jessiej

[Jess---As a male get older, ringing of the ears is common.]

Yep. Mine started when I was 24.

jess

downunder

I used to work on the F111 engines and they were LOUD! Standing close to them we had to wear what's called a kidney belt but in fact it was used to try to stop your guts from vibrating and possibly rupturing. Even so, there was one area where it was impossible to stand when the engine was in full afterburner. You had to crouch down and hold your guts as tight as you could because your whole body would be shaking. One day we had Occupational Health and Safety come out with us to see if our earmuffs were efficient enough. We never found out what the max level was because we blew their sound meter off the scale at 160 Db

ben flyn

WHAT DID YOU SAY? WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU!

XJet

That large pulsejet is the same -- even with ear-plugs and grade 5 muffs, you can not stand any closer than about 30 yards from the front of it when it's running because the vibrations make you feel nauseous and it's still unbearably loud because the noise is transferred through your skull to your inner ear.

Lots of fun though :-)

swooper

Our ears were developed to hear the tiny noises made by prey animals or predators trying their best to be silent, long before there were any engines or amplified sounds. Imagine how quiet the world was, and how deafening thunder must have been!

I don't like loud noise of any sort. My enjoyment in aeromodeling comes from having my creations fly well, the "scale" effect of trying to make the miniature fly like the full-size, drawing pretty shapes in the air with the airplane, improving my piloting skills. I take the same enjoyment in others' flying and models.

I can sort of understand the thrill reaction to loud noise but feel it's misunderstood. It might be an adrenaline release, flight-or-fight time? Your body's alarm system is going off. You can't fight loud noise, so maybe it's flight time?

I also suspect there's a passive-aggressive aspect to driving a loud vehicle, flying loud models, chaining a loud dog in the yard. It's seems like a way of saying "I'm important and you're not" without actually starting anything.

So, if you indulge in flying loud models, riding loud motorcyles, etc., please realize that some of us both pity and dislike you for it. When the Harley riders roar past, I try to take solace in the knowledge that they're hurting themselves more than the rest of us.

jessiej

Compassionate sort that I am, I feel sorry for you too, swooper

jess

ben flyn

You tell them Paul! We need more like you! Desiel trucks are another pain in the *****! Have you ever noticed they have to shut off their engines to order at a drive thru? What a great joy it is to behind one in a drive thru!!!!!![>:]

jessiej

Can't say I buy into the various psychobabble reasons why some like louder engines. I think it is more am matter of taste. Some like Rock, some country, some like classical. I am fortunate in that I like it all. I also like both kinds of motorcycles- Harleys and the others.

I am a firm believer in ear protection. There are, however times when it is impractical. Much of my hearing damage occurred when I was in the employ of the U.S. Government in Southeast Asia. The wearing of earplugs when on patrol or lying in ambush is generally not a good career move for reasons that should be obvious, even though those activities have the potential to become VERY noisy.

On the subject of protection, I am always horrified when I see a modeler running an engine with out some form of eye protection. Again due to an incident in beautiful picturesque S.E. Asia I was blind for almost two years.

I can assure you that if you experience the loss of an eye due to a thrown prop blade you will not savor the experience.

jess

Motorboy

I am deaf since i was borned, then i can hear the automobil engine without silencer or other loud of thing who make high loud. I had pulsejet ,and it was painful in ears when i ran pulsejet. [X(]

It is not a joke, take care yours ears or learn out how to communicate with sign language for deaf people.

Jens Eirik

Ernie Misner

Once some nerve damage has occurred, it becomes really important to protect what hearing we have left. Having raced go karts, motorcycles, run unmuffled model engines since I was 8 years old, played in rock bands, and finally worked in industry where there were absoulutely no laws requiring hearing protection until 1981.... I can say that I have quite a handicap when it comes to hearing. The tininitus is constantly there and it is almost impossible to distinguish everyday conversation when there is even a little background noise. It's no fun at all. Having allergies seems to bring on the hearing damage quicker than for other folks also. I cringe with I look back and think how easily it would have been to take a few simple precautions.

I have some foam earplugs in my glove box and in my pocket at all times now. At the field, my routine is as was mentioned above, put the plugs in while tuning and running up in the pits, and then remove them while extending the antenna and preparing to take off.

Ernie

Motorboy

The tininitus is a seriously illness for some peoples and can not have a normal life.

Jens Eirik