[dallan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nocturnal310 /img/forum/go_quote.gif One of the biggest threat are the Earphones...they exert lot of sound pressure directly focussed on the ear canal. also, since they dont block the external sound..the Loudness of Earphones gets Added to Loudness of external environment. thereby increasing the dB level to dangerous levels. i noticed this yesterday while in a mall on friday evening..damn ..i immediately switched it off. So now i have more reasons to get a good IEM..and realise their importance.

I was ready to say that iems block outside noise so you can listen to a lower volume but i guess the first statement is referring to earbuds? If so i concur, i stopped wearing those darn things years ago.

By the way for my earlier statement i realize i probably have natural earplugs because a couple of years ago the doctor said i had surfers ear but it wasn't bad enough at that time to operate. That is a condition where, due to the cold water exposure, calcium builds up in the opening to your inner ear and eventually seals it closed. You start getting earaches and you know your in trouble. For the moment i am okay but probably do have some blockage, in fact i miss things my wife tells me to do at least half the time if not more.

 

[4string]

I don't think that my music listening has contributed much, but being in a blues band for several years certainly didn't do my ears any good. I'm not sure, but I suspect that's why I don't hear anything above 14k Hz on the test CD.

 

[m0ofassa]

I've got hearing loss from birth and tinnitus in my left ear due to attending/partaking in a large amount of gigs. I would recommend everyone train their ears to listen to quieter volumes. The more damage you receive, the lower the quality and of course the greater the temptation there is to turn the volume up even higher.

 

[AudioTroll]

Industrial techno partys destroyed my hearing :/
closed back headphones saved the little amount I got left,
now I dont have to turn the volume waaay up to block outside noices

 

[Nocturnal310]

sad stories...this is one depressing thread.

luckily my hearing is still good ..even after watching F1 from 3 metres away..

i used an IEM + Closed headphone for maximum isolation..even though the headphones were shaking as the F1 cars raced past me.

did a Frequency test and i can still hear 20 Khz at recommended Loudness level.

 

[oqvist]

I think I got a mild form of Tinnitus when getting my DT 770 PROs. Prior to that I had headphones that distorted while playing to loud. They are much safer then HIFI gear

It has gone away though but well it would be interesting to make an ear check and see how good hearing I have now.

also how on earth do you make frequency tests on a computer? How do you know it´s not to loud if you have bad hearing already?

 

[synaesthetic]

My hearing is damaged, with a high frequency loss in my left ear and chronic tinnitus as well, thanks to ear infections as a child and an afternoon of putting 500 rounds through a .40 S&W without proper hearing protection.

protip: cheap ear foams are not sufficient to block out 140+dB transients from a firearm discharge. especially if they're not sealed properly.

 

[Taikero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by synaesthetic /img/forum/go_quote.gif protip: cheap ear foams are not sufficient to block out 140+dB transients from a firearm discharge. especially if they're not sealed properly.

I hear that. It's probably why my hearing is somewhat damaged more than anything else (not using or not sealing ear plugs properly in my younger years). Probably a good thing I always put my hands over my ears whenever I wasn't shooting though.

 

[xuxu]

how loud is too loud on a pair of headphones ? If you can hear the music from across the room after you've taken them off... ?

 

[anon]

if you can hear the music when you take off the heaphones, that is too much for me

 

[catscratch]

It's too loud way before it becomes painful.

A lot of headphones that are very smooth and non-fatiguing, especially electrostatic ones, are capable of playing very very loud without any distortion whatsoever, and with very few clues to alert you that you're listening very loudly. Peaks in the treble response will very quickly become harsh and fatiguing as the volume goes up, and when you have a relatively non-impactful system with a very refined treble response, you can very easily find yourself listening way louder than you intended. In fact, with a seriously well-tuned rig, you're going to have a hard time telling how loud it's actually playing.

I have some tinnitus, but I don't know if it's from listening too loud, going to too many concerts, more than a decade of being an amateur musician, or if it's something that I had my whole life and I only became aware of it after getting into audio and really training my hearing. In any case, it's so mild that it doesn't really bother me, and is inaudible in all circumstances except absolute dead quiet.

I listen loudly, but reasonably loudly. I would guess 80dB for 1-2 hours a day is my usual dose. I don't like to listen seriously for long stretches at a time. Music for me is a highly emotional business, and I simply become mentally drained after too long of a listening session.

 

[dallan]

I attempt to listen just at or above talking level. I will turn on the hi-fi occasionally and test how loud i have the phones. I have to admit though when i crank it it sounds great, but it isn't worth my hearing. I will do it every ones in a blue moon though.

 

[chinesekiwi]

Go to Radioshack. Buy dB meter. Play at your normal listening volume. Put dB meter as close to the cups as possible. Anything above 90 dB = concerns.

 

[limpidglitch]

I get pretty much everything I want from the music by listening at conversation level, so I don't see any point in turning it up.

 

[noahlapuz]

Hearing is believing, lost of hearing means not believing.