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Comment by blueridge | Hacker News Reader

I have severe hyperacusis and have had tinnitus for decades. My entire life is a quest for quiet and silence. If we're going out with friends, the first thing I want to know is how loud the environment is, and if it's going to be a noisy outing, I decline. I often dream of buying a place in the backcountry because the noise and electronic resonance humming through the suburbs is terribly distracting and physically painful. I am still in the process of buying and returning kitchen appliances, trying to find a refrigerator that doesn't whine all day long.

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I don't have hyperacusis or tinnitus, but I am extremely sensitive to noise, especially fans, engines, pumps, and anything else that makes percussive or resonant noise. I am fortunate to live quite remotely in the countryside, with no human sounds nearby. I have a personal policy that nothing that makes continuous noise is allowed in my house. I installed all my appliances in another structure (a root cellar) a short walk from my house. It's made all the difference!

If you live in the typical American configuration of a house with a garage that is near the kitchen, consider putting your fridge/freezer out there. Sure, it's a few steps of inconvenience, but you'll find the lack of noisy appliances a true consolation. If you really need quick access to something refrigerated, put a cooler in a corner of the kitchen, and make ice with the freezer that's in the garage.

Truly silent refrigerators exist, but you won't find them at your typical home improvement box store. (Ask me why I know this!) Look into Amish appliance suppliers. Or the tiny-house folks who've found quiet, compact absorption-based fridges.

Love this! Got any brand/model recommendations for quiet appliances?

Dometic used to have small absorption fridges. (I had one in a tiny house, and it was totally silent.) Not sure if they do nowadays. (Peltier effect fridges have taken up some of the steam these days, but I'm pretty sure those have constant-running fans.) I think Dometic is still big in the sailboat community, which is another good place to investigate.

Most propane fridges are absorption style. I don't know if they're up to code for running inside a house, but they'd probably be fine on a porch or in a garage.

Check out Lehman's (https://www.lehmans.com/category/gas-refrigerators-freezers) for a lot of alternative technology.

Otherwise, google for 'propane refrigerator' or 'gas refrigerator or 'absorption refrigerator.'

If you really want to get creative, and enjoy processing food, there's lots of fridge-free ways to preserve food, depending on the climate you live in. It's also a fun area to research and experiment with.

Oh, one more thing -- chest freezers can be converted to chest fridges with a simple thermostat-switch. As most cheap chest freezers are manual-defrost style, they tend to run their compressor less, and for whatever reason, aren't as noisy as standing fridges. I personally still wouldn't want one in my main living quarters, but as they tend to be pretty cheap to buy, it might be something to try.

Here's something I did to slightly improve things. Buy one of those timed switches that are usually for outdoor lighting and things like that, and use it to switch the fridge off automatically during periods you need quiet the most. Obviously not too much of the day, use good judgement. Fridges are only working (and whining) when the temperature inside rises above a certain amount. With the timer you can have a little influence over when that happens.

Pray for me as I am stuck in an apartment building with a regular 50hz hum for the foreseeable.

That sounds terrible. I'm very sensitive to inductor whine - I'm sure there are a few hotels who thought they had a schizophrenic guest based on the lengths I sometimes go through to unplug whiny power supplies in hotels - but not to the point of routinely hearing it under normal daytime conditions.

Have you considered moving to one of those places near a radio observatory where people aren't allowed to use electronics?

I had tremendous problem with my landlord in Urbana about that; outside my apartment there was some electrical apparatus and the whine resonated throughout, but neither he nor his wife could hear it. I had to bring a couple of young neighbors to confirm that there was a noise and until this was done he really thought I had gone insane; the good thing was that after some adjustments by the electrician the noise stopped.

Sonic pest repellants? Supposed to be ultrasonic, but some work around 13 kHz, I've heard... (Oh, and I have a roll of black PVC tape in my travel bag for taping over hotel air condition LEDs. I don't understand why they have to make them light up the entire room.)

Did you try to listen to MIT's 40Hz waves on headphones for 15-30 minutes?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVne_84qZkA

High fidelity ear plugs? That's been my go-to for years to deal with loud environments because of this. Bonus being you can actually hear people talking better. I don't think I'm as severe as you are tho.

Like? Those passive ones made by Loop? Or some active?

Okay so one's I've tried:

* Eargasm -- Do not recommend, they're really hard to get a seal, the noise protection seems worse than advertised, and if it's hot and you sweat they fall out and getting a seal again is a huge PITA.

* Etymotic ER20 -- Highly recommend, super easy to get a seal, good sound quality, good nose reduction. The only negative is they're a little hard to get used to since they go really deep in your ears and they're hard plastic. Some people it really bothers when they borrow them.

* Loop -- Also highly recommend, I would spend the extra for the thing you put in the middle that gives you the extra dB reduction. These plugs are weird AF but they sit on the outside of your ear, are very comfortable, stay sealed, and don't fall out because they use your own ear to hold it in.

* Vibes -- They had the same problems as the Eargasms for me but also reduced noise less. Might be worth for "above average loudness social event" but for actually loud events I couldn't use them.

* Any Noise Cancelling -- Hate these fuckers. I've tried so many of them but they all make me feel like I'm in an airplane and they make me hear my tinnitus worse. It's not like it's louder but something about the noise cancelling makes me focus on it more. I'm sure they're great for regular ears but they can't cancel the noise coming from inside the house.

* Dark horse pick that aren't actually high-fidelity are 3M E-A-R UltraFit Corded Ear Plugs those bright neon yellow things with the blue cord. Ugly as sin but really effective. Super cheap too. In slightly noisy environments I keep them a little bit unsealed. They're my backup for when I need more dB reduction than high-fidelity filters can provide.

I'm scheduled for an appointment with an audiologist to get the custom molded -25 dB plugs. I think the woman said they'd be like $200 but I wanted something I could take to like concert concerts.

Been playing drums for 30+ years. I ended up with tinnitus after an extremely loud concert wearing Hearos, which are a brand name for Etymotic ER20s (as with all things hearing it probably was not just that concert, but that was the single point at which tinnitus started and didn't go away). After that I decided to just spend big and buy custom molded ear plugs (In my case 64audio). Even when wearing the -20db cartridges they were significantly more effective for me than the ER20s. My theory is the shape of my ear canal makes it hard to get straight plugs in to get full protection (even the foamies I can't get in far enough). Over time I have gotten used to the tinnitus and with the use of IEMs and the custom Ear plugs, which I've been using for 10 years now, my hearing hasn't gotten worse and the tinnitus levels have remained low.

+1 for the ER20s. I've got some of the early Loops (no inserts or anything fancy) which are decent enough (and can be used for sleeping in an emergency.) Also got some of the early Flare Audio titaniums which do a decent job.

(For sleeping I buy the Leight Laser Lite in bulk because anything with a stiff/solid stem tends to be uncomfortable. They also work reasonably well in gig scenarios.)

I'm a musician, and I like the ER20's a lot. They're cheap enough that I can make sure to have a pair in each instrument case, and some spares. I find they're pretty comfortable. The part that goes in your ear is soft. There are two sizes.

Are any of those more effective than very deeply inserted

https://www.moldex.com/product/sparkplugs/

I feel like I am at the ansolute maximum with them, but I would always like more silence.

Amazing, thank you for this!

24/7 I've been putting cotton balls in my ears for a while now, takes a little to get used to the lower volume of everything else, but it really helps. I'm surprised at how loud things are at this point when I don't have them.

I wear hearing protection pretty regularly for work. It's astonishing how loud riding the subway was after becoming more attuned to loud noise and doing what I could to mitigate it. Ditto concerts. The level they turn the music up to is nuts.

I use earplugs made for sleeping (so have an emphasis on comfort over noise blockage) and that definitely helps.

Did you get custom molded ones or are there more comfortable generic earplugs?

I tried the custom molded ones and they felt more uncomfortable to me than just buying the high-end off-the-shelf "sleep" earplugs at a major retailer. They fit nicely and do block the most noise, but tend to be very rigid/inflexible, which makes them hurt when I lay down or put pressure on them. Even just stting, they start to be uncomfortable after some time.

I can't tell what brand I'm using because I (unhelpfully for this case) throw away the box and just keep them in the plastic bag they come in, but every 6 months or so I'll go to Fred Meyer, Target, or Walmart and buy a big pack of the most expensive earplugs that say "sleep" on the box :-)

Is your tinnitus worse when you take the cotton balls out?

Its always there, just the other noise is overwhelming. With them in, tinnitus feels much less noticeable. Plus the upside is if I really need to hear something, like a phone call, I just take them out.

Have you considered an icebox?

What's the electronic resonance from? Streetlights?

Yard tools running all day, commercial pumps and carpet cleaning vacuums in the distance (can hear them from miles away), the whine from AC compressors around the neighborhood, the resonance from the air moving through the radon piping on sides of our neighbor's houses, the CONSTANT and increasing noise from small planes, the neighbors who seem to vacuum their cars almost every other day for half the day. If my other half accidentally drops a ceramic dish on another ceramic dish my ears are ringing and painful for days.

I read this and I think that others must think that I am difficult to live with. It's not like I'm wincing all day or bitching at others to keep it down. The inside of our house is a sanctuary of silence, for the most part, after lots of trial and error with AC ducting, appliances, insulation. It's all of the other sounds that seem to sneak in through our old walls that are maddening.

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