Time, again, to talk about hearing and hearing damage (1 Viewer)

[sammi]

After a lifetime around dirt bikes, drag racing cars, stock cars, superkarts and nearly anything else with a motor, my appointment with Mr. Tinnitus has arrived. Hearing seems to be a closed topic in the world of motor sports. Over 20 years ago I met an "A" team crew chief and this poor soul was nearly deaf. This guy is still at the stop of our sport. I know hearing impairment terrifies us all and we all will have to deal with it. I didn't do myself any favors at Pomona standing next to the Bandero FC when Del throttle wacked it in the pits.

 

[TopFuel@Lions]

I consider my self fortunate to not suffer any hearing damage after all my time at the drags and all the other motorsports events thru the years.


TopFuel@Lions
Talladega Announcer....Roll Tide!

 

[sutton]

WHAT did you say.
Larry Sutton---Lions Starter

 

[ZWeinstein]

Huh?!?! What?!?! Unfortunately I suffer from tinnitus and have for many years. Luckily it seems mild and its to the point that I do not really notice it at all unless Im thinking about it. And its from over a decade of not wearing ear plugs at the drags like a dummy and partially from ten years in marching band in school. Im sure cranking up every Rush or Queen song in my truck full blast doesnt help either. I dont think not one incident causes it but I remember specifically one time standing behind Steve Chrisman's dragster during warmup when he really whacked it good one time, sounded like he might have held it open for about a half a second or so and I had a really loud ringing for about 10-15 minutes afterwards to the point where I seriously thought I really screwed up. From that point forward I always plugged my ears when standing behind a car that whacked or when I was front row for Kalittas warmups (best non throttle whack warm up in the pits) yet I was still dumb and did not wear plugs in the stands until one year at Pomona. It was when the funny cars were really laying back the headers and where I was sitting it was hitting me just right that it was the first time it actually hurt. From that point forward I've always worn plugs and carried extras in my camera bag.

 

[.]

At Pomona a few weeks ago, a nice elderly couple seated in the row behind me, tapped on my shoulder and offered me earplugs. Thought it was such a nice gesture.

Another mater, Mike C gave me a pair many many years ago and they are awesome. I highly recommend this kind. 3M plugs work awesome; super dense foam that conforms to you. Way better than the other kinds.

 

[wireguy]

I have hearing damage in both ears. Actually two different problems. I have a hearing aid but it doesn't work in crowds or noise polluted situations. When I go to the races its plugs in most of the time. Especially in the fuel pits. A hearing aid is not a replacement for the human ear and I have told the hearing aid people that my device is a little bit better than a glass eye would be if if I lost vision in one. Just think if you lost one eye you would really take care of the one you had left. The same goes for your ears!

Garlits has hearing aids.

 

[ol21stud]

In Vietnam, every third day we either walked into or were chopper'ed into a small firebase for a night off to get resupplied with water, c-rations and ammo and guard one area of the perimeter for the night. One time I didn't realize this firebase had 155 Howitzers instead of the smaller 105 cannons or mortars. They had a fire mission right over me in the middle of the night and I couldn't hear anything till noon. Ears have rang ever since. I figured drag racing couldn't damage what was already damaged.

Your right though, hearing aids are nothing more than glorified amplifiers. However, I like my current pair as they are Bluetooth paired with my phone. I selected specific ringtones for some so I know who's calling and I just tap my hearing aid to answer and talk on my phone. My wife's ringtone sounds like Royalty arriving. My son's is a Harley revving up. And one relative who shall not be named, has the ringtone of a duck quacking.

 

[.]

I don't screw around.... I'm never at the race track without my earmuffs. I'm in my late 40's and I noticed about 15 years ago that my hearing was going bad. Ever since then I have been very careful around loud cars and equipment. I need to KEEP the hearing that I still have. It's weird though because it must only be certain ranges of hearing that I have problems with. I can hear truck tires slowly leaking air in our shop at work when nobody else can.... But I struggle to comprehend what people are saying in that same shop. The echo in that shop is a bitch!

 

[ol21stud]

I don't screw around.... I'm never at the race track without my earmuffs. I'm in my late 40's and I noticed about 15 years ago that my hearing was going bad. Ever since then I have been very careful around loud cars and equipment. I need to KEEP the hearing that I still have. It's weird though because it must only be certain ranges of hearing that I have problems with. I can hear truck tires slowly leaking air in our shop at work when nobody else can.... But I struggle to comprehend what people are saying in that same shop. The echo in that shop is a bitch!

That's what I have. They told me it is called a "V" notch hearing loss. When you take the hearing test, they typically have you in a soundproof room and tell you to push a button every time you hear a sound of any kind. When your results are charted, they look like a straight horizontal line for everything you have heard, except for the big drop off where you didn't hear a specific sound range. That drop off looks like a very tall "V" and tells them what sound range you don't hear. For me, it's my wife's voice.

The other issue you mention is what I call "multiple sound stacking" It's 3 or more sounds all at the same time. I can hear a whisper in the next room but put me in a room with a radio/TV on low volume plus someone in the background talking low plus my ears ringing and I won't be able to understand a word you say. "Sounds" like you have the same problem.

 

[Cliff]

I used to go to the drags without ear plugs. Got Mr T and then decided it would be good idea to have plugs in my ears. Duh...... I still don't need hearing aids, well, maybe a little bit......

 

[Ramjet]

I seem to have selective hearing loss. I can still hear when an engine I am familiar with has a bad or weak hole even in the Dyno room, but I can't understand what my wife of 60 years is saying a lot of the time in the same room . Actually have some hearing loss and the Dr's attribute it to not wearing any ear plugs in the Front Motor cars.

 

[flapjack]

I got custom fitted ear plugs at my audiologist years ago. Best 150 dollars I've spent. Works better than any other ear plug I've ever worn. I know lots of musicians that have hearing loss from standing in front of stage monitors for years. Now it seems that everyone wears in-ear monitors - You can hear yourself and your band members _and_ block out ambient noise. Westone makes good stuff - that's what I have.

 

[.]

That's what I have. They told me it is called a "V" notch hearing loss. When you take the hearing test, they typically have you in a soundproof room and tell you to push a button every time you hear a sound of any kind. When your results are charted, they look like a straight horizontal line for everything you have heard, except for the big drop off where you didn't hear a specific sound range. That drop off looks like a very tall "V" and tells them what sound range you don't hear. For me, it's my wife's voice.

The other issue you mention is what I call "multiple sound stacking" It's 3 or more sounds all at the same time. I can hear a whisper in the next room but put me in a room with a radio/TV on low volume plus someone in the background talking low plus my ears ringing and I won't be able to understand a word you say. "Sounds" like you have the same problem.

Yep, you and I have the same hearing situation. I did a hearing test once as part of a pre employment physical for a seasonal maintenance job at the airport. (plowing snow on runways and taxiways) It was the same setup you're talking about. Sound proof room, hit the button when you hear a sound, etc, etc.... When the physical was all over, the doctor never mentioned any hearing loss so I asked him about it. He looked the report from the hearing portion of the physical and said yeah, you've lost a little just be careful to protect what you still have..... I KNOW my hearing is far worse than he led me to believe it was. lol.

 

[n/a]

I have relentless tinnitus. Although my hearing is still pretty good. Drag racing surely is part of the problem but for me it was mostly loud concerts in the 80's

 

[Jack]

Have tinnitus in my right ear, started 2 years ago. After 50 plus years of concerts (Jeff Beck in 1988 was hands down the loudest show I ever went to) , A hundred plus national events, partners in a super stock car in the 80's and a 40 plus year working career that involved A lot of noisy environments, I guess I'm a lucky guy it took this long for a problem to arrive. With that being said, I wouldn't trade any of that fun stuff I've done and and will deal with it.

 

[z28]

we sound like a bunch of old men....huh? I've had hearing aids for about 10 years which was 5 years later than it should have been. Many years of drags, diesels with no muffler, various gun shots and just being too stubborn to know what was coming. even with the hearing aids it's almost impossible to hear someone next to you in a crowd. I now wear hearing protection whenever I get around high noise so I can save what I have. An audiologist would have a field day at an NHRA event. They need to market there

 

[glofria]

I too have both hearing loss and Tinnitus from years of surfing and working as a framing carpenter and being around race cars most of my life.. Had hearing aids and thought they were great and wore them everyday until they stopped working and then I thought the $3700 wasn't worth the hassle. Had the audio test and they said that I'm borderline, but because of COVID (at the time) they didn't think it was necessary at the time to come back to get another pair.

Anymore at work I have an adjustable sound amplifier that I bought from Walmart for using in meetings and they work well. The head and neck specialist at the local Kaiser-Perminente suggested that I use baby oil to clear the wax out of my ears and flush them with warm water and an ear bulb from time to time and that seems to work well too

 

[r2]

Hearings fine ... Eyes are shot.

Can't see squat up close!



I had swimmers ear/tinnitus for 2+ weeks, and thought I would go insane. Cannot imagine living with it.

 

[swervin]

Next time you are at a major motorsports event, find the Racing Radio or Racing Electronics trailer (I dont recall which it was) and ask to get a set of custom ear plugs. They will take a mold of your ear on the spot and in two weeks approximately you will have ear protection that works. I think when I got mine they were around $60. I wish I had them a long time ago! They also keep your mold on file so you can order a replacement set if needed, I assume that is still the case.

These are just ear plugs, no radio gear.

Bob

 

[Professional Fan]

I too now have hearing aids from many years of not wearing ear plugs at NHRA events and rock concerts. But I wouldn't change anything. I don't wear the hearing aids at the races as I don't want to keep putting them on and off. I get my ear plugs from the DRAW booth-they are so good I take one out between runs so I can hear Alan or talk to the person next to me!