until the "on-air" light came on, about 5 seconds before I started reading the news.

And here is a note for city dwellers and non-hearing. On a STILL day in the summer, we CAN listen to corn grow. That's a weird thing the first time you hear it.

Stop laughing. It is true. Ask anyone that grew up in the cornfields.
Most big-city folks cannot hear it, because they are too busy jabbering away about nothing because they cannot stand a quiet afternoon.

I have watched paint dry also. Only did it twice just to find out it is not a joke, you really can see it dry.

hahaha so true!!!! I have been there before. I love experincing way too deep in silence. About the part in a water, do any one ever hear themselve talk in 8 feet deep of water or a bath tub? I doooo that all the time when I was a kid. Could you tell the difference. So cool to learn between noise and silence. I love to mess with it when I was a kid, and learned many difference with this and this.... I have been in a booth, I couldn't hear myself talk with my hearing aide-weird, but with the headphone I was able hear and I also could hear the ryme of a machaine running also. After leaving that brooth I get ringing in my hear for the whole day-it was frustrating!!! I have been in an old house younger than you had stated, of course it is almost as if you could hear your own body than the house itself. No wonder you could experience the horror.

 

[jillio]

i know that closed door make noises sound a bit muffled and opened door allow more louder noises... but im wondering... partly open door does that change the volume of noises?

Yes, it does. Not quite as loud as door all the way open, but louder than if all the way closed. Like, you can hear the noise, but probably not understand all of the voices.

I notice sometime hearing like to turn up volume on one channel on tv but turn down other channel.. why? If hearing people can hear tv on a bit lower volume so why bother turning it up?

I don't know why they dothat! Gets on my nerves, because all it is is noise! And I am a hearie.
Suppose you have a mustang car exactly same as other person's car (same engine, same model, same year etc). and both of u turn ur back on car and have someone turn on engine on one of those car... can u tell which car is yours or other person? or do they sound same?

[COLOR="red"]Every car sound a little different, even when they are exactly the same model, etc. Like people, each ahve their own "voices[/COLOR]".

Do big airplane sound different than small airplane? (see i understand small airplane is quieter than big airplane but... waht i m curious abt is.. suppose big airplane is far away and small airplane is a bit closer can u tell which one is bigger by just hearing it?)

Yes, the bigger airplane is not just louder, but the sound is deeper and more bass, too. Smaller airplane has a higher pitched whiny sound.

And one more question... how loud is a gunshot? one time a while ago a person told me that person heard gunshot and pointed abt 6 blocks away. I was like holy cow! its that LOUD?!? if it was that loud how can hearing people stand it? especially cops if they use it?

It depends on how close you are to the gun, what type of gun is being used, and what kind of ammunition. Hearing it from 6 blocks away would have made it very soft, but if it is a sound that you are used to hearing, you recognize it anyway. Gunshots close up are very loud. That is why at shooting ranges, people are required to wear earplugs to protect their hearing. The loudness can cause hearing loss.

and how far can hearing people hear the sound? With cochlear implant i can only hear the room sounds and sometime hallway sounds. any farther than that and i wont hear it.

It depends on the soudn and the person. A very loud and deep sound can be heard a long distance, just like you can feel the vibrations of a loud, deep sound from farther away. But softer, more high pitched sounds have to be closer to hear them.

 

[Tousi]

Best I can do is hear the difference between a shotgun and a rifle report at 50 yards. And I just wear a hearing aid.

I know a CIer who can hear the swishing of her golden retriever's tail when the animal's within a few feet of her.

 

[ASLGAL]

I agree

Hearing people have their ears "on" 24/7, and have the ability to hear everything at all times BUT our brains "filter" out much of the sound, so we aren't even aware of routine background noises. It's a matter of adjustment over time.

When ran256 and I were going together I couldn't sleep in the city and he couldn't sleep in the country.
He was used to sirens and vehicles and all the city sounds, they kept me up.
I was used to the crickets and snorts from farm animals and such, they kept him awake.
It was comical at the time.

Those times have changed over the years as ran256 has gone to HOH and so on.

Many years ago there was no requirement for hearing protection on the firing range. We cannot step foot on the range now without it. Sometimes a pain to wear but necessary.

I am stunned at how much information has been posted by CI'ers. I was under the impression that CI's did not pull in sound as it is but more like an electrical current. I am learning something new

 

[Hear Again]

I know a CIer who can hear the swishing of her golden retriever's tail when the animal's within a few feet of her.

I have bilateral CI's and can hear my guide dog's tail hitting against my leg. I can't remember the last time I was able to hear that with hearing aids.

 

[Hear Again]

I am stunned at how much information has been posted by CI'ers. I was under the impression that CI's did not pull in sound as it is but more like an electrical current. I am learning something new

When a CI is first activated, sounds and voices may be robotic, metallic, Alvin and the chipmunks or Darth Vader like, but after the brain starts to make sense of what it hears with the CI, sounds become "normalized."

After several months (if not sooner), many CI users report that sounds and voices sound exactly as they remember before losing their hearing.

In my case, 100% of what I hear -- including music -- sounds exactly as I remember with hearing aids -- only better (meaning that speech does not sound weak or distorted the way it did with hearing aids).

It's really amazing what kinds of soft sounds a CI can pick up. I know one CI user who said she could literally hear a pin drop. Amazing!

 

[Reba]

...After several months (if not sooner), many CI users report that sounds and voices sound exactly as they remember before losing their hearing....

What about people who never had normal hearing before "losing" it? They have no sounds to "remember" or compare to. How do their brains decipher the sounds?

 

[Calphool]

What about people who never had normal hearing before "losing" it? They have no sounds to "remember" or compare to. How do their brains decipher the sounds?

If you've watched the movies "Sound and Fury" and "Sound and Fury 2", there's a scene where the mother is talking to a doctor / audiologist. The mother is deaf from birth (she is maybe 30 or 35 years old), and she is thinking about getting a CI. The doctor / audiologist tells her that if she gets a CI, she will hear things like speech, but she probably won't be able to make sense out of it for a long time -- it will sound like whistles and pops and probably will be kind of annoying. I think that maybe it's like when a hearing baby is first born -- their brain doesn't know how to make sense out of sound, so it takes a while for their brain to learn how to "develop an attention" -- just like visual attention. Somehow your brain is able to figure out what is important in a scene and what is unimportant, and it does this very quickly, without much thought. Hearing is similar. Somehow hearing people are able to ignore some sounds and hear others. They're always hearing, but not everything they hear affects their attention.

 

[Calphool]

This is a really old thread, but maybe it's sort of interesting for deafies to read different perspectives from hearies.

i know that closed door make noises sound a bit muffled and opened door allow more louder noises... but im wondering... partly open door does that change the volume of noises?

Yes, a partially closed door does affect the sound some. The sound bounces off walls and doors and things, so it does have a bit of a muffling effect when a door is partially closed. It's not a strong effect though. There's a huge difference between a completely closed door and a partially closed door. A partially closed door is more similar to an open door.

I notice sometime hearing like to turn up volume on one channel on tv but turn down other channel.. why?

Oh jeez. If the television companies could get this fixed, it would be a relief. Every channel, no, every single video clip, can be at a different level. They're all somewhat close, but they vary enough that you must mess around with the volume -- especially when you change channels. Commercials are really bad -- they often get VERY LOUD. There are some TVs that automatically adjust the volume now-a-days.

If hearing people can hear tv on a bit lower volume so why bother turning it up?

That's a good question actually. I'd relate it like this: imagine if you lived in a world where there was this hazy fog everywhere. Also, imagine that if the fog was completely gone, it would hurt your eyes (this is like a loud sound). And, if the fog was completely thick, you couldn't see anything (this is like volume turned down). Now imagine that some things in the world (televisions, radios, computers, etc.) have a control where you could make the fog thicker (turn the volume down) or make the fog thinner (turn the volume up) around those devices. Going a bit further, imagine if every single video had a little bit of influence on the fog thickness. So, you get used to the fog at a certain level, but a new video or channel comes on, and whoops, your fog is slightly messed up and you need to adjust. It's kind of like that. Maybe you could substitute "brightness" or "contrast" instead of fog for a visual analogy.

Suppose you have a mustang car exactly same as other person's car (same engine, same model, same year etc). and both of u turn ur back on car and have someone turn on engine on one of those car... can u tell which car is yours or other person? or do they sound same?

This is another great question. Actually, you know, it's kind of amazing, but you can tell the difference between your car and someone else's, even if they're the same model and everything. I guess it's because you get used to the very subtle differences in the sound of the engine or something. They do sound very similar, and at first (when you first get the car) you can't tell any difference, but over time, you get used to the sound somehow. I think visual accuity is the same though... I can tell the difference between my car and an identical model just by looking at it -- I know all the little tiny scratches and scuffs.

Do big airplane sound different than small airplane? (see i understand small airplane is quieter than big airplane but... waht i m curious abt is.. suppose big airplane is far away and small airplane is a bit closer can u tell which one is bigger by just hearing it?)

Oh yes, big airplanes have a sound that is distinct from small airplanes -- especially if the big airplane is a jet and the small airplane is a propeller engine. Jet engines sound sort of like the same sound you hear when you suck air through a straw, only much much louder. Propeller airplanes sound kind of like a lawnmower.

And one more question... how loud is a gunshot? one time a while ago a person told me that person heard gunshot and pointed abt 6 blocks away. I was like holy cow! its that LOUD?!? if it was that loud how can hearing people stand it? especially cops if they use it?

Gun shots are very very loud. If you're close to a gun, and it's a large gun like a shotgun, it almost hurts when you hear it. You can hear a gun shot from miles away. During hunting season, I can hear guns being shot maybe 5 or 6 miles away. They sound quiet when they're that far away (they sound like fireworks at that distance), but you can still hear them. For most people, the sound of a gun is a very disturbing / annoying sound. That's partially why it is often illegal to shoot a gun in the city -- the sound is annoying (and of course the gun is dangerous too).

and how far can hearing people hear the sound? With cochlear implant i can only hear the room sounds and sometime hallway sounds. any farther than that and i wont hear it.

It's possible, but very unusual to hear sounds from hundreds of miles away. For example, if a nuclear bomb explodes 200 miles away, or a oil refinery explodes 100 miles away, it's possible to hear the explosion. For normal situations though, it's rare to hear something more than a few blocks away. Guns and airplanes are an exception -- you can hear them a few miles away -- they're really loud. Fireworks are loud too, and you can hear them similar to guns (although usually a bit weaker than guns). Thunder is loud, similar to large fireworks.

I've had these kinds of conversations with some deaf friends before. You know though, other than just out of curiousity, I don't think a deaf person should worry too much about sound unless they really feel like they're missing something. I fully believe that deafness is a gift, and like most gifts it comes with both negative and positive aspects.

 

[shel90]

This is a really old thread, but maybe it's sort of interesting for deafies to read different perspectives from hearies.


Yes, a partially closed door does affect the sound some. The sound bounces off walls and doors and things, so it does have a bit of a muffling effect when a door is partially closed. It's not a strong effect though. There's a huge difference between a completely closed door and a partially closed door. A partially closed door is more similar to an open door.


Oh jeez. If the television companies could get this fixed, it would be a relief. Every channel, no, every single video clip, can be at a different level. They're all somewhat close, but they vary enough that you must mess around with the volume -- especially when you change channels. Commercials are really bad -- they often get VERY LOUD. There are some TVs that automatically adjust the volume now-a-days.


That's a good question actually. I'd relate it like this: imagine if you lived in a world where there was this hazy fog everywhere. Also, imagine that if the fog was completely gone, it would hurt your eyes (this is like a loud sound). And, if the fog was completely thick, you couldn't see anything (this is like volume turned down). Now imagine that some things in the world (televisions, radios, computers, etc.) have a control where you could make the fog thicker (turn the volume down) or make the fog thinner (turn the volume up) around those devices. Going a bit further, imagine if every single video had a little bit of influence on the fog thickness. So, you get used to the fog at a certain level, but a new video or channel comes on, and whoops, your fog is slightly messed up and you need to adjust. It's kind of like that. Maybe you could substitute "brightness" or "contrast" instead of fog for a visual analogy.


This is another great question. Actually, you know, it's kind of amazing, but you can tell the difference between your car and someone else's, even if they're the same model and everything. I guess it's because you get used to the very subtle differences in the sound of the engine or something. They do sound very similar, and at first (when you first get the car) you can't tell any difference, but over time, you get used to the sound somehow. I think visual accuity is the same though... I can tell the difference between my car and an identical model just by looking at it -- I know all the little tiny scratches and scuffs.


Oh yes, big airplanes have a sound that is distinct from small airplanes -- especially if the big airplane is a jet and the small airplane is a propeller engine. Jet engines sound sort of like the same sound you hear when you suck air through a straw, only much much louder. Propeller airplanes sound kind of like a lawnmower.


Gun shots are very very loud. If you're close to a gun, and it's a large gun like a shotgun, it almost hurts when you hear it. You can hear a gun shot from miles away. During hunting season, I can hear guns being shot maybe 5 or 6 miles away. They sound quiet when they're that far away (they sound like fireworks at that distance), but you can still hear them. For most people, the sound of a gun is a very disturbing / annoying sound. That's partially why it is often illegal to shoot a gun in the city -- the sound is annoying (and of course the gun is dangerous too).



It's possible, but very unusual to hear sounds from hundreds of miles away. For example, if a nuclear bomb explodes 200 miles away, or a oil refinery explodes 100 miles away, it's possible to hear the explosion. For normal situations though, it's rare to hear something more than a few blocks away. Guns and airplanes are an exception -- you can hear them a few miles away -- they're really loud. Fireworks are loud too, and you can hear them similar to guns (although usually a bit weaker than guns). Thunder is loud, similar to large fireworks.

I've had these kinds of conversations with some deaf friends before. You know though, other than just out of curiousity, I don't think a deaf person should worry too much about sound unless they really feel like they're missing something. I fully believe that deafness is a gift, and like most gifts it comes with both negative and positive aspects.

Also if the gun is too close to the person's hear, it can damage that person's hearing right?


Yea, I agree with u about worrying about these sounds. I guess to some people, it is important to experience hearing like a hearing person hears. I used to think that way growing up but now, I dont care. I think if any deaf person should be more concerned about when it comes to being able to hear, is to be able to distinguish speech sounds and understanding it fully without the need to lipread at all times.

Yea, deafness can be a gift depending on each deaf/hoh individual.

 

[Reba]

...In my case, 100% of what I hear -- including music -- sounds exactly as I remember with hearing aids ....

I guess it's an individual thing. Each person's CI results are different.

Rush Limbaugh has two CI's (I assume he could afford the latest and best), and he was late-deafened so he has strong audio memories. But still he says that he can't really enjoy music anymore. He said if he knows the title of the song before he listens, and if it's a song he knew before he became deaf, then his brain fills in the gaps so he can imagine it. But he says he really doesn't enjoy the way music sounds now, and if it's a new song that he never heard before it just sounds like noises to him.

Then, I also know younger people with CI's who say they enjoy music but can't understand speech even after many years. So it varies.

 

[shel90]

I guess it's an individual thing. Each person's CI results are different.

Rush Limbaugh has two CI's (I assume he could afford the latest and best), and he was late-deafened so he has strong audio memories. But still he says that he can't really enjoy music anymore. He said if he knows the title of the song before he listens, and if it's a song he knew before he became deaf, then his brain fills in the gaps so he can imagine it. But he says he really doesn't enjoy the way music sounds now, and if it's a new song that he never heard before it just sounds like noises to him.

Then, I also know younger people with CI's who say they enjoy music but can't understand speech even after many years. So it varies.

Really..if he is not familiar with the songs, it is all noise to him? Interesting!

 

[Reba]

If you've watched the movies "Sound and Fury" and "Sound and Fury 2", there's a scene where the mother is talking to a doctor / audiologist. The mother is deaf from birth (she is maybe 30 or 35 years old), and she is thinking about getting a CI. The doctor / audiologist tells her that if she gets a CI, she will hear things like speech, but she probably won't be able to make sense out of it for a long time -- it will sound like whistles and pops and probably will be kind of annoying. I think that maybe it's like when a hearing baby is first born -- their brain doesn't know how to make sense out of sound, so it takes a while for their brain to learn how to "develop an attention" -- just like visual attention. Somehow your brain is able to figure out what is important in a scene and what is unimportant, and it does this very quickly, without much thought. Hearing is similar. Somehow hearing people are able to ignore some sounds and hear others. They're always hearing, but not everything they hear affects their attention.

Thanks for reminding me of that scene.

 

[Reba]

Really..if he is not familiar with the songs, it is all noise to him? Interesting!

That's what he said.

 

[Calphool]

Also if the gun is too close to the person's hear, it can damage that person's hearing right?


Yea, I agree with u about worrying about these sounds. I guess to some people, it is important to experience hearing like a hearing person hears. I used to think that way growing up but now, I dont care. I think if any deaf person should be more concerned about when it comes to being able to hear, is to be able to distinguish speech sounds and understanding it fully without the need to lipread at all times.

Yea, deafness can be a gift depending on each deaf/hoh individual.

Oh yes, a gun (or any loud sound -- even music) that is too close to your ear or too loud can damage hearing. It actually physically hurts when this is happening too. So I guess that's a little different that the visual sense. I don't think I've ever been in a room that was so bright it physically hurt my eyes--but maybe that's because I can close my eyes. I dunno.

Yes, loud sounds can be very damaging to a hearing person's ears.... In fact, sometimes you'll read about famous musicians (Phil Collins, Pete Townshend, etc.) becoming deaf late in life because they spend so much time listening to loud music, perfecting their sound, and so on. Many people think that iPods will damage lots of people's hearing. I must admit, listening to an iPod is different than listening to music other ways. Those little ear bud things almost seal out any outside sound, so if you turn your iPod up, you can blast some very very loud music into your ear drums. It's weird too, if you slowly turn up the volume, it doesn't hurt, so you can damage your hearing without realizing it if you slowly adjust the volume over several minutes.

You know, with regard to the gift comment, one of the things that strikes me as a gift from Deaf people is the built in sense of "directness" that many people in Deaf culture have. As a hearing person, I constantly soften my thoughts and sentences, usually without even realizing it. I mix words, I say things that can be taken two different ways. In fact, in hearing culture, this is almost viewed as a good thing -- famous speakers and politicians try to perfect their ability to say a lot without saying anything meaningful. Deaf people usually aren't like that in my experience. They force me to think harder. They ask pointed questions. They challenge the idea that it's good to say something without fully meaning it. I view that as a sorely needed gift for society in general. We need that as an antidote to many of the problems in the world. The tough part is figuring out how to get past the communication barriers to make that perspective felt. That's why I enjoy reading things written by Deaf people. I learn a lot "reading between the lines".

 

[Reba]

Also if the gun is too close to the person's hear, it can damage that person's hearing right?

Yes. That's why many war veterans have hearing damage. Exposure to repeated loud noises from weapons firing, explosions, loud machinery, etc., without protection destroyed the hearing of many military people. Now, some of our veterans who have experienced IED explosions in Iraq have permanently damaged hearing.

I never go shooting without hearing protection. All ranges require it.

A lot of hearing damage also occurs at rock music concerts, or when listening to loud music in cars or with earphones.

 

[Reba]

Oh yes, a gun (or any loud sound -- even music) that is too close to your ear or too loud can damage hearing. It actually physically hurts when this is happening too. ..

Man, you got that right! Recently I had to interpret in an auditorium that played LOUD music over huge portable amplifiers. Of course the terp is positioned on the floor immediately in front of the amps. I requested the other terp to do the songs, and I did the rest of the presentation. The music was so loud and distorted I couldn't understand the words. The other terp was familiar with the songs, so she did them. I stood off to the side while she interpreted. I stood with one side facing the amps. The sound was painful, like a knitting needle piercing my ear, and I frequently winced. I had to cover my ear with my hand the whole time the music was playing. Even though I covered my ear, my ears were ringing and my head hurt after the music was done. I had to "refocus" my hearing to the speaker's voice when it was my turn to interpret. Not fun.

Yes, loud sounds can be very damaging to a hearing person's ears.... In fact, sometimes you'll read about famous musicians (Phil Collins, Pete Townshend, etc.) becoming deaf late in life because they spend so much time listening to loud music, perfecting their sound, and so on. Many people think that iPods will damage lots of people's hearing. I must admit, listening to an iPod is different than listening to music other ways. Those little ear bud things almost seal out any outside sound, so if you turn your iPod up, you can blast some very very loud music into your ear drums. It's weird too, if you slowly turn up the volume, it doesn't hurt, so you can damage your hearing without realizing it if you slowly adjust the volume over several minutes.

Exactly!

 

[shel90]

Oh yes, a gun (or any loud sound -- even music) that is too close to your ear or too loud can damage hearing. It actually physically hurts when this is happening too. So I guess that's a little different that the visual sense. I don't think I've ever been in a room that was so bright it physically hurt my eyes--but maybe that's because I can close my eyes. I dunno.

Yes, loud sounds can be very damaging to a hearing person's ears.... In fact, sometimes you'll read about famous musicians (Phil Collins, Pete Townshend, etc.) becoming deaf late in life because they spend so much time listening to loud music, perfecting their sound, and so on. Many people think that iPods will damage lots of people's hearing. I must admit, listening to an iPod is different than listening to music other ways. Those little ear bud things almost seal out any outside sound, so if you turn your iPod up, you can blast some very very loud music into your ear drums. It's weird too, if you slowly turn up the volume, it doesn't hurt, so you can damage your hearing without realizing it if you slowly adjust the volume over several minutes.

You know, with regard to the gift comment, one of the things that strikes me as a gift from Deaf people is the built in sense of "directness" that many people in Deaf culture have. As a hearing person, I constantly soften my thoughts and sentences, usually without even realizing it. I mix words, I say things that can be taken two different ways. In fact, in hearing culture, this is almost viewed as a good thing -- famous speakers and politicians try to perfect their ability to say a lot without saying anything meaningful. Deaf people usually aren't like that in my experience. They force me to think harder. They ask pointed questions. They challenge the idea that it's good to say something without fully meaning it. I view that as a sorely needed gift for society in general. We need that as an antidote to many of the problems in the world. The tough part is figuring out how to get past the communication barriers to make that perspective felt. That's why I enjoy reading things written by Deaf people. I learn a lot "reading between the lines".

Hahahaha..maybe that's why I keep questioning everything in the CI and deaf Education threads..