Well, not so good, as I should be sleeping, but there is a HIGH FREQUENCY NOISE, which is driving me CRAZY!
I first noticed it, while taking measurements in the empty apartment BEFORE we moved in, but chalked it up to the emptiness and hard surfaces. However, we are approaching four months and it is still present.
Finally, I hired a professional sound technician to come, with highly specialized equipment and he found it to be the food center refrigerator. He said it emitted 5000 Herz. The landlords are kindly willing to purchase a new one, BUT I HAVE MY DOUBTS. Even if I switch off the circuit breaker, the noise does not go away.
No, I do not have tinnitus, though I am worried about the long term effects upon my hearing.
Any suggestions, before we exchange the refrigerator? Thanks for your help.
I can sometimes hear the fluid expansion in my fridge. It's a high frequency hiss, more like white noise than a pure tone.
The cooling cycle will still work as long as there's sufficient pressure difference between the high and low side of the system, so if you only turned the fridge off for a moment (and if the fridge is indeed the source of your noise), then you may be hearing the gas in the expansion valve. Try leaving it unplugged for 20-30 min.
Another possibility might be if you have low voltage lighting in the kitchen: if the lights are driven by a solid state invertor, and that is located behind the fridge, then that might be the source of your noise.
Just a suggestion based on my own experience and trial and error but have you checked how sound the cable connections are? I was also plagued by a high pitched noise which turned out to be coming from a cheap multipoint charger which wasn’t fully pushed into the socket. When I pushed it in, the noise stopped.
Probably doesn’t explain why your noise continues after you’ve switched it off but I thought I’d just throw it into the mix.
Turn off the master switch to your apartments electrical supply.
If the noise goes away, then you know it must be something electrical.
If not... it may be on another circuit (in another apartment) or not electrical.
I also had mouse ears. Now I have tinnitus. And in bed at our french house I hear the sound of water moving in the pipes... in a room where there are no pipes. It is something to do with the combination of tinnitus and the layout of the room and bed. So, sadly, do not rule out that possibility (especially if you are over 40)
I wouldn't recommend headphones and/or excessive volumes.
If the OP can hear 5GHz Wifi then I would be impressed. I can barely manage 10kHz.
Back in the 1990's I lived near the Swiss Radio International transmitter station in Schwarzenburg. Some people there claimed they could hear the radio from their refrigerators and cookers etc. along with other interesting observations like seeing mysterious blue lights on tin roofs at night etc.
I just checked, I'm still good to 14k at least (had to try a bunch of headphones, only could hear it with two, but my AKG K240DF are supposed to be flat until 20k, so I must be getting old).
Not just me. A lady visitor having lunch with me suddenly blurted out; „ what IS that noise?” I felt like hugging her! Our adult children also hear it, however most men do not.
I've been suffering a faint high pitched tone in my living room for a couple of weeks which I was convinced was coming from something electrical. Today I went round switching off all electrical items and still the sound was there. I eventually tracked it down to an old radiator thermostat - i just turned the dial slightly and suddenly silence....
Since you have several people who, like you, CAN hear the sound, (that's rather reassuring) could you all walk around the flat, turning carefully, to try to locate the source? A bit like that children's game "hot" (for nearby) and "cold" (for further away)?
Because sounds bounce off surfaces, remember to look at what is on the opposite wall from where you hear the sound.
Also: have you checked the hallway, passage and stairwell for sources?
Could you ask the neighbours?
I heard of one person who found the noise outside. The neighbours had set an anti-rodent sound emitting device to deter rodents ("Marder" in German) from gnawing their way through parts of their car.