[karmypolitics]

which headphones damage hearing the most? I know that the earbud types are supposed to be the worst for hearing, but how do sit-on-ear models like the akg k 26 fare, and how to IEM's fare?

 

[kamal007]

if you are using them below 80db, you would be fine..any type of headphones will damage your hearing if you use them at a very high volume

 

[espire]

It's all relative. Sound may be much closer to your eardrum with an IEM, but because of that, the volume is set far lower. Apart from closed headphones seeming louder, headphones are as loud as you perceive them to be.

 

[Spyro]

Neither are worse. It is a volume issue, not a headphone/earphone design issue.

 

[basmatirice]

grado and etymotic will kill your hearing faster than anything if you turn them up loud enough to hear the low end. i've never ran either through a tube amp though.

i attribute their popularity to deaf people.

 

[regal]

I disagree, IEM cannot be checked with a dB meter. They are like playing russian roulett with your hearing IMO.

 

[jersey_emt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by regal /img/forum/go_quote.gif I disagree, IEM cannot be checked with a dB meter. They are like playing russian roulett with your hearing IMO.

Says who?

The type of headphone has no bearing on what is damaging to your ears. It is solely a function of sound pressure (volume). Higher volume = more damage.

Just because an IEM is closer to your eardrum does not mean automatic damage. You'll listen to them at a lower volume compared to full-size headphones because they will sound (relatively) louder due to their proximity to the eardrum.

 

[patalp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jersey_emt /img/forum/go_quote.gif Says who? The type of headphone has no bearing on what is damaging to your ears. It is solely a function of sound pressure (volume). Higher volume = more damage. Just because an IEM is closer to your eardrum does not mean automatic damage. You'll listen to them at a lower volume compared to full-size headphones because they will sound (relatively) louder due to their proximity to the eardrum.

And don't forget the isolation factor

 

[Gurra1980]

Quote:

Originally Posted by basmatirice /img/forum/go_quote.gif grado and etymotic will kill your hearing faster than anything if you turn them up loud enough to hear the low end. i've never ran either through a tube amp though. i attribute their popularity to deaf people.

X2 high frequencies are more likely to cause tinnitus than lower, I have also noticed this my self, with the hd650 i could listen very loud, never got tinnitus but with grado and beyerdynamic i often heard ringing in my ears after listening for a while. This is one reason that headphones more often than speakers cause hearingdamage, most headphones don't have diffusefield eq that has the purpose to make the frequencie more like speakers.