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Vocals seem louder on my left ear

post #1 of 24
Thread Starter 
Hi!

As the topic says I think that the vocals seem louder on my left ear, I have tried several phones and also reversed them but with the same results. So I figured I might just have better hearing on my left ear but then I asked my wife and she also thought the left side was louder so that got me thinking. Is it possible that one can be "wired" in a way that one percieves one side to be louder?

This might be in the wrong forum btw.
post #2 of 24

play test tones in mono...play music in mono, if it's not in the dead center go see an audiologist and go through a proper audiogram?

post #3 of 24

yup, playing music in mono will tell you.

looking at your sig i'll try to guess that the problem lies in one of your LD's dying tube.

post #4 of 24

I thought I was the only person with this problem. I'm not sure if it's my hearing or just my equipment.

post #5 of 24

Same here!! You are not alone, left ear seems louder. Hearing tests showed no difference in hearing capacity. Still, my "center" of hearing is tilted to the left...hmmmm good to know I am not alone!

post #6 of 24
Thread Starter 
I doubt it is my equipment since even if I reverse my phones I still at least imagine that I hear the vocals (easiest to detect) more on my left side. I havent had time to try a mono test sound but I will soon, any link to where I can find one?
post #7 of 24
Quote:
Originally Posted by Koolpep View Post

Same here!! You are not alone, left ear seems louder. Hearing tests showed no difference in hearing capacity. Still, my "center" of hearing is tilted to the left...hmmmm good to know I am not alone!



And mine to the right... go figure.

post #8 of 24
Quote:
Originally Posted by Koolpep View Post

Same here!! You are not alone, left ear seems louder. Hearing tests showed no difference in hearing capacity. Still, my "center" of hearing is tilted to the left...hmmmm good to know I am not alone!

 

What test did you have done?

The hearing in my left ear is usually better than my right, I presumed it was from using the telephone on my right for long periods at work.

 

post #9 of 24

Your ears and ear canals aren't exactly the same. The difference between them probably far outweighs any system channel imbalance. Just adjust the balance til it sounds like it's "centered" and enjoy.

post #10 of 24
To the last 2 posters:

No idea what the test was called, ENT specialist attested me above average hearing capabilities for my age, no mention of huge imbalance.

Balance control: well, I wish my gear had balance control :-)

I just learned to live with it, doesn't really bother me anymore, I just enjoy the music. But it was good to see that I'm not alone...it really did put my mind at ease.
Edited by Koolpep - 6/28/11 at 11:48am
post #11 of 24

Go to preferences in itunes and make sure that "sound enhancer" is turned off. Sound enhancer does this. Otherwise, chances are its the recordings, unless your listening to mono, chances are, the channels wont be completely balanced, otherwise you defeat the purpose of a stereo recording.

post #12 of 24

Hi!

 

thanks for that. Sound enhancer is turned off and mostly I am listening with Audirvana and itunes with bitperfect. In the preferences the balance is where it should (in the middle).

 

some recordings indeed have the effect more than others. But when I wear my headphone the "wrong" way, my left ear still picks up better vocals, so I am pretty sure it's not the source but my ears (or brain). It seems to be just a certain frequency spectrum that I hear slightly less good on the right. I guess I have to live with it ;-)

 

Thanks again for your recommendations!

For testing purposes, how can I create a dual-mono track, meaning I get exactly the same sound out of both channels (no stereo). I would like to do that to really test my ears myself.... Maybe someone has a song i that format that I could use?

 

Thanks again,

K

post #13 of 24

you can easily do it by a foobar plugin. that's the way i found put that i hear differently by my ears - after playing mono and wearing headphones the "right" and the "wrong" way.

post #14 of 24

Do you by any chance have an ear infection, or have you recently been around loud noises? I'm going to repeat what the other people said about the ENT, with one more thing. Some people won't feel it when they have an ear infection, so you might have a swollen eardrum. Everytime I get an ear infection / swimmer's ear (note: do not wear IEMs within an hour of getting out of the shower, eventually, your ear canals will become severely irritated) The sound quality on that ear gets screwed up and it takes some time to go back to normal.

post #15 of 24
I'm wondering if this is an earwax issue. Go get cleaned out and your ears examined.
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