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April 14, 2012 5:02 PM   Subscribe

Is a high-pitched noise emitting from an old TV potentially damaging to adolescent ears?

An old (read: tube) TV obtained from freecycle is now in my brother's room and emits a constant, faint, high-pitched noise. It is only noticeable if you enter the room, and then the ear seems to adjust to it rather quickly. My brother heard it before I did, and I could only hear it if I concentrated. My mom can't hear it at all, despite her best efforts (and doesn't believe that the sound actually exists).

I'm just wondering if this constant high pitched sound will be damaging to him in any way, in the long run. My parents are reluctant to purchase a new TV for him since his old one crapped out so I went and got one on freecycle, but I don't want him to suffer any ill effects for the sake of saving money. I can try insisting on them getting him a new one, or I will pitch in for one myself. His TV is on 9 hours a day, more on the weekends.

Thanks for any advice.
posted by shipsthatburn to Health & Fitness (10 answers total)
 
If the ear adjusts to it quickly, I don't think it'd be damaging - especially if you had to concentrate to hear it in the first place. This exposure may speed up your inability to hear high-pitched noises, but that happens to all of us over time (which is likely why your mom can't hear it).

You could get a noise meter to say the specific frequency (and prove to your mom it exists!) but that would probably cost less than a tv....
posted by Lt. Bunny Wigglesworth at 5:10 PM on April 14, 2012


If it were damaging, I think every kid who grew up in front of a TV in the previous century would have hearing damage, because it seemed to me that every CRT television emitted that sound, at least when warming up. The smaller, basic TVs seemed to emit it constantly, as you describe - when I was a kid, I was able to tell my brother was up early playing Nintendo because I could hear the faint, very-high-pitched whine of the small TV from my room.

My CRT computer monitors also made the same sound if I had the refresh rate set below 70 Hz. Apparently I was more sensitive to it than most, as it bugged the heck out of me, but no one else with a 60 Hz monitor knew what I was talking about.
posted by WasabiFlux at 5:18 PM on April 14, 2012 [4 favorites]


Just fyi, probably your mother has hearing loss -- I have fairly profound hearing loss from construction sites and too much music too loud; what has been wiped out are high frequencies. I literally cannot hear the alarm on a wristwatch I owned, though everyone else in the room is annoyed and looking at me like WTF?
posted by dancestoblue at 5:25 PM on April 14, 2012


There's nothing fundamentally different between this sound and, say, the hum of an AC unit. It just seems that it's at a frequency that younger people can hear better than older people. As we age, it's practically expected that we will have some hearing loss in the higher frequency ranges - this is the entire logic behind devices like the Mosquito, which are supposed to repel teens with an unpleasant sound that adults can't hear. Your mom should be told about this effect if she doesn't believe that the sound exists.

The real danger is that it could be annoying.

Your mother might want to get her hearing checked at her next convenience, but I wouldn't expect to find anything out of the ordinary. It's more that it's a good idea for every older people to get their hearing check once in a while, since gradual hearing loss can go unnoticed.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 5:59 PM on April 14, 2012 [2 favorites]


Best answer: It's the flyback transformer, pitched at 15.734 kHz, so young ears hear it better than old ones. It's not going to hurt his hearing.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 6:03 PM on April 14, 2012 [4 favorites]


It's great that you care about your brother and I really don't want to cross the line here, but 9 hrs a day of TV consumption and even more on the weekend - that does not seem healthy at all!
If you want/can do anything to help your brother to spend his time differently I highly encourage you to do so!
A lot of research on kids' media use has been conducted and shows a variety of important effects on children. "Excessive TV viewing can contribute to poor grades, sleep problems, behavior problems, obesity, and risky behavior."

To answer your question:
The high pitched noise he is hearing is most likely higher than 16000 Hz. Babies and toddlers can hear up to 20000 Hz. Humans are capable of hearing a range between 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz. Those frequencies are called audio or sonic.
The older humans get, the worse (more restricted) our hearing gets. It is completely normal that your mom does not hear this high pitched sound as it is at a frequency that goes beyond her range. This is nothing to be scared about, please be assured that it has nothing to do with 'hearing loss from construction sites or too loud music' (paraphrasing here) or any other 'wrong' behavior. 'Hearing loss' occurs in 1 out of 3 people who are older than 60 and in about 50% of over 85 year olds.

You, your brother and your mom can check out on youtube which frequencies you are capable of hearing. (There are many other hearing test there).

Only because your brother does hear it, does not mean that it is damaging. It is not. But since he alerted you to the issue, it might bother him. I tend to get headaches from high pitched sounds, and maybe he does too?
Does the TV have to be in his room? Maybe you could watch some shows together in the living room?
I want to bring my point across again, you didn't say how old your brother is, but even for an adult 9 hrs a day are just beyond responsible. Here is a good start: Good Tv Habits.
posted by travelwithcats at 6:14 PM on April 14, 2012


It depends on how loud it is. You say it's faint so its probably no problem, so long as he agrees its faint. I grew up with one as well and, now in my 30s, can still hear 17,000 Hz easily, 21 if the volume is loud enough. It's annoying for sure, especially at night when noises like this seem to get louder, but a fan or any other tiny noise will cover it. Dimmer switches and fluorescent lights (the ballast in the old style especially, right before they go) will do it too, FYI. It's really cool that you care, BTW.
posted by jwells at 6:20 PM on April 14, 2012


Seconding what Johnny Wallfower said. Why are you guys still talking about what frequency it is? :) It's the 15.7 kHz flyback. I used to hear them all the time, drove me nuts. I also hated the degaussing cycle on the last big CRT TV I had. You kids have it so great with all these huge, affordable, quiet, safe flat panels. And get off my lawn.
posted by intermod at 8:45 PM on April 14, 2012


Response by poster: Thank you everyone! It bothered him for about 15 minutes, but then he got used to it and doesn't even mention it now. As long as it's not damaging his hearing, then I'm just glad to not have to lug another TV into his room.

Also, travelwithcats--he's 16, and what I'm more worried about is his extensive computer game playing. He has the TV on for background noise; he probably "only" watches an hour or two of it a day. The rest of his time is spent doing homework and gaming. He makes excellent grades and seems happy enough socializing with people online, so I just leave him be.
posted by shipsthatburn at 9:32 PM on April 14, 2012


It's most likely the 15.735kHz (NTSC) or 15.625kHz (PAL/SECAM) line-rate bleeding into the audio--probably through the ground. Are you bringing in composite video and line-in audio from a DTV converter box? You might want to check the audio cables and make sure the ground connections are tight.
posted by Golden Eternity at 6:55 PM on April 15, 2012


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