HST whine + tinnitus = selling my brand new L2501?

[drab m]

I have bad tinnitus, and in the 6 hours that I have used my brand new L2501 I am starting to conclude that, even with ear protection, the HST aggravates my tinnitus in a way that a gear tractor does not. I really should have demo'd a HST before buying one. This is going to be an expensive lesson if I have to trade it in for gears... Ouch.

Other than the noise hurting my ears, my initial impressions have been that it is a great tractor.

 

[Lil Foot]

I don't have the HST, mine's geared, but I do have tinnitus and often wondered about the HST whine if I upgrade in the future. Thanks for posting, I think you may have saved me some money down the road.

 

[JohnnyFbomb]

Try a combo of plugs and muffs.

 

[mdhughes]

I also have tinnitus and never thought a HST would be that loud that it would cause problems, I'm glad that I got the L3901DT. Like Lil Foot said, thanks for posting, you may have saved others from getting in the same boat you are in.

I hope you can find someway to keep your tractor and not have to trade it in.

 

[OrangeLivin]

I agree with Johnny, is there a way you can do both plugs and muffs? Not sure if you're able to use earplugs, but I would try both. Anything to keep from losing that much money is worth a try!

 

[Yooper]

Has anyone ever tried a rubber or dense foam mat on top of the tranny? I know what you're talking about with the whine. It seems to be at just the right frequency to aggravate tinnitus. I was thinking about some sound deadening foam between your feet on top of the tranny. Seems to be where most of the sound comes from.

 

[vic gerbasi]

you could try a product call Lizard Skin it works well on cars and trucks usually available at auto supply stores

 

[TripleR]

May not help, but mine got much quieter with use and is not objectionable now, I too have tinnitus.

Nothing wrong with a geared machine though, we have more of them than HST.

 

[bill in in]

My 3560 came with a mat and I hardly notice any trans noise at all. I would definitely try one.

 

[Pepsiboy]

I have bad tinnitus, and in the 6 hours that I have used my brand new L2501 I am starting to conclude that, even with ear protection, the HST aggravates my tinnitus in a way that a gear tractor does not. I really should have demo'd a HST before buying one. This is going to be an expensive lesson if I have to trade it in for gears... Ouch.

Other than the noise hurting my ears, my initial impressions have been that it is a great tractor.

drab m,

I also have tinnitus (VERY bad), so I fully understand where you are coming from. I have a BX250 and I use the foam ear plugs for shooting along with ear muffs that are military grade for aircraft ground crew (70 db protection). It is a bit of a pain for me to use both, but it works for me. After 5 to 6 hours of running (mowing 5 acres) I notice no worse problems. The muffs were a bit costly, but worth the money to me.

Just hoping you don't have to change to another tractor (too costly). Good luck.

Dave

 

[nickelplated5s]

Riding that Orange thing raises your blood pressure which makes the ringing worse. Try muffs with a built in radio. Poor man's noise cancelling head set.

 

[drab m]

Thanks for the advice. I have considered a rubber floor mat. I will definitely look into the aircraft grade headphones, and also the muffs with a radio.

nickelplated5s's comment about poor man's noise cancelling headphones got me thinking about perhaps I should also consider those Bose noise cancelling things.


Either that, or just suck up the cost and trade it in with under 10 hours. YIKES! ! !

 

[Ike]

Before you do anything go to a good ear doc and see if you can get fitted for pair of the in ear muffs made for your ear. I got a pair years ago and the results are night and day from the over the counter ones. After you wear them for while you forget they are . I could stand on the trap line and the gun shots from shotguns were just a puff. I would say they cancell out about 90% or better of the noise. They make them using your ear as a mold

 

[scdeerslayer]

Thanks for the advice. I have considered a rubber floor mat. I will definitely look into the aircraft grade headphones, and also the muffs with a radio.

nickelplated5s's comment about poor man's noise cancelling headphones got me thinking about perhaps I should also consider those Bose noise cancelling things.


Either that, or just suck up the cost and trade it in with under 10 hours. YIKES! ! !

I have Bose noise cancelling headphones and earmuffs with a built-in radio. I think the earmuffs probably work as good or better because they're designed to block out the noise, not mask it. The bose I wear while on the exercise bike and watching something on my laptop. I can still hear the bike but the noise-cancelling does help. Plus it seems the noise-cancelling works best with low-frequency noises. If you go get some wear them a while before wearing them on the tractor because they can be a bit disorienting.

 

[nickelplated5s]

I didn't think about this since I wear muffs nowadays. I've also got a set of custom made ear plugs, they will put any DB reducing filter in you want.

 

[winesalot]

Check in to custom fit ear plugs. I work in an industrial power plant with lots of loud high pitched noises. Over the counter ear plugs are difficult to install correctly therefore do not work well for most people. Over the ear muffs rely on a flexible rubber seal that rarely works because of hair, eyeglasses, bumps in the skull etc. Spend $150.00 on some custom fit in ear plugs and you will be amazed at how well they block out sound. I bet my hearing on them daily. We use a company called protecter.com but there are a bunch of companies out there just like them. Typically it's around $75 to have a mold of your ear made and then $75 for each pair of plugs. Best money you will ever spend.

 

[Dalroo]

Add my two cents - I have tinnitus from years of guns, motorcycles, and rock music. When I took delivery of my 4800DT I spent several hours working without hearing protection. Too anxious and I forgot. Big mistake, and my ears rang worse than ever for several days. Fortunately, I had a fix.

https://www.earplugsonline.com/

These things are great, and economical when compared to custom fit earplugs. I actually took one, cut it into two parts, and doubled the value. Very easy to use, and knocks noise done to near nothing. Now I keep a cheap set of shooting muffs on the tractor when I am doing quick work, but when I know I am going to be working for an extended amount of time, I got with the "mighty plugs". They are absolutely the best $20 I've ever spent.

 

[JeffL]

Wow this is a great site!
I looked at a B7100HST they other day and was surprised at the whine from the HST. I came here today to ask if this was normal or an early sign of impending doom. Yes I have tinnitus so maybe that compounds the issue. Other than the constant whine the tractor functions great and is in good shape. I want the HST because mowing and snow blowing is 90% of the work.
Is the whine truly normal in the B7100HST? Thanks, Jeff

 

[Brazos]

I just got a geared 2501 and the tranny makes zero noise. All I hear is the diesel engine. I love it. It is very intuitive and I jumped in the seat the first time and never thought about anything. That said since you already have the HST you may try the suggestions here. If not go see if your dealer will show mercy on you. Since the geared version is cheaper it may be you aren't out of the pocket any more than you already are. Theoretically they can swap out you loader, bucket, etc. onto a new geared version and all your implements will remain. They could switch out tires, wheels, seat, and so on.

 

[snowman1]

I filled my ROPS with foam insulation, really helped a lot