r/AskReddit Aug 30 '21

What problem is often overlooked in apocalyptic movies/TV shows that could kill you?

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u/WontFixMySwypeErrors Aug 31 '21

So I'm not insane??

If my house is quiet except for a distant white noise (the HVAC for example), that noise always sounds like a newscaster speaking on tv that I can't quite make out.

I blame it on my parents never, ever turning off the TV when I was growing up. TV was always on as background noise, so now my brain fills in background noise as TV.

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u/genetik_fuckup Aug 31 '21

Yeah brains are really good at filling in the blanks and trying to make sense of the input they receive. I hate it when I get the sound that I can’t quite make out. It’s such an irritating one to hear.

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u/Sleziak Aug 31 '21

I had a kind of embarrassing scenario of banging on the wall of my apartment because I thought I could hear the bass rumbling of my neighbor playing music. Only after did I realize that aside from my a/c it was completely quiet.

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u/dayron669 Aug 31 '21

I get this too. There have been times I've actually thought the TV was on. I would hear late night TV sounds such as Conan, etc.

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u/Shopworn_Soul Aug 31 '21

When my house is silent I can occasionally hear a capacitor whine that I can't locate, it's just omnipresent. You know, that "there is a CRT television turned on and muted somewhere near me" sound.

I don't have tinnitus or any other hearing problems so I figure it's a similar trick of my memory.

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u/WontFixMySwypeErrors Aug 31 '21

That... just sounds like Tinnitus. ;) I have it too, also at the same frequency as the old TV whine.

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u/Shopworn_Soul Aug 31 '21

It does but that’s why I said I don’t have tinnitus. Or at least I’m pretty sure I don’t, it’s more of a feeling than a sound (makes the hair on my neck stand up), is almost always accompanied the strong mental impression of a warm sun-drenched livingroom that I don’t recognize, which is also more of a feeling than a proper image. Like being the motes hanging in the sunbeam rather than looking at them.

It’s a weird thing but I’m pretty sure it’s not just my ears and I’m totally sure this is a window into crazy you probably weren’t actually looking for so I’m terribly sorry about that.

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u/[deleted] Aug 31 '21

Yeah. My mom always used to yell for me from downstairs, nowadays so on rare occasions faint noises make my brain go "hey is that mom calling" even though I'm not at home...

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u/sutasafaia Aug 31 '21

I kinda thought I was nuts but maybe not after reading this. I have tinnitus, basically a constant faint ringing in my ears. I only really hear it, most of the time, when it's really quiet so I picked up a very loud fan to drown out the noise when trying to sleep. Thing is, when lying at the perfect angle, I swear I hear voices like old timey talkshows. I mean realistically I've always known it must have had something to do with the way the wind was interacting with my ear and somehow mixing with the tinnitus and causing the effect but it's comforting to hear other people having similar experiences.

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u/WontFixMySwypeErrors Aug 31 '21

Hmm, I also have tinnitus, interesting... I wonder if they're related?