What are your favorite ideas to dampen or remove the annoying ticking sound the coils make, which gets louder when the power is raised?
It’s especially annoying at night, and if the coils are close to your head/ears (ie. treating shoulders overnight).
Thanks!
I have coils wrapped in sports wrap which may be helping, and also minimizing pressure on coils esp when near bones by adjusting lying/sitting position
Turn down the power.
That noise gets louder with the power getting louder.
It bothered me when it was on high power, but didn’t bother as much on the lower powers.
The constant ticking sound is a huge problem for me because I live with someone who is hypersensitive to sound, and she can’t bear it when I have my A9 running, even when it’s on the lowest setting!
That’s a bummer. Are there times during the day when you can use it?
For instance, if the television or music or white noise is on that usually buffers the sound.
Also, some settings make more noise than other settings.
You might not be able to sleep with it through the night, but you might be able to find a time period.
A half hour when the person you are living with is in the shower and getting dressed or something?
Time to get creative.
Just to add to this thread. Last night I treated my trapezoids with two A9s. I used Rocktape to tape the coils to each trap. But I also knew in that position, the ticking sound would be quite loud overnight and affect my sleep.
I put in earplugs. I lay down and wrapped part of my blanket around my shoulders, stuffing them towards my back. Then I sandwiched my head between two pillows, covering the coils and muffling my ears further. This was enough to muffle them to zero all night long, on power H. Thankfully I don’t toss/turn when I sleep and pretty much wake up in the same position I fall asleep in.
I also have noticed that the ticking sound is not consistent across coils. I’ve got a lot over here and gone through many. Sometimes the sound is super loud and sometimes it’s a lot less. Unfortunately you can’t tell which will be louder and which will be less by looking at them. You need to try them. So it may be worthwhile to order several and see which ones are the least in sound.
Thanks for sharing, dshen,
I wonder about the variability between coils part. Are some of the coils older? It might be that they need replacing.
Yes some are older but I have noticed the difference between new, never used ones also.
Okay. That is interesting.
I should also say that I have older ones which have less ticking - unfortunately I don’t remember exactly whether they started out more or less ticking when new - and I continually test my coils with the tester. They still flash bright green, as the same, as much as I can perceive, as brand new coils. Definitely I have seen coils which are beginning to wear out as their tester flashing intensity has dimmed somewhat…
dshen, that is helpful.
I don’t necessarily remember to check my coils often enough, though I have changed them.
There was one time when I couldn’t tell whether the device was working and that was a time when I believe the coils needed replacing.
I really like it… It puts me in a meditative state…
Good for you. Liking it means you aren’t going to have trouble using it at work or during sleep. Even better that it puts you in a meditative state because you can use it during meditation.
@Bob
I wonder if a hard, thin, plastic case could be designed and maybe even molded to the coil which would significantly reduce or eliminate the clicking sound?
That would strengthen the clicking sound, not reduce it. A rigid material would be less able to muffle the clicking than the elastomer (medical-grade TPR) that we currently use.
Isn’t sound best blocked by highest density material which usually means heaviest weight per sq/in? So my term hard may not be accurate, but still an optional high-density snap-on case or specially molded coils may help?
no, that is completely incorrect. For example: water carries sound much better than air, and water is much higher density than air.
The physics of what is causing the clicks, and what will amplify the effect, is kind of complex. But it is easy to see for yourself:
Just run your system on high power, then lay the coils on a solid desk, or against a metal surface such as an appliance or other sheet metal.
The clicking will (usually) be much louder.
If you place the coils in a hard case, the clicking is likely to get much louder. If you doubt this, go ahead and try it for yourself.
Bob, I’m curious about your hypothetical experiment of running coils against a metal surface to test the clicking volume. In one of your early ICES tutorial videos on Youtube you say never to run the coils near sheet metal as this can short the magnetic field. I’m guessing now that you mean it simply temporarily distorts the field, without actually causing any damage to the device itself?
On a related note, would smaller bits of metal (or metal not shaped like a sheet) located close to the coils mess with and/or short their magnetic field… say, if I was placing the coils on the lower abdomen, next to my belt buckle, for example?
To get the magnetic field through without interference, to get the full biological effects: AVOID METAL SHEETS
To test the effects on the sound of coils clicking, you can USE A METAL SHEET for a short period of time, that will amplify the clicking effect effect.
But you should not be doing both at the same time.
Smaller bits of metal:, well that depends:
pins and screws: probably minimal effect
larger pins and screws, more of an effect
small belt buckle, probably some effect, but maybe mot much
Texas-sized belt buckle with a tin-man who waves at passers by: probably too much metal, will likely interfere.
on the note about by metal… how about metal implants, is that an issue?