Tinnitus (ringing In Ears)

[EC-130]

...There are now products much like the earphones shown abouve for helmets with in ear speakers and gel/silicone insets that are hardwired so when plugged in (theyre removeable for doors on low noise ops) when you turn up the comms volume it simply turns down the ambient noise....

 

Could you maybe post a few links to the manufacturers of these? Thanks! Interesting thread, kinda scary...

[Cole]

Sorry i didnt mean to say that they do more damage then normal headsets... anr simply cancells out the frequencies from harmful ambient noise but like skidz said 94db is 94db so between anr and standard headset the anr is easier to hear the radio and its better for your inner ears then a standard set but there are better options that come cheaper and when compared to these options the anr does do more damage

 

I dont know who the manufacturer is but merit apparel offers them as an option in the Gallet series helmets and what they do is rather then introducing a cancelling frequency (94DB is 94DB) it limits all the noise youre hearing to 35db and when you turn the comms up it just filters more of the ambient noise out.

 

If the choice is between a normal headset or an ANR youre definately better off with the anr what i meant by more damage was between an active set and the sound suppression kit. Both are available for most helmet models and the sound suppression kit is actually about half the price.

 

Youre volume should only ever be loud enough for you to hear it clearly. Good seals and the ssk are all you need and the ssk can be removed for when you dont need it.

 

In summary-

Standard sets introduce more noise and attempt to overpower the ambient noise

ANR sets Introduce a canceling frequency to cut back harmful frequencies and allows you to turn down the volume of the headset as its no longer battling with the ambient noise

SSK sets Suppress all noise and can almost eliminate all the ambient noise.

 

so youre looking at-

A-lots of noise

B-manageable noise

C-No more noise then a normal conversation and no harmful noise

[windslapper]

As an interesting side note to the anr discussion, it is actually a type of 'white noise' that you are hearing when you hear the ring. There are many other possible causes for tinnitus but the type we experience is most likely the following

Inside your inner ear is the cochlear, a snail shaped organ that turns vibrations to electrical impulses that your brain hears. This spiral organ has fluid filled passages that vibrate with what we hear; this in turn moves tiny hairs that trigger the electric signals for sound. (Various hairs for various frequencies)

Even when these hairs are still and no movement they create a vibration of their own that is heard by the brain as sound. The brain is wired though that it creates a counter frequency to this to cancel it out much like ANR.

The problem arises when there is damage to the hearing. The most common damage is damage to these sensitive hairs and they either whither or die. Now the sound that they made when still is gone but the brain still creates the counter frequency that you now hear as a ringing. This is also why you hear it most in a room that is quiet. Intermittent could be a failing set of 'hairs'

 

On the protection side, one can't understate the importance of using a helmet in a turbine craft as those are the nastiest of the frequencies and they do not need to enter through the ear. The back of your head acts as a great conductor!

[Skids Up]

Do I want to say this out loud???

 

If we know that the noise is so hard on our hearing, why do we let passengers (firefighters, crews, etc) fly with us with no headsets, earmuffs or whatever?

 

I realize that we have the responsibility for ourselves, but do we not have some level of responsibility to those who ride with us?

 

Or are 'we' the only one that doesn't run a full set of headsets in our mediums? All of our lights/intermediates do.

 

Management will love this I suppose... :shock:

 

Bit of a detour, but opinions are welcome. :prop:

[Cole]

That's a really good point skids up, should we at least provide a set of some plugs to every passenger if not a protective headset. Whats a listen only headset go for nowÉ 20$

[Guest graunch1]

More than likely, the ringing frequency will be the same point as your audiogram goes for a dump. My Tinnitus is around 7,000hz as I determined by comparing it to the frequencies produced by an audio generator in a shop. Coincidently my audiogram shows a 65 db drop (= to Huge) at the same frequency which also happens to be the same audio frequency of the jet engines I was working beside back when I was in my early 20s. Yes I did wear ear defenders but the technology many years ago plus the realization of how high frequencies can damage your hearing was not really understood at that time.

 

A more immediate concern folks is that the high frequency, high volume noise creates both fatigue and can make you feel drunk if it continues for a period of time. So I agree with the warning of as much ear protection as possible because not only is this a one-way-trip down the deafness path, the fatigue and impared reaction/decision-making could shorten your life.