Tinnitus sufferers beg you to stop putting the "ear ringing" sound effect in every game

[Swamp Fox]

I'm begging you. We are begging you. Lately you can't watch a movie, tv show or play a game without an extremely high pitched "ear ringing" sound coming out of nowhere. This is done because the jarring, high pitched sound causes a psychological reaction.

Now imagine that you are fighting off suicide every day of your life because you have crippling tinnitus, and you literally always hear a high pitched whine like that at a volume so loud it feels like someone is screaming directly into your eardrum.

When tinnitus sufferers hear this "ear ringing" sound that is now in everything, it causes the symptoms to flare up. The sound in our brain gets louder. Our ears hurt, it causes psychological distress and our day, week or month is ruined. For some sufferers who have acclimatized to their disease, a sudden "ear ringing" whining sound can bring it right back. So much suffering and it can just instantly come back.

So I'm begging you....why does using an item cause a loud and shocking sound that physically and psychologically hurts me, when I can have no expectation that that will happen? This isn't a sensitivity, this is a disease and hearing the sound activates it. Please remove that ear ringing sound and replace it with a more creative, gave-a-damn-to-try, appropriate sound effect for use of the pliers. I suggest something that involves twisting celery stalks.

[ZexxCrine]

Close to an estimated third of the population have tinnitus. I have tinnitus. I really REALLY could care less if any game played a sound I hear in my head all the time. Sorry it affects you so much but don’t just assume everyone is as effected as you. Tinnitus has no real standard. For some people it’s super super loud. For some people it’s barely noticeable and for still others it’s a low frequency sound instead of a high one. People without tinnitus can hear the tinnitus noise if a hair from their inner ear gets dislodged and some still can experience that tone under great pain/stress. So when you rip your tooth out with a pair of pliers your ears would probably start ringing tennitus or not.

You know it’s gonna happen if you use the item so just turn your volume all the way down before using it. It’s an effective noise that an estimated 60% of the population associate with pain/trauma/imbalance so it’s not going anywhere.

[Kat]

It triggers a migraine for me a lot of the time and it's not too difficult for a developer to add an option to disable specific sound effects as an accessibility feature, so it's pretty frustrating when a game has very loud tinnitus sounds and no real way to turn them off. Would be nice if the dev took the time to add a toggle or something.

[Swamp Fox]

Originally posted by Kat:

It triggers a migraine for me a lot of the time and it's not too difficult for a developer to add an option to disable specific sound effects as an accessibility feature, so it's pretty frustrating when a game has very loud tinnitus sounds and no real way to turn them off. Would be nice if the dev took the time to add a toggle or something.

Yeah, could just be a toggle. The issue is that the sound is in seemingly everything now. It's a cheap way to elicit a reaction so it's being incredibly overused all over film and TV especially.

Building awareness of the issue is important, clearly people just aren't thinking. This is becoming more important as many new people are now left with permanent tinnitus after covid, too.

[Paintbrush]

so a common videogame sound makes you contemplate suicide? I don't think the problem is the game. You need help my man.

[Ragnardo]

Yeah man if gaming could trigger suicide, then stop gaming. You would have hated gaming 20 years ago. I know allot of people with Tinnitus and none have ever complained about wanting to kill themselves from it. It's something else.

[joj]

I'm not sure if sound effects can be lowered in this game (and to just keep the music on). I also have tinnitus, but I can only imagine the sound you're referring to. I will say that I play most games without any sound on, and generally in a well lit room. I've played this game with the sound on though, as I feel like it's an element of the game.

I'll say I'm sorry you feel pain from this noise. I know often the things that can hurt us don't have warnings then bam! I would highly suggest playing the games without any sound. Especially if you know there's a potential of triggering your hard enough to contemplate harming yourself. It's still enjoyable, as I did play a couple rounds without my headphones.

[Swamp Fox]

Originally posted by Ragnardo:

Yeah man if gaming could trigger suicide, then stop gaming. You would have hated gaming 20 years ago. I know allot of people with Tinnitus and none have ever complained about wanting to kill themselves from it. It's something else.

I've been playing video games for almost forty years, probably much longer than you have, trust me. I'm not sure why you think I would have hated it 20 years ago. ear ringing sounds were not constantly in video games then with the exception of the CS flashbang. '

The problem is the disease, not the sound. But if the overuse of the sound, which is in everything, can be curtailed, and the sound has become trite and unoriginal, and the sound hurts people, why would you be opposed to change or an accessibility option for people to change it only for themselves?

Therein lies the real question, and why I won't go back and forth on this with people here...How does it hurt you for developers to simply have basic minor consideration for an anguished class of people who are trying to enjoy their product? Changing or adding an option for this is a five minute fix.

I'm working on an organization and a website for tracking media with this sound in order to spread awareness and protect other people like myself.

[Swamp Fox]

Originally posted by Jojomo:

I'm not sure if sound effects can be lowered in this game (and to just keep the music on). I also have tinnitus, but I can only imagine the sound you're referring to. I will say that I play most games without any sound on, and generally in a well lit room. I've played this game with the sound on though, as I feel like it's an element of the game.

I'll say I'm sorry you feel pain from this noise. I know often the things that can hurt us don't have warnings then bam! I would highly suggest playing the games without any sound. Especially if you know there's a potential of triggering your hard enough to contemplate harming yourself. It's still enjoyable, as I did play a couple rounds without my headphones.

Playing games with the sound off would feel like just being dead already to me. There is need for more awareness here, pre-game warnings, anything. I bring up this topic about multiple different games because the awareness is what needs to spread. People need to understand that THIS SOUND HURTS PEOPLE. This isn't a "trigger warning" situation, the exact sound literally activates the symptoms of the disease.

[swith]

Originally posted by ZexxCrine:

Close to an estimated third of the population have tinnitus. I have tinnitus. I really REALLY could care less if any game played a sound I hear in my head all the time. Sorry it affects you so much but don’t just assume everyone is as effected as you. Tinnitus has no real standard. For some people it’s super super loud. For some people it’s barely noticeable and for still others it’s a low frequency sound instead of a high one. People without tinnitus can hear the tinnitus noise if a hair from their inner ear gets dislodged and some still can experience that tone under great pain/stress. So when you rip your tooth out with a pair of pliers your ears would probably start ringing tennitus or not.

You know it’s gonna happen if you use the item so just turn your volume all the way down before using it. It’s an effective noise that an estimated 60% of the population associate with pain/trauma/imbalance so it’s not going anywhere.

"i don't experience this problem therefore it's not an issue"

Plenty of games have toggles or warnings for people with seizures, almost every game has subtitles for the hard of hearing, why is it so unreasonable to ask for the ability to disable one particular sound effect? Why are you so triggered by such a small request? You can still play with all the loud noises you want, letting someone else turn it off doesn't affect you in any way.

[Ragnardo]

Originally posted by Mistah Body Massage Machine:

Originally posted by Ragnardo:

Yeah man if gaming could trigger suicide, then stop gaming. You would have hated gaming 20 years ago. I know allot of people with Tinnitus and none have ever complained about wanting to kill themselves from it. It's something else.

I've been playing video games for almost forty years, probably much longer than you have, trust me. I'm not sure why you think I would have hated it 20 years ago. ear ringing sounds were not constantly in video games then with the exception of the CS flashbang. '

The problem is the disease, not the sound. But if the overuse of the sound, which is in everything, can be curtailed, and the sound has become trite and unoriginal, and the sound hurts people, why would you be opposed to change or an accessibility option for people to change it only for themselves?

Therein lies the real question, and why I won't go back and forth on this with people here...How does it hurt you for developers to simply have basic minor consideration for an anguished class of people who are trying to enjoy their product? Changing or adding an option for this is a five minute fix.

I'm working on an organization and a website for tracking media with this sound in order to spread awareness and protect other people like myself.

I think they should include the option, I am not against it at all. If the dev wants to do it then do it, if they don't then they don't but I am not against it at all. I'm sorry for how I came off, as someone who deals with clinical depression for 20 years it just seemed more like that to me, but what do I know.

[Schulz]

Originally posted by Paintbrush:

so a common videogame sound makes you contemplate suicide? I don't think the problem is the game. You need help my man.

I think you're the one that needs help

[Novapheonix22]

Originally posted by swith:

Originally posted by ZexxCrine:

Close to an estimated third of the population have tinnitus. I have tinnitus. I really REALLY could care less if any game played a sound I hear in my head all the time. Sorry it affects you so much but don’t just assume everyone is as effected as you. Tinnitus has no real standard. For some people it’s super super loud. For some people it’s barely noticeable and for still others it’s a low frequency sound instead of a high one. People without tinnitus can hear the tinnitus noise if a hair from their inner ear gets dislodged and some still can experience that tone under great pain/stress. So when you rip your tooth out with a pair of pliers your ears would probably start ringing tennitus or not.

You know it’s gonna happen if you use the item so just turn your volume all the way down before using it. It’s an effective noise that an estimated 60% of the population associate with pain/trauma/imbalance so it’s not going anywhere.

"i don't experience this problem therefore it's not an issue"

Plenty of games have toggles or warnings for people with seizures, almost every game has subtitles for the hard of hearing, why is it so unreasonable to ask for the ability to disable one particular sound effect? Why are you so triggered by such a small request? You can still play with all the loud noises you want, letting someone else turn it off doesn't affect you in any way.

well that is because in the OPs og post they said remove the sound not add a toggle for it. so i think you need to pay attention to wording and context more

[Swamp Fox]

Originally posted by Novapheonix22:

Originally posted by swith:

"i don't experience this problem therefore it's not an issue"

Plenty of games have toggles or warnings for people with seizures, almost every game has subtitles for the hard of hearing, why is it so unreasonable to ask for the ability to disable one particular sound effect? Why are you so triggered by such a small request? You can still play with all the loud noises you want, letting someone else turn it off doesn't affect you in any way.

well that is because in the OPs og post they said remove the sound not add a toggle for it. so i think you need to pay attention to wording and context more

I think it should be removed/changed because it's trite and boring as ♥♥♥♥, and exploitative as well. Using a sound effect that is known to cause an automatic stress response in humans is a cheap way to go for shock factor, and it treads into the extremely grey area of causing users of entertainment products psychological distress *on purpose*.

Instead why didn't the dev do something creative like have blood drip onto the cards for the next couple turns? Far more interesting and impactful without relying on cheap physical tricks.

Sure, I'd settle for a toggle. But I always argue for improving things and this sound effect is literally in everything now. It isn't unique or interesting or scary or spooky or anything-- It's a mass wave of entertainment products literally attacking peoples' psyches and that is stupid. Watch horror movies and action movies produced since 2019 and count the number of movies you *don't* hear this sound in.

[zepphy]

While I found your expression on this kind of... extreme. I do agree its weird to see games not having a 'no tinnitus' toggle. It honestly feels like another standard accessibility option that would usually sit next to photosensitive mode or something

[Swamp Fox]

Originally posted by zepphy:

While I found your expression on this kind of... extreme. I do agree its weird to see games not having a 'no tinnitus' toggle. It honestly feels like another standard accessibility option that would usually sit next to photosensitive mode or something

Photosensitive, colorblind, and tinnitus toggles should be industry-standard. If you're using stuff like Unity or Unreal (which this game probably is?) you can literally just install a plugin and point-and-click your way to it even.

I've noticed lately that a lot of games use amazingly irresponsible amounts of flashing lights, too. Like even if a game has an epilepsy warning, people should reasonably expect not to have 45 second long sequences of incredibly high frequency black-to-white strobe lights. Looking at you "Observer"