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Hearing loss...After how long of listening? - Page 2

post #16 of 27
6/13/09 at 9:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DoYouRight View Post
Aside from HUGE decibel levels over 100 I think it is safe to say you will not go deaf as long as you dont listen for 12+ hours straight everyday. And most likely the pressure is way more detrimental to your hearing.
This statement does not correlate with medical fact. You will suffer hearing damage as you get older, even if you never listen to music and lock yourself in a sound-proofed closet! The louder the music you listen to and the longer you listen to it, the more damage at an earlier age you will experience. You can choose to ignore this information but it is irresponsible to advise anything different.

G
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post #17 of 27
6/14/09 at 2:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by aristos_achaion View Post
Not sure what parties they go to...I'm not 100% that "party with band" should be so low.
You think ~94 dB, A-weighted is low?
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post #18 of 27
6/14/09 at 2:52pm
No Gregorio, my point got confused I guess. Yes everyone has hearing loss and it develops over age. Loud music or tools etc will always affect frequencies and possibly erase them from your hearing spectrum. However from headphones unless it is over 100 and long periods per day won't make you deaf quickly like outdoor saws, plane engines, concerts. If you don't get the RINGING THUNDER like from a small venue metal concert you will not have much damage in the near future.
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post #19 of 27
6/14/09 at 3:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DoYouRight View Post
No Gregorio, my point got confused I guess. Yes everyone has hearing loss and it develops over age. Loud music or tools etc will always affect frequencies and possibly erase them from your hearing spectrum. However from headphones unless it is over 100 and long periods per day won't make you deaf quickly like outdoor saws, plane engines, concerts. If you don't get the RINGING THUNDER like from a small venue metal concert you will not have much damage in the near future.
Even half the volume of 100dB (94dB) will cause damage and you won't need long periods per day. Even 85dB can be damaging, so it doesn't take a great leap of faith to assume that listening to music which is 8 times louder than 85dB is going to be considerably more damaging!

G
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post #20 of 27
6/15/09 at 12:30am
What headphones go 8 times louder than 85db?
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post #21 of 27
6/16/09 at 4:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DoYouRight View Post
What headphones go 8 times louder than 85db?
You do realise that the dB (decibel) scale is logarithmic and not linear? Double 85dB is not 170dB, its 91dB (+6dB is double). 10 times louder than 85dB is 105dB, not 850dB (+20dB is ten times more)!!

G
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post #22 of 27
7/20/09 at 11:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by gregorio View Post
It is of course the other way around, people that say you're not going to go deaf are ignorant and uninformed on the matter! Hearing loss affects everyone (without exception) and starts becoming intrusive to the majority of people 60+ years old. The louder the music you listen to, the earlier the age where hearing loss becomes intrusive and the more severe the level of hearing loss. I'm not assuming anything about your equipment just stating simple scientific fact which has been known about for many decades.
There's also been a number of studies of nomadic tribes in Africa in which they have not been exposed to industrial noise at all during their lives and the result time and time again was that the older members of the tribe has no hearing loss whatsoever. Hearing loss among people as they get older is the result of years of exposure to industrial noise, not because of aging.
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post #23 of 27
7/20/09 at 1:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by chinesekiwi View Post
There's also been a number of studies of nomadic tribes in Africa in which they have not been exposed to industrial noise at all during their lives and the result time and time again was that the older members of the tribe has no hearing loss whatsoever. Hearing loss among people as they get older is the result of years of exposure to industrial noise, not because of aging.
This is an interesting thing to know. It implies that safe long term level is considerably below 60dB. Which in turn has implications for both those working in a office or living in a big city. Full-time wearing of full-size, closed headphones might not be such a bad idea then.
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post #24 of 27
7/20/09 at 1:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by chinesekiwi View Post
There's also been a number of studies of nomadic tribes in Africa in which they have not been exposed to industrial noise at all during their lives and the result time and time again was that the older members of the tribe has no hearing loss whatsoever. Hearing loss among people as they get older is the result of years of exposure to industrial noise, not because of aging.
That is no surprise to me...
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post #25 of 27
7/20/09 at 4:12pm
One thing to remember is that sound pressure levels are not continuous when listening to music. SPL varies during music, especially dynamic music (which is what a lot of people on head-fi listen to), and there are usually pauses of silence between songs, as well as quiet sections within many songs. It's much harder to predict hearing damage with these kinds of conditions. The most sensible approach I've seen involves listening to where it sounds good and you feel comfortable (no strain/feelings of pain), and then turn it down one notch. It's unscientific, but it's a good rule of thumb given that most people do not have access to necessary equipment.
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post #26 of 27
7/20/09 at 10:20pm
I would be more worried about hearing damage from actual thunder than the normal guidelines for headphone listening.
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post #27 of 27
7/27/09 at 11:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gregorio View Post
I'm not sure where you got that graph, but it's WRONG! The headwise article was wildly inaccurate in some places too.

The lowest (1st) entry on the graph lists exposure to 85dBA for 40 hours. In the European Union figures are used from the WHO who state that 85dBA for 8 hours is likely to cause hearing damage. Any workplace within the EU with a SPL of 85dBA (or higher) is required by law to have it's employee's wear hearing defenders.

Standard conversation is usually around 60-65dB although again, in the USA maybe it is 80dB

To be honest, most of the figures used throughout the world as "safe" hearing volumes are to an extent guess work. Different individual people experience hearing loss (and/or permanent damage) at different levels. The figure of 85dBA is often quoted by various government agencies but some audiologists believe that the figure should be 75dB. I doubt that there will ever be precise definitive figures.

The OP question is in fact flawed. It's not a question of "if" you will damage your hearing, more a question of when and how much. Just through everyday use our hearing deteriorates throughout our lifetimes. The more loud music you listen to, the more hearing damage you will experience at a younger age. If you are listening to loud music this could mean just a couple of years and profound deafness, extremely loud music could permanently damage your hearing in a far shorter period of time!!

G

Ehm the sound u get on a construction site isnt the same as you get in a headphone. A construction site can be damagable at 85 db because you got drilling etc. at frequencies very much the same. In music theres not ALWAYS sound like there is on a construction site and there isnt one sound its multiple that go on and off on and off, this is of course a lot less dangerous than blowing compressed air out of a tube to clean some machines.
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