[hodgjy]

Tinnitus is caused by many things.  Stress, teeth grinding, teeth clenching, infections, etc.  I have tinnitus because I clench my teeth when I sleep.  Even with a rubber night guard, it still won't go away completely.  But, at least it is minimized so I can forget about most of the time and I only hear it when I think about it and really concentrate to hear it.
 
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I have tinnitus but I've never listened to music loud nor exposed to loud sounds.
 
I measured my headphones with an app on my phone the other day and levels seem to stay around 40-50db. Not bad at all right?

 

 

[LizardKing1]

 
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Which one will burn your hand more?  A 500 degree fire or a 600 degree fire?
 
Who cares, they're both bad.  Any sound wave that's too loud will damage your ears.

I'm trying to explain how, at the same flame intensity (volume), one of them burns much hotter than the other, causing much more severe damage to you. It's not a black-and-white situation at all. I'm sorry, but science gets me going.

 

[drtturnip]

I played in rock bands for years and had no problems. I went to a Dandy Warhols concert in Portland in my 30's and during one song the sound engineer CRANKED the ultra high frequencies. I remember saying to myself that it sounded amazing but by the time I realized it was a bad thing it was too late. Ringing ever since. It comes and goes though.

 

[kfscoll]

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There are many causes of tinnitus (from illness through to "it just happens"), not just exposure to extreme noise. A sound level meter can help with full-size head phones, keep the peaks in the 75 - 80 dB range (or lower), make sure you give your ears plenty of rest from noise and your listening shouldn't impact your hearing (but we're all made differently, so you never can be sure). There have been a number of threads about measuring sound levels, e.g. http://www.head-fi.org/t/507953/what-do-you-use-to-measure-sound-levels
 

I've had mild tinnitus as long as I can remember and there's no single "loud noise event" that started it.  I suspect that I have it because I had TONS of bad ear infections when I was a child.  Not that it matters what caused it at this point; it is what it is.  However, I don't notice it unless I'm in a completely silent room and, FWIW, I've never been found to have any associated hearing loss.  Still, as I've become older, I'm more careful about making sure I use hearing protection when appropriate and avoiding loud noise exposure.  While my tinnitus is manageable and rarely noticeable, I sure wouldn't want it to get any worse.
 
 

 

[hodgjy]

I remember my tinnitus way back when I was a small kid.  I did have many ear aches and ear infections as a kid, so I'm positive that had much to do with it.  So, there's probably some permanent damage in there.  Also, my teeth grinding surely affects it as well.  However, I have very sensitive hearing, so the damage must not have affected my ability to hear.  It just causes tinnitus.
 
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I've had mild tinnitus as long as I can remember and there's no single "loud noise event" that started it.  I suspect that I have it because I had TONS of bad ear infections when I was a child.  Not that it matters what caused it at this point; it is what it is.  However, I don't notice it unless I'm in a completely silent room and, FWIW, I've never been found to have any associated hearing loss.  Still, as I've become older, I'm more careful about making sure I use hearing protection when appropriate and avoiding loud noise exposure.  While my tinnitus is manageable and rarely noticeable, I sure wouldn't want it to get any worse.
 
 

 

 

[hotcakes]

I set a volume when the room is silent, then refuse to go any higher (except when the source has low volume in general).
 
Youtube lets you see the percentage of volume if you right click and use "Video Info".

 

[LizardKing1]

Rockbox lets you see how loud you're playing. If I'm correct, as long as you know the headphone's sensitivity, all you need to do is add the loudness to know how loud the music actually is coming from your headphones. It's weird because it means it's impossible to go any higher than the sensitivity, but I suppose since it's a logarithmic scale it makes sense to add instead of multiply. This is more helpful to me than just random volume numbers, because it allows me to compare to actual volumes. I never go over 70dB.

 

[sonitus mirus]

Anyone that frequents this site and has any interest in listening to music with headphones should probably use the search engine of their choice to look up tinnitus.  
 
http://www.medicinenet.com/tinnitus/article.htm
 
Through personal experience and research I have found that my tinnitus is more prevalent when I am tired or have had a significant amount of caffeine in a short amount of time.   So, if I am sleepy and get a quad-shot latte to keep me awake, I'm sure to hear a high frequency ring until I get some sleep and the coffee wears off. 

 

[sonitus mirus]

Anyone that frequents this site and has any interest in listening to music with headphones should probably use the search engine of their choice to look up tinnitus.  
 
http://www.medicinenet.com/tinnitus/article.htm
 
Through personal experience and research I have found that my tinnitus is more prevalent when I am tired or have had a significant amount of caffeine in a short amount of time.   So, if I am sleepy and get a quad-shot latte to keep me awake, I'm sure to hear a high frequency ring until I get some sleep and the coffee wears off. 

 

[bowei006]

I use a lower gain on my amp than normal. this makes volume raising longer(i have E17 so it's digital steps) and thus smaller volume increment ups and i find that volume is limited that way for me

 

[djviciouscycle]

I keep the volume very low when listening.  Very low.  I'm a musician, and I have to preserve my ears.

 

[bowei006]

^the cons of that is that you wont hear everything many times at very very low.

 

[TMRaven]

I don't know.  I hear just as much in a song at low volumes as high volumes, and at times even more.

 

[pyramid6]

I'm having an amp built with a different volume controller so I can listen at lower volumes.  I find that most amps are too loud or have too much noise.  I blame orthodynamic headphones and a few members on here.  On amps with stepped attenuators, I usually only go to the first position.  Sometimes I wish I could turn it down even more.  Variable pots, I usually turn them down so much I can hear the channel imbalance.  That's why I'm having one built.  I'm also getting a DAC with variable output.
 
I have tinnitus, but the ringing only last a couple seconds.  I also cannot hear frequencies over 13k or so.  I'm pretty sure my hearing is worse than some it should be for someone my age.  I take very good care of my ears, but time stops for no man.  Getting old has some advantages, but hearing isn't one of them.  On I side note, I had ear infections as a child, so much so it affected my speech.
 
I think it is safe to say, no matter how loud you listen, you probably need to turn it down.  And get off my lawn.

 

[bowei006]

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I'm having an amp built with a different volume controller so I can listen at lower volumes.  I find that most amps are too loud or have too much noise.  I blame orthodynamic headphones and a few members on here.  On amps with stepped attenuators, I usually only go to the first position.  Sometimes I wish I could turn it down even more.  Variable pots, I usually turn them down so much I can hear the channel imbalance.  That's why I'm having one built.  I'm also getting a DAC with variable output.
 
I have tinnitus, but the ringing only last a couple seconds.  I also cannot hear frequencies over 13k or so.  I'm pretty sure my hearing is worse than some it should be for someone my age.  I take very good care of my ears, but time stops for no man.  Getting old has some advantages, but hearing isn't one of them.  On I side note, I had ear infections as a child, so much so it affected my speech.
 
I think it is safe to say, no matter how loud you listen, you probably need to turn it down.  And get off my lawn.

hmm maybe invest in a stepped digital volume controler amp...for example E17 it has 60 steps in 0dB and a volume limiter.