Mach e hurts my ears

[MellowJohnny]

Have the bumpers on the trunk lid adjusted. They are not right and are allowing air to be pumped as the trunk lid moves. The trunk lid is big and a very small motion can move a lot of air which changes the pressure against your ear drum. This problem was discussed in the Tesla forum before Tesla shut it down a year or so ago.

Interesting…basically like sitting in a giant sub-woofer.

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[veronicablack]

Hey, I remember you from the grumpy thread! Did you ever get your car?

I tried measuring it in the Model Y with a barometer and then doing an FFT to find the infrasound. Nothing really jumped out in the results

My wife and I are fairly boring people, no activity that I can think of that would cause a similar ear issue. When I say my kids, I'm talking a range of ages from 15 to 22.

If you google "Model Y ear pressure", you will see a lot of results. So I believe that the Y had an issue. I don't see that when I search the mach e forums, though one person on this thread had a similar experience. My hope was that it was all in our heads, but after a month I'm starting to wonder if it is real.

I'm going to try to work this from both ends. I'm doing what the ear Dr suggested (Taking sudafed to open up the ear tube, lipflavonoid to get rid of the ringing) and I will also try the suggestions that people have made on the forum (changing the screen intensity, driving in whisper mode, etc.) I'm hoping that something works.

Hey wow either you have a good memory or I kvetch too much in the grumpy thread lol. Or both. No car for me yet, unfortunately. But I'm coming to a more zen perspective and trying to be less grumpy about it and just roll with it at this point.

Hm I mean even if it is just "in your head"/"in your ear", it would still suggest that the car is doing *something* to trigger it. I think it's smart to try to take the meds the doc gave. I still tend to think it's mostly your ear but not that the car isn't doing anything to exacerbate it. You just might be more sensitive than the average person because of the ear stuff. Has the wife been to an ear doc at all?

Hope you can sort this out soon, it can't be fun to deal with.

 

[ScottMcCool]

Hey wow either you have a good memory or I kvetch too much in the grumpy thread lol. Or both. No car for me yet, unfortunately. But I'm coming to a more zen perspective and trying to be less grumpy about it and just roll with it at this point.

Hm I mean even if it is just "in your head"/"in your ear", it would still suggest that the car is doing *something* to trigger it. I think it's smart to try to take the meds the doc gave. I still tend to think it's mostly your ear but not that the car isn't doing anything to exacerbate it. You just might be more sensitive than the average person because of the ear stuff. Has the wife been to an ear doc at all?

Hope you can sort this out soon, it can't be fun to deal with.

The veronica picture for your Avatar sticks out. I think that is why I remember you. Also, I remember reading that you were in fact a man and that was quite a shocker to the thread. It was a nice/funny break from all of us complaining about not having the car.

I was a little frustrated to wait 9 months to get rid of the Tesla to get a Mach e, only to have the same problem. But when it happened with the Tesla, it seemed like the right thing to do was get rid of the Tesla. Now that it has happened with a different car, it seems like problem is more likely me and the right thing to do is get my ear fixed. If we can determine the problem is my ear, then we can get my wife's ear fixed. But since it didn't happen in the 2 I test drove, I am thinking that maybe it is something that my car is doing so I am working it that way too. The two I test drove were test mules that had been driven and beat up probably. Maybe mine will loosen up too? Or maybe the test mules had different settings. I'm working both ends.

 

[veronicablack]

The veronica picture for your Avatar sticks out. I think that is why I remember you. Also, I remember reading that you were in fact a man and that was quite a shocker to the thread. It was a nice/funny break from all of us complaining about not having the car.

I was a little frustrated to wait 9 months to get rid of the Tesla to get a Mach e, only to have the same problem. But when it happened with the Tesla, it seemed like the right thing to do was get rid of the Tesla. Now that it has happened with a different car, it seems like problem is more likely me and the right thing to do is get my ear fixed. If we can determine the problem is my ear, then we can get my wife's ear fixed. But since it didn't happen in the 2 I test drove, I am thinking that maybe it is something that my car is doing so I am working it that way too. The two I test drove were test mules that had been driven and beat up probably. Maybe mine will loosen up too? Or maybe the test mules had different settings. I'm working both ends.

really hoping it works out for you. It has to be aggravating going through a whole car purchase twice just to be able to travel in peace and not having it work out. I checked the freq range on a couple of the cheaper (but reliable) mics I own but none of them go below 40hz unfortunately so I don’t have a mic to recommend trying to capture some of those low frequencies.

 

[Draconfier]

I don't think it is that easy. One of the theory on the Model Y board was that it was infrasound, a frequency too low to be detected by sound equipment. I don't know if any professors or students really want to spend 10s or 100s of hours tracking this problem down.

I'm throwing this out there as possible alternative. Have you considered the possibility of being sensitive to electro-magnetic frequencies? EMF causing EHS or Electomagnetic Hypersensitivity is a possibility. There are those that say it doesn't exist from older studies to newer ones that state that there is a possibility that some people are more sensitive to EMF and can develop EHS. I've included 2 links for you to review. Have you ever had a similar experience when using a ICE vehicle? You mentioned having problems with a Tesla. Have you ever had a reaction while being in close proximity to a MRI? It could be a coincidence, or it could be something more. One of the most common symptoms of EHS is tinnitus, or a ringing in the ears that can be mildly uncomfortable to dehabilitating.

https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/reveh-2021-0101/html

https://insideevs.com/features/397201/magnetic-fields-evs-health-risks/

 

[ScottMcCool]

I'm throwing this out there as possible alternative. Have you considered the possibility of being sensitive to electro-magnetic frequencies? EMF causing EHS or Electomagnetic Hypersensitivity is a possibility. There are those that say it doesn't exist from older studies to newer ones that state that there is a possibility that some people are more sensitive to EMF and can develop EHS. I've included 2 links for you to review. Have you ever had a similar experience when using a ICE vehicle? You mentioned having problems with a Tesla. Have you ever had a reaction while being in close proximity to a MRI? It could be a coincidence, or it could be something more. One of the most common symptoms of EHS is tinnitus, or a ringing in the ears that can be mildly uncomfortable to dehabilitating.

https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/reveh-2021-0101/html

https://insideevs.com/features/397201/magnetic-fields-evs-health-risks/

Thanks for the post and the links. I bought an EMF sensor and used it in my Tesla. There was no EMF. The sensor went off when I drove under powerlines, but not just driving around.

I have low pressure in one of my ears. I assume that means this is more of a physical effect than an EMF, but I really don't know. I'm not a DR and I never understood the electric course I took in college.

 

[Carsinmyblood]

Found these:
https://phys.org/news/2016-10-scientists-effects-infrasonic-vibrations-humans.html

https://quietliving.co.uk/block-low-frequency-noise/

 

[JohnnyForensic]

The Mach e hurts my ears. It hurts my wife's ears too, but not my kids. I know it sounds dumb. It's hard to describe. It's not a sound at all. Just when I am in the car my ears start to hurt, even when it is sitting still so I know it isn't the low frequency boom that the Tesla's and Audi's sometimes get on rough roads. I just got back from the Ear Dr who said I have negative pressure in my left ear, whatever that means.

Just a little background, I bought a Tesla Model Y in September of 2020. It was great for the first 9 days, but then we hit a small bump and it hurt my ears ever since so I had to get rid of it. I test drove two Mach e. They didn't hurt my ears so I finally took over an order and 9 months later, that came in on November 20. Of course when I drive my Mach e my ears start to hurt.

Any ideas? Why would 2 completely different EV hurt my ears and my wife's ears? I would say that maybe it is just an ear problem that I have, but then why would my wife feel it too? Why would 2 test drives of Mach e have no issues but then the one I waited 9 months for have an issue?

You said this happens even when sitting still. If you crack the windows all around, say maybe an inch on each one, and just sit there, does it still happen?

 

[court0901]

You said this happens even when sitting still. If you crack the windows all around, say maybe an inch on each one, and just sit there, does it still happen?

I have the same issue as the OP and cracking the window does help.

 

[ScottMcCool]

You said this happens even when sitting still. If you crack the windows all around, say maybe an inch on each one, and just sit there, does it still happen?

The problem is that it is such a gradual feeling. I think I feel something funny in my ears and then after driving for 15 minutes, my ears start to hurt. So it is hard to do tests. I'd have to sit in the car for 15 minutes with the windows closed and then sit in the car for 15 minutes with the windows open. Also, some days I feel it and some days I don't.

It was weird in my TEsla that when I felt it, usually my wife didn't. When she felt it, usually I didnt.

I did a lot of testing and thinking about it in my Tesla so a lot of what I am saying here is based on what I felt in my Tesla. I was trying not to think about it at all in my Mach e so that I wouldn't talk myself into a problem that wasn't there, but my ears started to hurt so bad that I had to go to the Ear Dr.

 

[leeman]

This may be the wine of the motors to some degree but also the cabin is pretty quiet and airtight in the fact that the car doesn't move the same as a traditional car due to its weight and suspension set up may cost some weird effects. I haven't taken more than a couple of hundred-mile trips so far no issues.

 

[shoopla]

What, good display or good wife?

She might see this, so I'll refrain from answering.

 

[zvez]

this is really an interesting discussion. I haven't experienced anything even remotely like this (thankfully). I'll be interested to hear followup

 

[ScottMcCool]

I have the same issue as the OP and cracking the window does help.

Interesting. Even if it does help me, I don't want to have to crack the windows every time I drive.

 

[Logal727]

Interesting. Even if it does help me, I don't want to have to crack the windows every time I drive.

Does it only happen at certain speeds or when you're idle as well?

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