Hi Cathryn:

This is from an earlier posting on the ear tone topic:

"Here's what Robert Folmer , Oregon Health and Science University's Hearing Research Center, has to say:

"Ringing in the ears is a form of tinnitus, the perception of sound that does not have an external source. Tinnitus can be constant or intermittent and can include buzzing, hissing, or sizzling. Many people experience momentary tinnitus, a high-pitched tone that lasts five to 30 seconds. This transient sensation probably results from changes in blood flow or cellular activity within the inner ear. Acute tinnitus, which can last days or weeks, may be caused by infection, medication, head injury, accumulated earwax, or changes in blood pressure or chemistry. Tinnitus is most commonly caused by exposure to loud sounds such as music at a rock concert, power tools, or gunfire. The subsequent ringing indicates damage to the stereocilia, tiny hairlike structures attached to cells in the inner ear. Moderate sounds cause stereocilia to make small movements, triggering the release of neurotransmitters in the ear that activate auditory nerves in the brain. Excessive noise bends the stereocilia out of shape. People then commonly hear a high-pitched ringing because the hair cells that respond to higher-frequency sounds are most easily harmed by loud noises. If the damage is modest, stereocilia generally return to normal and the ringing stops. Repeated exposure to hazardous sounds eventually destroys hair cells, resulting in permanent hearing loss and long-term tinnitus."

In all fairness, Petra says what she hears is not what is being described here. She claims the ear tones are different than what is more commonly referred to as "ringing in the ears". That may be true, but I have yet to understand from her how the sounds are caused in the first place. Secondarily how the connection was ever made between the sounds and earthquakes.

Hope all is well with you,

Russell