Ear pain after towing with F150

[minirx7]

Not sure where to put this but just putting it out there. i have always had a bit of hearing issues due to listening to loud music as a kid (think lots of subs, and lots of amps!)...

Recently i took the F150 and my new Jayco RV for over 5,000km road trip with my family accross Canada. Wihtin the first 500kms, i was suffering from major ringing in my ears. No one else in the car (my kids/wife) experienced any hearing issues. For me, it is somethign to do with the way the 3.5L sounds when towing (8th gear at 60mph).

I tried ear plugs which was much better. I thought maybe it was coincidence, but yesterday i took out the RV again for the first time since my last trip. Agian immediately i get ringing in y ears and discomfort. I cant figure out why this is happening.

Anybody experience anythign like this?

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[rado]

Not sure where to put this but just putting it out there. i have always had a bit of hearing issues due to listening to loud music as a kid (think lots of subs, and lots of amps!)...

Recently i took the F150 and my new Jayco RV for over 5,000km road trip with my family accross Canada. Wihtin the first 500kms, i was suffering from major ringing in my ears. No one else in the car (my kids/wife) experienced any hearing issues. For me, it is somethign to do with the way the 3.5L sounds when towing (8th gear at 60mph).

I tried ear plugs which was much better. I thought maybe it was coincidence, but yesterday i took out the RV again for the first time since my last trip. Agian immediately i get ringing in y ears and discomfort. I cant figure out why this is happening.

Anybody experience anythign like this?

Could be the harmonics of the tires, or even the pumped in sound from the "engine". I'd be leaning towards the tires as I've had tires that hit a right frequency at a certain speed range that just gave me constant headaches. If you speed up or slow down does the ear ringing go away? Do you get it in longer city traffic?

 

[Don]

Simple solution, get a sound meter and test the decibels of sound (engine off, running and parked, running on the highway, etc).

 

[JeffC57]

Simple solution, get a sound meter and test the decibels of sound (engine off, running and parked, running on the highway, etc).

There are also apps that can be installed on a smart phone or tablet. I use Decibel X but probably others are available.

 

[Bryan Simon]

Simple solution, get a sound meter and test the decibels of sound (engine off, running and parked, running on the highway, etc).

not likely noise level.
more likely a frequency the man is not tolerant of.

incessant repeating, and a few frequencies annoy the hell out of me.
the frequencies will give me splitting headaches.
I also cannot filter background noises.
you can be standing 3’ in front of me talking directly to me and all I can hear is the damn washer in the next room.

 

[Jaylars]

Harmonics sounds like the issue. Everyone is different though, especially the older crowd. I have a similar issue where certain music makes me nauseous. This was not an issue until I got older. Never knew it until I was told by the Ear doc about how age and history changes the way your brain/ear drum interprets certain sounds. I hope you can narrow down which sound is causing the issue and eliminate it. I would start with the tires, shocks, and exhaust.

 

[minirx7]

Could be the harmonics of the tires, or even the pumped in sound from the "engine". I'd be leaning towards the tires as I've had tires that hit a right frequency at a certain speed range that just gave me constant headaches. If you speed up or slow down does the ear ringing go away? Do you get it in longer city traffic?

Didn't even think about the tires. When i tow i typically crank the PSI to 45. But when i speed up or down, i still feel really uneasy and ears start to hurt. I even downshifted to 6 from 8 to keep the RPM's up which gave me some relief.

I think it is the drone that really gets me, but its weired i havent seen anyboyd complain about this

 

[minirx7]

There are also apps that can be installed on a smart phone or tablet. I use Decibel X but probably others are available.

Already tried it.. There isn't any spikes in sound, and overall the F150 is very quiet vehicle ( l love this truck!!!)

 

[minirx7]

I just bought a new Tesla model S (picked it up on friday).. Going to leave the F150 on the driveway for a week or two, and see if it goes away.. I been driving the F150 everyday (kids to school, to work, etc). The ringing has not stopped (even outside of the F150).

Going to see a doctor next week as well. But this all happened since the road trip with the RV.. Never experienced this type of discomfort before driving a car.

 

[shalabama]

I also cannot filter background noises.
you can be standing 3’ in front of me talking directly to me and all I can hear is the damn washer in the next room.

Same here with our home’s “open floor plan”. I’ll be sitting next to my wife who’s watching television but all I can hear is the refrigerator 15’ behind us.

 

[UGADawg96]

Same here with our home’s “open floor plan”. I’ll be sitting next to my wife who’s watching television but all I can hear is the refrigerator 15’ behind us.

yeah, if any faucet is on the house, it's all I hear.

 

[Desertdweller]

Not sure where to put this but just putting it out there. i have always had a bit of hearing issues due to listening to loud music as a kid (think lots of subs, and lots of amps!)...

Recently i took the F150 and my new Jayco RV for over 5,000km road trip with my family accross Canada. Wihtin the first 500kms, i was suffering from major ringing in my ears. No one else in the car (my kids/wife) experienced any hearing issues. For me, it is somethign to do with the way the 3.5L sounds when towing (8th gear at 60mph).

I tried ear plugs which was much better. I thought maybe it was coincidence, but yesterday i took out the RV again for the first time since my last trip. Agian immediately i get ringing in y ears and discomfort. I cant figure out why this is happening.

Anybody experience anythign like this?

Maybe try driving with a pair of noise cancelling head phones? They might shut out the frequency that bothers you while still allowing voices to come thru. Even a pair of active shooting headphones might work and are less expensive than the airplane type.

 

[9663mu]

Sucks , i have had a ringing in my ear for almost 5 years now. a low pitch hiss 24/7 , good luck mate .

 

[Snakebitten]

8, 9, 10th gear are all overdrive ratios, so at 60mph there is absolutely no harm from locking out all overdrive ratios and cruising in 7th.
In fact if you were monitoring your engine coolant temperature you are likely to see that the 3.5 Ecoboost runs cooler at the additional rpms.

Just a consideration for process of elimination?

 

[minirx7]

Thanks all for the feedback. It appears it is from the road noise and low frequency rumble. After driving my Model S around (which also has noise cancellation), i am gettting the same thing and this is from an electric car.

It sucks but nothing i can do.

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