Sounds in Public Places

Rod · 2008-03-11T16:53:35+00:00

Now listen up!The windmill thread has become unwieldy ? so I am starting a new thread though I have just been reading Dave Liquorice and Mary Fisher discussing low frequency sound "up the way" and that is what has prompted this post. The mosquito thread also seems potentially relevant. The presence of several people with in-depth understanding of sound and noise helps. :-)The other day I went to Tesco at Loudwater. (What an exciting life I lead!) Something seemed odd throughout my visit but it really became obvious while at the till. I couldn?t hear properly any more.It felt like being in a dream. The checkout operator must have said something but their voice was distant and quiet. The beeps, rattles, and other common din at the till was much less obvious than normal.Usually in this particular Tesco (and many other stores), I find the volume unpleasant, almost painful. The racket made by the refrigeration plant is bad and varies in bands or rays or nodes up and down the aisles (never have quite worked it out) where (I imagine) the sounds from various sources interfere. The noise of the tills is annoying.But this time it was almost like the air was not transmitting sound as well as usual. I did not notice the refrigeration plant nearly as much as usual.On leaving, my hearing initially felt dampened down as if I had become partially deaf. It seemed to recover over the next tens of minutes. And I mentioned the experience to partner. She felt almost exactly the same as I had.I suffer from high pitched tinnitus. Partner suffers from deeper tinnitus. We both exhibit some signs of hyperacusis.Neither of us noticed anything different about the store (e.g. new acoustic tiles).After discussing it with partner, I wondered if they could have installed some sort of anti-noise device to reduce the sound levels in the store?Any suggestions? Any explanations?

Mar 11, 2008 22 Replies

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Tim Downie 18 years ago

Sounds more like you were suffering from a simple middle ear pressure imbalance, when for some reason (perhaps a bit of a cold, blocked nose etc.) your ears couldn't "pop" or equalise the pressures properly.

Tim

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Rod 18 years ago

I agree that is what it could appear to be. Seems unlikely to affect both of us at the same time. I do quite often have to do a valsalva but this was unlike unequalised pressure.

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Onetap 18 years ago

Could be an active noise control system, one of these;

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're appearing in a lot of buildings. I know diddley about them.

Or the white/pink noise masking system.

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