Speed bumps as a cause of hearing loss.


Have any members driven over a "speed bump" (these are the elevated paved bumps to force you to drive slower)while listening to the car stereo and immediately noticed a hearing loss(distortion, high frequency loss and level decrease)? I am a chiropractor and can verify the fact that speed bumps will absolutely mis-align the tiny bones in the ear so music sounds terrible afterwards, write your city councilman about these. I have to slow to less than 5mph in order to prevent this governmental assault and battery.
mint604
...and some say Audiophiles are stiff and no fun. Clearly the humor manifest in this thread alone disproves that!
i dont know but i think the whole theory is out to lunch,i have a 2 hour a day commute (each way) & i end up driving about 15,000 miles a year for work plus i ride my harley's another 6,000 to 8,000 miles each year .

out of all the miles ive driven ive hit just about every thing under the sun,speed bumps,pot holes,dogs,cats,deer,a mattress & even a bum on 8 mile & i have never experienced any adverse affect to my hearing.

btw mint,i whole heartedly believe in chiropractors & i visit mine monthly but he has never tweaked my ears & frankly im not sure how i would respond if he tried playin around with my ear.
Onhwy61, I can assure you that the Aeroflot story is an "urban legend" or you have some info wrong. Slamming a door cannot compress cabin pressure enough to cause an explosion, and leaving a door even partially open would cause depressurization at altitude, with a possible catastrophic result [RE: the DC-10 cargo door with the faulty latch]. What you describe sounds like a depressurization incident. Aeroflot's slogan should have been, "everyone dies sooner or later"! Whew, not a safe airline to fly!

Mint604, SUE 'EM ALL, AND LET THE JUDGES DECIDE WHICH CASES ARE FRIVOLOUS! Except for actionable malpractice, of course!
Further to the cat test, the PETA activists are especially aggressive in the UK.

This explains why English cars are poorly built and exhibit a less than Mercedes like, air tight clunk when the doors are closed.

This enables the cats to survive the test, and for the manufacturer to carry on building, despite the presence of the activists.
Don't dismiss the car door pressurization theory out of hand. The Kremlin still hasn't released the full report, but it was reported by Western intelligence agencies that back in 1975 an Aeroflot jet exploded on the runway after ground crews slammed the airliner's door closed. The rush of air and the resulting cabin pressurization proved lethal to 120 passengers, 7 crew member and a menagerie of small farm animals. Aeroflot flew with their doors open for years after this incident.
Mint604 wrote: "YES I do adjust the bones in the ears with great results...."

How? Do you blow in the ear?

Eldartford wrote: "Since when, on Audiogon, has it been necessary to produce any evidence for heretofore unknown phenomenae?"

Evidence is not necessarily proof. Evidence can be simply a clear description of the observation, rather than an assertion that the phenomenon exists.

Kal
In case my previous post wasnt clear, I was being deeply cynical and totally sarcastic.

Mint604

I have seen one of two chiropracters with some success in terms of relief. I also thought that although they may have been crack(no pun intended) pots, there were well intentioned in their own alternative way.

Others were clearly pressuring me to come back as often as possible and spend as much money as possible perhaps because they werent very good and really needed the business.

But in any case, I think some of these alignment issues have been taken a bit too far by the chiropractic community and my guess is that the MDs on the board will not respond, as the scientists on the board will not respond to UFO sightings.

I will give you the benefit of the doubt that you may be able to release tension in someones neck or back, while treating them with sympathy and compassion which perhaps helps them even more.

But adjusting the misalignment of miniature ear bones? Give me a break!

That type of pseduo science should be reserved for debates on speaker cables.

Cheers
Mint604...Slamming car doors, as you suggest, could produce stong LF pressure wave. However, some cars are tighter than others, and car manufacturers pride themselves on how well the car is sealed.

Toyota, which is particularly good, during design evaluation uses something they call the "cat test". They close up all the windows and vents and put a cat into the car on Friday afternoon. When they come in on Monday morning the cat should be dead.

An US manufacturer (pick your favorate) thought this was a neat test, so they did it on one of their latest products. When they came in Monday morning, the cat was gone!
I was merely taking a survey to find out if other members have observed this hearing loss phono-menon. The loss occurs so quickily(fraction of a second) and most individuals have no memory of how their hearing was previous to the "speed-bump" assault for an A/B comparison, this instantaneous hearing loss usually goes unoticed if there is no radio playing, and thus the victim does not relate the hearing loss to the speed bump. OF EVEN GREATER hearing damage and the number one cause of all hearing loss..the closing car doors with the windows rolled up upon entering the car.Automobile manufacturers pride themselves on building air tight cabins. This action produces a ONE HERTZ sound wave (i.e. inaudible) well over 135db(a sound meter would be max'ed out).Thus this action is the equivalent of standing next to a cannon being fired. The resultant huge instantaneous pressure wave can shatter ear drums, damage the ear nerve, AND misalign the miniture ear bones. YES I do adjust the bones in the ears with great results, after only one adjustment everything sounds great, BEST UPGRADE IN THE WORLD, no appoointment necessary. I always open the drivers window about 6" upon entering. How about organising a class action suit against GM for negligence?
Was hearing loss objectively evaluated by a hearing test? How does one evaluate "tiny bone" misalignment? MR? CT? What is proper alignment?

Is there any data to back up this thesis, or is it only a hypothesis?

One needs proof before writing one's councilman.

Just a cardiologist offering my thoughts on this issue. However, my non-audiophile ENT friend has definite concerns about hearing loss when listening to music at high volumes, which is a big concern of mine.
This phenomenon is real but is in fact due to the reverse Doppler effect. Accordingly the solution is simple: after the bump, turn up the volume, step on the gas and wipe that tear away.
Mint604, read through some of your other posts. Let me take a wild guess...do you call California home? Berkeley or San Fran?

S7horton you state,
"If all of these [suspension items] are perfect, you may never even feel the bump."
I have my car set up with a performance suspension, and I can even feel every different texture in road surface (concrete, smooth asphalt, rough asphalt, and even the surface sealant used to fill asphalt cracks!) All depends what you want in a car. But after repeated jostling with the tight suspension, I'll match my "audiophile" hearing with someone half my age!
Kr4...Since when, on Audiogon, has it been necessary to produce any evidence for heretofore unknown phenomenae?
I'm with you Kal. I was hoping an ENT specialist would jump in to refute such nonsense. But, given your background, I'll take your word for it.
.................I stopped going to Chiropractors years ago......I started to notice some hearing loss...peace!
after that bit with the "expanding universe" i think mint smoked some bad s#!t.
Slipknot1 asked: "Will our MD's on the forum PLEASE weigh in on this one?"

I am not an MD (although I do train them) but it is my background in anatomy, physiology and neuroscience that moved me to ask for any evidence for this heretofore unknown phenomenon.

Kal
Slow down.

Has anyone ever been to a chiropractor and been told they are fine, come back in 6 months?
I am not sure if this is a joke, but as someone who deals with ear problems regularly, I have never heard of such a minor trauma causing dissociation of the middle ear ossicles. This type of problem is seen with HIGH IMPACT head trauma and the hearing loss imparted is signifigant and attempted repair is surgical.
This is absolutely right!!

And although there is no known cure once you have driven over a speed bump and subsequently misaligned your inner ear bones, this debilitating condition is treatable through chiropractic therapy.

Of course, only premium priced chiropracters who generally are unable to accept insurance are qualified for this specialized subset of their field.

But 3 x a week for a couple of years or so should restore your hearing to within 97% of its original effectiveness.

Cheers.
It would be to hard to enforce. Way too many variables. Size of speed bump, including length and height; speed at which you travel across them (they are designed to make you slow down, after all); stiffness of suspension on your car; tire pressure.

If all of these are perfect, you may never even feel the bump.
For a chiropractor, everything is about Misalignment! Probably sets the alignment on the turntable every day. It appears that the speed bumps are indeed serving a purpose. Slow down and enjoy the music.

Bob P.
"I am a chiropractor and can verify the fact that speed bumps will absolutely mis-align the tiny bones in the ear..."

Is there any real evidence of this?

Kal
It would be interesting to know how much shock (in G force and duration) a typical speed bump exerts on the ear compared to jogging, playing basketball, etc. I'm not sure this issue is worth getting our audiophile feathers ruffled over.

John