You're gonna go deaf, they tell you. I can hear my mother's words now echoing beyond the grave: "If you don't turn down that stereo, you're going to lose your hearing!" Yet, I still, even in my older years, gravitate toward the front of the stage. Heck, I'll stand right in front of the speakers if I can.
But let me back track. About six months ago, I began to hear a low humming noise in my neighborhood. I live in Land Park, a Sacramento neighborhood situated between the I-5 freeway and the railroad tracks and south of the W-X freeway. There is no noise in my neighborhood except at night. The humming noise was definitely not freeway traffic. It would start and stop at 30-second intervals.
I asked all my neighbors if they heard this sound. Nope. My husband didn't hear it, either. "Wait, wait," I'd say, "Now listen. Tell me YOU DON'T HEAR THAT NOISE????" I practically accused him of not trying hard enough.
One of my neighbors pointed to a circular turbine vent on my roof. "Those can hum in the night," he said. So, I called my roofing guy. He removed the vent and replaced it with a stationary vent.
The hum continued.
I went to the doctor. Explained the problem. "You have tinnitus."
I googled tinnitus. Ringing in the ears. High-pitched sounds. Nope, that wasn't the problem.
The next night, I unplugged everything in the house except the refrigerator. I disconnected the cat's water fountain, too. Still, the sound persisted. Some nights I didn't hear it. Maybe it was underground excavation that had been completed. Whatever the reason, I was relieved.
Couple months later, the humming sound is back. Was I going insane? I went back to the doctor. This time she said, "I hear a low humming noise, too." So . . . what? She's possessed by aliens as well? "It's loud noises that cause it," she said. Ah, rock concerts.
Last night I tried an experiment. When I started to hear the humming noise, I moved my jaw back and forth, enough to cause a crackling sound in my ears. And you know what? The humming stopped.
I'm not going crazy after all. But nobody ever said that rock and roll would cause tinnitus. They said I would go deaf. Given the alternative, I guess the humming sound is OK. But let this be a warning to all you young whipper-snappers out there. You might want to consider wearing earplugs. Then again, if you don't mind the sound of a garage door opening and closing in your head, maybe not.
Photo: Big Stock Photo
The Short Sale, by Elizabeth Weintraub, coming from Archer Ellison in January 2009.
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Certified HAFA Specialist
My Sacramento Real Estate Listings
Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout the four-county Sacramento area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate. DRE License # 00697006.
The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available at Amazon.com.
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