Supra Infra Noise
Supra Noise, Infra Noise, – Tinnitus – The Hum.
There is an increasing prevalence in the UK of incidents of people suffering from tinnitus, the debilitating real or perceived sensation of hearing a constant noise in the ears. This noise is so far put down to a developed defect in the inner ear, a defect that causes a ringing, buzzing, or hum etc.
Test designed to establish just what is causing this noise problem in people are not conclusive and it is difficult to establish exactly just what is being heard, or indeed if anything at all is being heard, although in some case a brain scan does show that something is happening. Due to the difficulty in establishing a cause Tinnitus is therefore labelled as a phenomenon that is either of an objective case with a cause that can be ascertained or subjective case that cannot be confirmed. In either situation the effect on an individual can be diverse, from a minor irritation that can be overcome or ignored and possibly treated, to a debilitating condition that sufferers finds it difficult to carry out some everyday activities. Objective cases may have some hope of gaining assistance, for on investigation a causative condition may have been assessed. With subjective cases the prognosis is not as hopeful as the cause is considered tenuous and could be considered a psychological issue; the ultimate effect of which is that it may have no cure and the sufferer has to cope as best they can with their ‘imaginary’ noises.
Treatment for objective tinnitus ranges from medication, to having a corrective operation, to undertaking an adaptive life style change. For subjective tinnitus however the availability of treatment is less positive and depends on the knowledge and attitude of the available consultation. With luck the suffer of tinnitus may just find a treatment that works for them, however gaining treatment for objective tinnitus or the more difficult subjective type does not resolve why there is an increase in the reporting of the complaint.
An area that is overlooked is the effect of the sensitivity of some people to a level of noise that is, as yet not taken into account and that is the ability of some people to be affected by supra or infra noise. Supra noise is a term given to a noise that is usually beyond the hearing of most people rather like the noise bats make for echo location and the inability to hear a dog whistle. Also there is the issue of infra noise, noise that is below hearing the sort of noise that whales use to communicate over very long distances. Both these sorts of noises are of a level that are high or low and may lie within the ‘vibration’ zone of sympathetic harmonics. Such noises are not like general vibrations that shake or oscillate a material; these can be detected generally by feel or the visible effect on materials and counter measures taken, these new high and low frequency noises are potentially considered harmless as their detection and effect is subtle enough to be ignored, at least in the short term.
Supra and infra noises that possibly effect humans are caused by the modern condition created with the use of technology and infrastructure design. It is often very difficult to locate such noise as some of it can be of a transitory nature or may occasionally be picked up on audio equipment. If it cannot be discerned via sensitive detecting equipment, its presence relies on the sensitivity of a person stating its existence and without the application of brain scanning, which is not usually undertaken, its actual presence may be ignored and placed with the tinnitus symptom.
Most of the unusual noise could be caused by single activator or formed sound harmonics operating between two or more activators. For instance gas or water being pushed through a ground pipe will, due to the material of the pipe construction, its diameter, and pipe deviations possibly set up noise that resonates in the ground or travel through foundations that could be broadcasted through a building. This would be the infra sound some could detect and will often be localised i.e. a person may only hear this noise in a certain location but not another. Alternatively a sound source generated in one location can travel some distance from its source through a medium like a hollow tube to be picked up by the tube dynamics and resonated away from the source altered to be ‘heard’ at a different level, like a native Australian didieridoo. Supra sounds are sounds that may emanate from say high power cable lines or radio / electronic equipment that feed back or harmonise to create another unintentional nuisance sound. Strong radio waves can be picked up by computers and result in sound output and like micro waves can over time cause physiological interference
It may be that some people that are perhaps diagnosed with tinnitus are actually hearing a sound and not having a cause within the ear. However until it is known what frequencies and pressure the supra or infra noises operating at it is difficult and maybe impossible to construct a defensive device. One of the problem of such noise is that is often specific to a person or even a location! Because of its individual nature and the limited zone of effect, the discomfort caused to individual is largely ignored
A sufferer seeking treatment for such hidden noises will be in a very difficult position and the distrust or doubts raised as to the actual discomfort caused to the individual only makes the frustrating nature of suffering from such noise more exasperating
A recognition that noise was becoming a problem led ‘BOSE‘ developing and marketing active noise cancellation equipment in the 1989. Equipment that generates ‘white noise’ to cancel out externally created background noise by wearing a headset. This was later developed into sophisticate headphones used in noisy conditions (ref supra noise or supranoise) or to improve the quality of sound in an active listening state. This mechanical solution works well in known assessed condition were the sound pollution is of a known quality, it might be consider impractical to wear such equipment in exposed changeable conditions.
One way of easing the problem for people with this discomfort may be for treatment with sound synthesiser. Allowing the individual to synthesise the noise to approximate what one hears which is played for periods of time, to mitigate or detune the recognition of the sound in the brain. This will become a conditioned adaptability which will help mask the supra / infra sound. Another way could be for hypnotism to be carried out in the place where the sounds is most noted (if there is a location) and with this method the aim is to develop acceptance that the noise is present but to educate the ability to choose not to ‘hear’ it. This method is rather like the familiar ticking of a clock or having a radio on in a room that is through habitual immersion, disregarded, or selectively tuned out of hearing until a conscious effort is applied to pick the sounds up again.
Ideally the source of the supra and infra sound should be traced and stopped as it is a form of environmental pollution however this is not usually possible as the time and effort required to trace the route could require the input of a scientific study. Noise of this nature is becoming a problem not just to the few people that are sensitive to it but also to the fabric of large buildings, perhaps contributing to the phenomenon of sick building syndrome.
© Renot 2007.
1.10.07
There is an increasing prevalence in the UK of incidents of people suffering from tinnitus, the debilitating real or perceived sensation of hearing a constant noise in the ears. This noise is so far put down to a developed defect in the inner ear, a defect that causes a ringing, buzzing, or hum etc.
Test designed to establish just what is causing this noise problem in people are not conclusive and it is difficult to establish exactly just what is being heard, or indeed if anything at all is being heard, although in some case a brain scan does show that something is happening. Due to the difficulty in establishing a cause Tinnitus is therefore labelled as a phenomenon that is either of an objective case with a cause that can be ascertained or subjective case that cannot be confirmed. In either situation the effect on an individual can be diverse, from a minor irritation that can be overcome or ignored and possibly treated, to a debilitating condition that sufferers finds it difficult to carry out some everyday activities. Objective cases may have some hope of gaining assistance, for on investigation a causative condition may have been assessed. With subjective cases the prognosis is not as hopeful as the cause is considered tenuous and could be considered a psychological issue; the ultimate effect of which is that it may have no cure and the sufferer has to cope as best they can with their ‘imaginary’ noises.
Treatment for objective tinnitus ranges from medication, to having a corrective operation, to undertaking an adaptive life style change. For subjective tinnitus however the availability of treatment is less positive and depends on the knowledge and attitude of the available consultation. With luck the suffer of tinnitus may just find a treatment that works for them, however gaining treatment for objective tinnitus or the more difficult subjective type does not resolve why there is an increase in the reporting of the complaint.
An area that is overlooked is the effect of the sensitivity of some people to a level of noise that is, as yet not taken into account and that is the ability of some people to be affected by supra or infra noise. Supra noise is a term given to a noise that is usually beyond the hearing of most people rather like the noise bats make for echo location and the inability to hear a dog whistle. Also there is the issue of infra noise, noise that is below hearing the sort of noise that whales use to communicate over very long distances. Both these sorts of noises are of a level that are high or low and may lie within the ‘vibration’ zone of sympathetic harmonics. Such noises are not like general vibrations that shake or oscillate a material; these can be detected generally by feel or the visible effect on materials and counter measures taken, these new high and low frequency noises are potentially considered harmless as their detection and effect is subtle enough to be ignored, at least in the short term.
Supra and infra noises that possibly effect humans are caused by the modern condition created with the use of technology and infrastructure design. It is often very difficult to locate such noise as some of it can be of a transitory nature or may occasionally be picked up on audio equipment. If it cannot be discerned via sensitive detecting equipment, its presence relies on the sensitivity of a person stating its existence and without the application of brain scanning, which is not usually undertaken, its actual presence may be ignored and placed with the tinnitus symptom.
Most of the unusual noise could be caused by single activator or formed sound harmonics operating between two or more activators. For instance gas or water being pushed through a ground pipe will, due to the material of the pipe construction, its diameter, and pipe deviations possibly set up noise that resonates in the ground or travel through foundations that could be broadcasted through a building. This would be the infra sound some could detect and will often be localised i.e. a person may only hear this noise in a certain location but not another. Alternatively a sound source generated in one location can travel some distance from its source through a medium like a hollow tube to be picked up by the tube dynamics and resonated away from the source altered to be ‘heard’ at a different level, like a native Australian didieridoo. Supra sounds are sounds that may emanate from say high power cable lines or radio / electronic equipment that feed back or harmonise to create another unintentional nuisance sound. Strong radio waves can be picked up by computers and result in sound output and like micro waves can over time cause physiological interference
It may be that some people that are perhaps diagnosed with tinnitus are actually hearing a sound and not having a cause within the ear. However until it is known what frequencies and pressure the supra or infra noises operating at it is difficult and maybe impossible to construct a defensive device. One of the problem of such noise is that is often specific to a person or even a location! Because of its individual nature and the limited zone of effect, the discomfort caused to individual is largely ignored
A sufferer seeking treatment for such hidden noises will be in a very difficult position and the distrust or doubts raised as to the actual discomfort caused to the individual only makes the frustrating nature of suffering from such noise more exasperating
A recognition that noise was becoming a problem led ‘BOSE‘ developing and marketing active noise cancellation equipment in the 1989. Equipment that generates ‘white noise’ to cancel out externally created background noise by wearing a headset. This was later developed into sophisticate headphones used in noisy conditions (ref supra noise or supranoise) or to improve the quality of sound in an active listening state. This mechanical solution works well in known assessed condition were the sound pollution is of a known quality, it might be consider impractical to wear such equipment in exposed changeable conditions.
One way of easing the problem for people with this discomfort may be for treatment with sound synthesiser. Allowing the individual to synthesise the noise to approximate what one hears which is played for periods of time, to mitigate or detune the recognition of the sound in the brain. This will become a conditioned adaptability which will help mask the supra / infra sound. Another way could be for hypnotism to be carried out in the place where the sounds is most noted (if there is a location) and with this method the aim is to develop acceptance that the noise is present but to educate the ability to choose not to ‘hear’ it. This method is rather like the familiar ticking of a clock or having a radio on in a room that is through habitual immersion, disregarded, or selectively tuned out of hearing until a conscious effort is applied to pick the sounds up again.
Ideally the source of the supra and infra sound should be traced and stopped as it is a form of environmental pollution however this is not usually possible as the time and effort required to trace the route could require the input of a scientific study. Noise of this nature is becoming a problem not just to the few people that are sensitive to it but also to the fabric of large buildings, perhaps contributing to the phenomenon of sick building syndrome.
© Renot 2007.
1.10.07
posted by Renot at 3:35 am
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