Buzzing Light Bulbs

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We got new energy saver light bulbs given to us. It was an energy saving program and they were free. I'm grateful, but they make this stark, lurid, bluish white light and they buzz. Please don't think I'm crazy, but I can hear them in the next room. Does anyone know if there is a way to make them stop? That sound is making me so nervous. I can take them out after we get inspected but not before.
I know it sounds like a little thing, but it is very loud.

Are they florescent lights? Many Aspies have HUGE sensory issues with fluorescent lights (I don't, fortunately, unless they are old and flickering).

I believe that they are. I bet I'm stuck with the horrible buzzing until I can take them down. They don't seem to bother my husband one bit, but I'm constantly aware of them. I'm a little bothered by florescent lights at work, but nothing like this. Though at work I'm outside half the time.
No way to stop the buzzing at all?

I thought that lightbulbs only buzzed like that when they were near death.. maybe they're defective?

I will check. I'm sure I can find out. Or I may offer them back with thanks to the place they came from, if that is a normal sound from them. If I find out it's normal, I will post and warn people who have sensitivities to things like that. Both the light and sound are very unpleasant.

Last edited by asperity on 15 Apr 2008, 11:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

No all of them buzz but people with sensitive hearing can hear them when no one else can whom have normal hearing. If there is something wrong with the wiring or the ballas and it makes a real loud buzzing, then everyone can hear them except for people who have below normal hearing. I am sure some people with some hearing loss can hear them when they are real bad depending on how loud the sound is or if their ears can hear that frequency.

Thank you all for the replies. Since the bulbs are brand new and the wiring recently checked, I think it may be their normal sound. I can't picture anyone being able to stand them, but I will see if I can get used to them. Otherwise I may have to give them back.

Anyone who thinks of trying these may want to try just one first, to see if they are bothered by them. They need a warning label.

Most people can't hear them or they would have been designed differently. And most men hear at a lower frequency than most women. So they don't hear the bulbs or us. But oh, the whine of the bulbs, the flickering! Yaaaaaah!
The light bulbs don't bother me any more because I've gone deaf. I can't say that I recommend that though.

Since it doesn't make the noise on most of them that I have used it's probably a resonance vibrating a slightly out of spec internal part. Toss that lamp and put another one in that should take care of the noise, That is what I did and no more noise.

i have these in all the lights at home, and they give out the same appearance as usual bulbs, maybe the ones youve been given are not the best quality ones? they glow should look normal... not pale or flickery!
the one in my bedside lamp hums a little, but i put ear plugs in to sleep anyway, so cant hear it when i read. one in another reading lamp makes no noise.
bad lamp/ bad buld?
having said that- dont stress your self with unecessary noise! my entire life is a constant search for peace- and the tiny noises can grate the most... (ie- amke me cry and scream)...

If the noise is so loud you can hear it in the next room, then there's probably something wrong with it. I love my bulbs with stark blueish light (clear and soothing) but I've never heard any noise.

There may be something wrong with them or the light fixtures, or me. I think they will have to come down. They seem to be raising my anxiety level, and impairing my concentration. I feel silly that they bother me so much when there are so many real problems in the world, but I have to be able to function. It's like having a nestful of hornets right over my head. It kind of reminds me of the aura I get right before a migraine or the partial seizures I used to have. Kind of a prickly feeling. I've been leaving them off as much as I can.

The strobing and high pitched noise of fluorescent bulbs drive me nuts! Good I'm not crazy, other people notice this too. My friends and family never notice this.

You should try a different brand of light bulb. I find some brands are better than others.

Also, I noticed the high pitched thing happens when the socket isn't feeding enough power to the light bulb, so you might need to have the light fixture looked at.

I had this happen at my workplace. I made them change the fluorescent tube a bunch of times, but it didn't work. Turns out it was the light fixture. They couldn't fix it I moved to a different floor....

God I hate these ones. Some of the newer ones I'm better with, but for the most part I can't stand power-saving lightbulbs. Fluorescents give me major headaches too so I avoid them like the plague. I can most electrical appliances squealing if I'm too close to them, and energy-saving bulbs are one of them (though I can hear them anywhere in the room), but I've not come across them buzzing... are you sure it's not just a dodgy bulb?

do live in uk? sister sent off for a box of energy saver light bulbs under am name on a program for people who get benefits?
she never told am as she was going to use them,and am found them before her so gave them to parents instead.

they are very bad,am would never use them,but if live in uk,theyre banning the old type bulbs soon so only the energy ones will be allowed,it's not fair,they seem to only be giving allowances to people with physical disabilities that are affected by them
[cant remember which ones but theres been long threads about it on a disability forum].

I think the autism society should step in and point out that people with ASDs can be affected too, not just epileptics and such like.