Beginners and Beyond

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Paint Fumes, Diesel Fumes, and Dust, Oh My! (Read 63 times)


Walk-Jogger

    Oh, and next time, PAINT IN THE SUMMER!

     

    That's certainly the best idea possible, and it was also my first thought when this project was presented to me  a few months ago, but the painters were already booked up for the summer. Apparently lots of other people are smart enough to book early to avoid this problem. Technically I could have done this painting job myself, this summer, but we have high ceilings and lots of beams and detail work, and it would have taken me a couple of weeks because I'm a slow painter, and it would  have also meant little or no running while doing it, since I also still have to work full time. DW was in a hurry to get this project done, so I really didn't have a "NO" option. 

    Retired &  Loving It


    Walk-Jogger

      I call it survival of the fittest. Or natural selection. Obviously, your DW is made of the right stuff.

       

      Just kidding... How do you explain that your wife is not bothered by the stuff, though?

       

      Lily, I don't generally whine about or even mention this to any one, but I suffer from extreme tinnitus, and have for 26 years and  5 months. My ears ring loudly, 24 hours a day, in multiple high-pitched squealing tones that have gotten worse over the years and are currently at an unbearable level, with no hope of it ever getting better. This happened to me as a result of an exposure to paint and polyurethane solvent chemical fumes, indoors, that occurred over the course of several days while I was working on a project in a poorly ventilated room in October 1986. The weather was cold and so no doors or windows were opened to ventilate the room, and I was being a TOUGH GUY and put up with it and didn't whine about it. As a result of my toughness,  I've got  permanent damage to my hearing. I've not had a single moment of silence since the day this ringing started. Because of this ringing in my ears, I can now barely tolerate listening to people talk at me, and I can barely understand long spoken sentences, because the noise in side my head makes it difficult to assemble a string of words into a meaningful phrase. I don't enjoy riding my bicycle as much as I did before then, because the wind noise in my ears adds to the total volume of the noise I hear. I can't stand listening to live music at loud volumes, so I can never go to a live concert.  I spend more time awake than asleep at night, every single night, because this noise in my ears is so loud I can't sleep.  I've forgotten what it's like to get a good night's sleep because it. 

       

      So yes, I react strongly to the presence of chemical fumes and air pollution, indoors and out, especially those that are easily avoidable. Sometimes being "tough" is synonymous with being "really stupid". It's easy to be cavalier about bad things BEFORE you're impacted by them; but it's too damn late to wise up AFTER  the damage is done. I would not wish this tinnitus curse on anyone. When I run, fast and hard, it distracts me from the ringing in my ears. That's the only thing approaching peace and quiet that is available to me today. 

      Retired &  Loving It

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