Teaching yourself to hear an audible

[BlindBrick 0]

Now that school's about out, I'm getting ready to start jumping again. I had one question that I thought I'd shoot by you all first.

Is there a way to train yourself to consistently hear your audible. I am positive that it is functional and fitted to my ear, I just seem to tune out my sense of hearing while in freefall. I think what is happening is some sort of survival instinct. I have ADHD and when I first started jumping, I was in total sensory overload. I remember how loud freefall was but somewhere along the way I stopped being able to hear it(and my audible). I know it sounds flaky, but for the last 30 or so jumps I have been trying to hear freefall but no luck. I hear the wind on climb-out, but once I leave, the next thing I hear is my slider flapping once I've opened.

Right now that's now a big deal because I belly fly and can easily see my Alti, but I would like to do some heads down stuff towards the end of the upcoming season. Given the need for an audible, I don't want to start until I have beaten this.

I'd appreciate any help you guys/gals could give me.

-blind

"If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

[JJohnson 0]

Brother if you cannot hear a functioning audible, change your name to deaf brick. I sometimes mount mine just to a pair of goggles and I could still hear it.

Do you have a hard time hearing the alarm clock in the morning? I can sleep through any alarm no sweat, but a ringing phone wakes me up instantly.

I had a Time Out with the flashing LED option. (Dog ate it and I got a Protrack) You can mount this LED in your goggles, and then see the audible going off. Maybe you should try that.

JJ

"Call me Darth Balls"

[Faber 0]

I had same problem in the start,then i made some 6600ft jumps were i just focused on my hearing and my vrist alti.In that way i knew which time i should hear it.Be also aware if you have set your audio at the higest level.. it worked at me,it took 2-3 jumps,

Stay safe
Stefan Faber

[SkySlut 0]

What kind of helmet are you wearing??? Full face or open face??? I would think that an open face may give you some issues. You may want to try out a fullface and see what happens. Just a thought.

[sundevil777 102]

The type of earplugs that filter out damaging sound levels might work well. They are available at any department store that sells hunting stuff.

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[billvon 3,031]

>I just seem to tune out my sense of hearing while in freefall.

I do that too on occasion; I concentrate on something else and ignore sounds. Oddly, I often remember hearing it later, I just don't hear and act on it while I'm doing the activity. Usually not a big deal since my primary sense of altitude is my eyes, and I don't 'tune them out.'

>I would like to do some heads down stuff towards the end of the
>upcoming season. Given the need for an audible, I don't want to
>start until I have beaten this.

Do NOT rely on an audible as your primary AA when freeflying! Head-down is considerably louder (i.e. it's faster) than belly flying, and if you lose AA, you may not survive a cypres fire at head-down terminal. It's not hard to watch the horizon and get your altitude cues from that, and it's a heck of a lot more reliable.

[freakydiver 0]

What Bill said - IMHO never get "used" to your audible, use your eyes, be able to jump with no altimieter of any kind. By no means I am suggesting you do this regularly, but eyes = number one altimeter ALWAYS. I'll bet it would be hard to find a current/competent jumper that would disagree.

-- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

[BlindBrick 0]

Quote

What Bill said - IMHO never get "used" to your audible, use your eyes, be able to jump with no altimieter of any kind. By no means I am suggesting you do this regularly, but eyes = number one altimeter ALWAYS. I'll bet it would be hard to find a current/competent jumper that would disagree.

Well, as your luck would have it, you've found one. My eyesight sucks(if they made me retest, I'd lose my driver's liscense). I've tried to guestimate my altitude in freefall and then compare it to my altimeter and I've usually been 2-3 grand off.

I use my alitmeter and my sense of timing. It's not too bad. I like to open at ~4500 and when I went to Rantoul and really didn't see a lot of difference, but my internal clock was saying I had been in fall way too long. I was so glad to see my altimeter finally hit 2500
-Blind

"If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

[nacmacfeegle 0]

"My eyesight sucks(if they made me retest, I'd lose my driver's liscense)."

Get some contact lenses, spectacles, prescription goggles or Lasik. If your eyesight is so bad that you would fail your driving test, you have no business jumping without corrected vision. You will hurt yourself sooner or later. I jump with spectacles all the time and have no problems, well with my vision anyways....
I wouldn't place too much reliance on my body clock at your level of experience either.

--------------------

He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me. Thomas Jefferson

[Tonto 1]

I think a lot of this is about normal altitude awareness. If you KNOW you're aproaching breakoff.... about now! Then you will hear the audiable. It's not an alarm clock, and you should not be sleeping. Never use it as primary. There are several dives I don't hear mine (Pro Track on goggles - no helmet or inside bonehead mindwarp if I;m freeflying) but I still know where I am on the dive. The Led is a good idea. And maybe wear two...

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[BlindBrick 0]

Quote

"My eyesight sucks(if they made me retest, I'd lose my driver's liscense)."

Get some contact lenses, spectacles, prescription goggles or Lasik. If your eyesight is so bad that you would fail your driving test, you have no business jumping without corrected vision.

I respectfully disagree. I think I do OK. I am used to living with vision that corrects to 20/70 or so and have learned to adapt. I won't lie, when I was a student it was very scary for me and my instructors, but we were all willing to work through the obstacles. My DZO, S&TA and Jumpmasters bent over backwards to not only encourage me but to insure that I could do it as safely as possible. If figure that if I have earned their OK, that should say something.

Plus I try to be very realistic about my abilities. I don't do formations with people who don't understand the way my eyes work, I always approach a point to the side of the formation rather than directly at it, and always at a low speed. I also quite happily fly a .8 wingloading because I know it gives me more tolerance on the landings. That's not all I do, that's just some examples to try to show I do my best to be extremely conservative and manage my risks as much as possible when I jump.


Having said all that, I am doing what I can, but it takes 9 months to a year for a cornea transplant to give good vision and its only been 6 months. I am tentatively scheduled for another transplant in early June so hopefully about a year from now I'll be able to see what the rest of you all see.

But you know, the transplants aren't any guarantee. My old condition could manifest in the new corneas or my body could reject them. I hope not but if it does happen, I'll find a way to work around it. When I came in to this sport, everyone told me that I'd never make it. I lost 80 pounds to get the chance to jump. I then overcame ADHD and low vision to become competent in it. If this sport has taught me anything, it is that any obstacle can be overcome if you want it bad enough.

-Blind

"If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

[freakydiver 0]

Well right on for overcoming those obstacles, but I do have to wonder how safe it is for someone with vision that poor to be skydiving. I'm a 20/700 without corrective and a 20/20 (duh) with correction. 20/70 isnt that bad at all and you should still be able to use the ground as a reference. I would be extremely hesitant to allow anyone to jump at my DZ (if i ran one) if they couldn't use the ground as a reference as altitude. Anyhow - good luck to you... And be EXTRA safe.

-- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

[steve1 5]

Being an old fart, my vision has turned bad. I realized that I needed to improve this situation after failing to see another jumper who opened his canopy below me on breakoff. I now where glasses under my Z-1. This is just my opinion, but I think good vision is vital for safe RW.

But my vision isn't the only thing that is failing. My hearing is really crappy also. I've never had trouble hearing my audible unless the batteries were dead. That is until recently..... I started wearing ear plugs when jumping. I couldn't figure out why my audible didn't work. Then I discovered it was the damn ear plugs. I couldn't hear my audible when they're in......Audibles are great, but don't get over reliant on them.......Steve1

[JJohnson 0]

Again, perhaps you can get a Time-Out with the flashing LED. Maybe your brain will start assiciateing the flashing red light with the audible noise.

Using the flashing light is no better/worse than using an audible. Your primary alititude awareness is still your best defense.

Poor eye sight might be a hinderance, but I have seen blind people jump. (With a lot of help true...but they still made jumps)

JJ

"Call me Darth Balls"

[vidiot 0]

John,

stress research shows that haering is the first sense to be 'switched off' by our brain in a stress situation. You still hear the sound, but your brain just doesn't process it any more. High pitched sirens seem to make it through better, though.

Try googling for 'information overload'.

HTH,
Klaus

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