[Willanhanyard]

Hey there,
 
I will try to make this as short as possible. Throughout my life I have noticed that I have very sensitive hearing compared to other people. Normal sounds/music levels would be too loud for me but were fine for other people. Going to movie theaters/concerts I would always have to wear earplugs because me ears just hurt from the sound level. I have just been really careful with the sound levels that I listen to as to not damage my ears. This carried over to my music listening where I would always listen at a really low level and people would tell me to turn it up. Basically I have been really careful with my hearing.
 
Sooooo recently I have had this weird problem where when I wear my cans I get this irritating rumbling sound in my ears that hurts and forces me to not be able to listen to them at all from the pain. It's not like a high pitch ringing, it's like a rumbling sound that you might get when you have allergies. The weird thing is that listening on speakers from say a computer, the TV, or a car is perfectly fine, no problems.
 
Having this go on for over 2 weeks of not wearing my headphones at all I went to an ENT who checked my hearing as slightly above normal and told me it was tinnitus. I was really surprised by this because I have kept super good care of my hearing all throughout my life and I am only 16. I don't blast it in the car, turn the volume way up when I am wearing headphones, go to concerts and stand next to the speakers, or any of those things. I am always really conscious of the sound level. When I am wearing open cans I can only begin to hear the music barely when my ear is about 6" away from the back of one side. I don't have an accurate SPL meter unfortunately so I couldn't tell you the exact dB level. I guess if it helps I listen to my friend's PC setup at 3% in Windows with an Asus Xonar STX and HD 555's.
 
I am just really stumped on this because I can't listen to headphones at all, and basically none of my music because I don't have a good speaker setup. Does anyone have any thoughts/ideas?

 

[Coq de Combat]

What a special snowflake...
 
If you want to listen to music, but can't because it's too loud, try using ear protection underneath circumaural headphones. That should do the trick for you.
 
Have you considered that you just might be a mutant and try to learn to control your mutant abilities like that bat hearing?

 

[nick n]

Vmoda ear plugs reduce sounds across the board by a certain db amount for going to live events. Look into those. Other companies make them also I believe.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  I guess if it helps I listen to my friend's PC setup at 3% in Windows with an Asus Xonar STX and HD 555's.

 
On a lighter note - have you taken up fencing? You can use your hearing to your advantage and develop your own Eyes of the Heart, and listen for the opponent's heartbeat and muscle twitches to anticipate his attacks.
 
Or at least it works according to this guy - can't believe I missed the movie premiere event for Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno last week.

 

[Coq de Combat]

   
On a lighter note - have you taken up fencing? You can use your hearing to your advantage and develop your own Eyes of the Heart, and listen for the opponent's heartbeat and muscle twitches to anticipate his attacks.

That could possibly work with chess as well. I mean, if you listen close enough, maybe you can hear your opponents thoughts..?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  That could possibly work with chess as well. I mean, if you listen close enough, maybe you can hear your opponents thoughts..?

 
Nah that's telepathy already, although in the anime I posted, the popular belief was hinted at that that character was telepathic. He revealed later on (as fictional Japanese fighting always seems to involve a lot of yammering over as many episodes as possible for some reason) that he listens for muscle tension and changes in breathing and heart rate to anticipate when the attack is coming and how each muscle is moving (which is important for someone who's blind; kind of like DareDevil, if he was the bad guy).
 
But really, damn! If headphones only need 3% on Windows I'd have to wonder how it is with speakers with ears like that; initially one would think that means less money on the amp, but what about hearing ambient noise that much louder as well? That would mean room acoustics isolation is even more important. In any case, any hearing protection device that has an even attenuation curve should do well enough as long as it fits under the headphone.

 

[MindsMirror]

It seems strange that you would have a problem only with headphones. The ambient noise in a car or a crowded public place for example would be louder than you are listening on headphones. Could it be something to do with headphones themselves that causes it? What happens if you just wear headphones for a while without playing any sound through them?

 

[james444]

  Hey there,
 
....

 
Hey there, I read up on your previous posts and came across this one where you say you have (mild) tinnitus. It's from 1.5 years ago.
 

I have really sensitive hearing (or maybe I am just really paranoid), and a bit of ttinnitus.

 
It's not uncommon that tinnitus and hyperacusis are accompanying symptoms. I don't have any personal experience with the symptoms you're describing, but I'd suggest you pose your question on a forum like The Hyperacusis Network Message Board or Tinnitus Talk, which might yield a higher chance of receiving informed replies.