# biohack

Published articles for biohack.

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## Case study: low-frequency tinnitus with distortion

DevFeed: [Case study: low-frequency tinnitus with distortion](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/case-study-low-frequency-tinnitus-with-distortion-21644.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://www.windytan.com/2015/07/case-study-tinnitus-with-distortion.html>)

Author: Oona Räisänen (noreply@blogger.com)

Published: 2015-07-11T07:39:00Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [Oona Räisänen](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/oona-raisanen.md>)

Topics: [Simulation](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/simulation.md>), [Compression](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/compression.md>)

Tags: [acoustics](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/acoustics.md>), [analysis](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/analysis.md>), [biohack](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/biohack.md>), [case-study](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/case-study.md>), [compression](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/compression.md>), [html5](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/html5.md>), [simulation](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/simulation.md>)

### AI overview

The author analyzes periodically appearing low-frequency tinnitus, including simulated audio and occasional frequency shifts. The article speculates that a near-sinusoidal 65 Hz tone could cause perceived speech distortion through amplitude modulation or heterodyning, while noting that the condition is poorly understood.

### Source excerpt

A periodically appearing low-frequency tinnitus is one of my least favorite signals. A doctor's visit only resulted in a WONTFIX and the audiogram shown here, which didn't really answer any questions. Also, the sound comes with some pecularities that warrant a deeper analysis. So it shall become one of my absorptions. The possible subtype (Vielsmeier et al. 2012) of tinnitus I have, related to a joint problem, is apparently even more poorly understood than the classical case (Vielsmeier et al. 2011), which of course means I'm free to make wild speculations! And maybe throw a supporting citation here and there. Here's a simulation of what it sounds like. The occasional frequency shifts are caused by head movements. (There's only low-frequency content, so headphones will be needed; otherwise it will sound like silence.) (HTML5 audio: computer-generated low-frequency tone on the right channel with some frequency shifts.) It's nothing new, save for the somewhat uncommon frequency. Sounds a bit like a car left idling outside the house. Now to the weird stuff. Real-life audio artifacts! This analysis was originally sparked by a seemingly unrelated observation. I listen to podcasts and documentaries a lot, and sometimes I've noticed the voice sounding like it had shifted up in frequency, for just a small amount. It would resemble an across-the-spectrum linear shift that breaks the harmonic relationships, much like when listening to a SSB transmission. (Simulated sound sample from a podcast below.) [HTML5 audio: excerpt from a science news podcast with distorted speech.] I always assumed this was a compression artifact of some kind. Or maybe broken headphones. But one day I also noticed it in real life, when a friend was talking to me! I had to ask her repeat, even though I had heard her well. Surely not a compression artifact. Of course I immediately associated it with the tinnitus that had been quite strong that day. But how could a pure tone alter the whole spectrum so d