Yesterday I went on a drive to an appointment. I asked a passenger if my elderly Buick LeSabre sounded different. She said she didn't think so. I discounted it to my hearing loss, but a few minutes later the car began to roar. My PTSD kicked in, I panicked, and pulled her over. I jumped out to take a look, and nearly got killed by a semi going past.
I looked underneath, and didn't see anything unusual. I opened the hood, and put some oil in. I got back in, and started going down the road, as I didn't want to miss the appointment. Going at 45 in the country, I called my mechanic and gave him a listen. He diagnosed an exhaust system problem, and said it would be safe to go on to the appointment (in the country), but stay out of towns, and drop her off when I returned home.
I turned off my HA's, and went on as instructed. On the return trip, I got out my MP3, as anxiety was still high, and cranked up the music to cover the sound. (I also have some problems with high blood pressure, myself. )
Dropped her off, and the charge was $20 for welding on a patch on the pipe. He told me that she was quite noisy!! She rides quiet now.
I just had to blog this somewhere. Any reflections from the mechanics out there?
It would be interesting if someone were to do audios of various car problems, so that people with various problems hearing or perceiving could get a better handle on whether the car is safe to drive with an unusual sound.
I looked underneath, and didn't see anything unusual. I opened the hood, and put some oil in. I got back in, and started going down the road, as I didn't want to miss the appointment. Going at 45 in the country, I called my mechanic and gave him a listen. He diagnosed an exhaust system problem, and said it would be safe to go on to the appointment (in the country), but stay out of towns, and drop her off when I returned home.
I turned off my HA's, and went on as instructed. On the return trip, I got out my MP3, as anxiety was still high, and cranked up the music to cover the sound. (I also have some problems with high blood pressure, myself. )
Dropped her off, and the charge was $20 for welding on a patch on the pipe. He told me that she was quite noisy!! She rides quiet now.
I just had to blog this somewhere. Any reflections from the mechanics out there?
It would be interesting if someone were to do audios of various car problems, so that people with various problems hearing or perceiving could get a better handle on whether the car is safe to drive with an unusual sound.