[AdamCalifornia]

What? I can't hear you! I might already be deaf!

Since you joined the Head-Fi.org a while ago, you've bought some headphones, haven't you?
You love them and you listen to a lot of music thru them, sometimes loud, sometimes not so loud.

Have you experienced, on and off, any ringing or buzzing or a sensation of pressure or fatigue in your ears?
Have you developed mild tinnitus? Has your hearing deteriorated?

By 'Prolonged Use of Headphones' I mean using headphones for many hours and/or perhaps playing quite loud.
What matters most is the loudness!

If interested, I did have my first ever (ha, ha, ...) poll a few months ago (the poll is still open):

Here!
"Poll: Poll Included! How Loud Do You Listen Thru Headphones?"

and (without a Poll) There!.

Should I listen to Ozzy Osbourne's "Live & LOUD" as "Live & QUIET" or even "Live & Whisper"??? Give me a break!
I can't resist playing some songs/tracks louder!!!

This Poll is absolutely Anonymous and Confidential!

Adam

 

[Thaddy]

No. It's made my hearing more acute.

 

[phergus_25]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thaddy No. It's made my hearing more acute.

X2

 

[Duggeh]

I think that the very mild ring I have in my ears I caused with careless listening on my minidisc player in high school.

Head-Fi has done far more to both please and fine tune my ears than it has in terms of inducing tinnitis or reducing my susceptability to high frequency perception.

Headphones do NOT cause hearing problems. Only careless use of headphones does. If you listen for 12 hours a day with the volume dial at 11, then if you experience problems, youve damn well go it coming. Never use volume as a way to attenuate outside noise, never listen at LOUD volumes for anythgin other than short periods of time. Never listen to headphones for very long listenign sessions when you could use speakers instead and do not confuse decibels with quality.

Hearing loss is an almost inevitable part of life, for gods sake, if you have a hobby like this, take suitable precautions. KNOW your volume levels on the dials and what is too high.


Listen well, and listen safe.

 

[Jussei]

Apple didnt warn me that my iPod crap buds went to 120 decibels!!!

 

[nytryder7]

I have very mild tinnitus, had it since my youth. My hearing is no better/worse
since I've been using both headphones and IEMs, thankfully. I listen at what I call normal levels but sometimes I wonder what's normal after listening behind others and always having to turn down the volume!

 

[EFN]

15 years before joining Head-Fi, I have been totting around with my Sony Cassette Walkman/AIWA or Sharp Player. Listening to loud music day in day out from Thrash Metal to Industrial to Garage Rock - the likes of Slayer, GODFLESH, Napalm Death, Sepultura etc.....for 3 STRAIGHT YEARS - and volume near to MAX. Significantly after that I noticed that I have some problem with conversation and likely will have to ask somebody to repeat themselves because I am 20% DEAF.

I stopped completely since then from listening to cans. So I reckon some sort of permanent damage done there with misuse of Volume Knob.

But I did discovered something, I can safely say that due to the rigorous listening within that 3 years, my eardrums has been "Burned in"

LOL! this means that If I were to listen to cans again, my tolerance level has been greatly improved and I can listen continously for hours without fatigue and for as long as I am not pushing it too much, I will not get any deaf-er than I am now.....

 

[nibiyabi]

What?

 

[vapman]

I used to listen to crappy earbuds loudly in the car to try and drown out other sounds. Aren't I smart. Now I can hear more details I think.

 

[jclinton46]

Well ... it certainly hasn't made my hearing more acute. I have mild tinnitus which was likely caused from years of aviation and industry exposure. It has remained about the same. However I think I do a better job of protecting my hearing since joining.

Before I seldom wore hearing protection when mowing my lawn or other relatively high noise activity. Now I routinely wear IEM's so I get almost 30dB noise reduction and I keep the music volume low so I don't blow the benefits. I also watch my volume levels and make sure I don't try to overpower one undesirable sound with a another louder sound.

OK - Every so often I crank up the volume for a particular song but I also turn it back down when the song is over. And with good headphones you can hear details without having to increase the volume.

Protect your hearing and enjoy the music!!

 

[nfusion770]

I am certain I have lost some of my hearing- I have real difficulty hearing people with background noise. Its all result of youthful negligence.

These days I tend to find a volume that is loud enough to absorb everything, but not too loud that it makes my head ring. If I feel good after long listening sessions (no ringing, or general irritation) I believe I am within reasonable listening volume. I dont care how smooth the headphones are, if its too loud, I cant handle it for very long.

 

[Gaughtfried]

I voted for other, but it's not as bad as the other options stated. I've noticed that more and more wax is building up in and around my ear compared to before I started this hobby. It's gross but it's something.

 

[IEATTEFLON]

my hearing actually seems to have gotten better

I listen to loud music with the bass jacked up on a daily basis too.

 

[Carl]

None yet, and I'm hoping to keep it that way.

 

[nikongod]

that poll lacks some options.

hearing is good, i think better.