[sephka]

How durable are the ears? I have to ask because, despite taking care of my relatively good hearing, I have had a few mess-ups which resulted in numbness or ringing. The two events which come to mind are an AC/DC concert in which i did not wear earplugs (I didn't know any better,) which left my ears ringing for a day or two, and after playing music too loudly on an airplane trip (8 hours,) leaving me with numbness for about half a day. My question is, what kind of long term damage would these two incidents create, and how durable are the ears in general. Thanks, etc.

 

[usc goose]

i used to rave hardcore for about a year in college. every week at least 4-5 hours of 110 dB+ music. i've gone to all day/all night raves for 10+ hours where i've lost my hearing for 2 or 3 days afterwards.

i can still hear phones ringing from 2 apartments away that only a few of my friends can verify (just to make sure i'm not hallucinating again).

then again i'm 21 now and my rave days were only a year or 2 ago so who knows what'll happen down the line. but i think you'll be fine.

 

[sephka]

Did you wave around those cute glow sticks?

 

[MD1032]

I'm unsure what the loudest I can crank up my volume is before I start hurting my ears. What volume should I have it at? Is there a way to tell? I usually just turn it down until my ears stop hurting. Also, I'm not sure if I have tinnitis. For example, if a room is dead silent, you hear that weird high-pitched static sound. Even the turn of a page can drown it out, but when there's no sound, it's weird. At that point, every little sound seems magnified, even things I wouldn't normally hear. Very weird. I hope it's not tinnitis.

 

[usc goose]

Quote:

Originally posted by sephka Did you wave around those cute glow sticks?

i got mad skills son

 

[usc goose]

oh yeah, i never wear/wore earplugs when raving or going to concerts. but i do wear earplugs at home just to drown out ambient noise. i really like the dead silence sometimes. helps me concentrate. i used to sleep in earplugs all the time too.

so i don't know, maybe that helped me keep my hearing.

 

[dabblerblue]

Apparently long exposure to anything over 75dB for something like 8 hours can cause hearing loss, and anything over 120dB could cause instant permanent hearing loss.

The average level of a normal conversation is about 60dB, and a ringing telephone is about 80dB.

To counter these affects, you should spend an equal amount of time resting your ears that you spend listening to music or being in any loud area for any amount of time. The place you rest in should be quite silent.

The worst part about hearing damage, is not only do you lose your sensitivity to sound, you also lose your tolerance for loudness. So if you really blow it, you won't be able to crank your music and enjoy it in the future!

 

[Superbaldguy]

Man, I can only imagine how loud AC/DC can play. I saw Rush in 1988 in a relatively small venue (Halifax Metro Centre) and I did not have any hearing protection. I maintain my favourite rock band did some permanent damage, but hearing loss is usually normal over time. (I'm 40 years old)

We do stupid things when we're young.

 

[psxguy85]

Quote:

Originally posted by usc goose i got mad skills son

"Show Me."

 

[eatmoreplant]

Hi,
I was watching Discovery channel and there's one drummer who listened to loud sound for too long and develop tinnitus. The tinnitus cause him to hear a high frequency screeching sound like someone scratching nails over a surface. He then cut off the nerves of his ear. He prefer being deaf than to hear the screeching sound. What a sad story...

 

[MusicLover]

Quote:

Originally posted by eatmoreplant Hi, I was watching Discovery channel and there's one drummer who listened to loud sound for too long and develop tinnitus. The tinnitus cause him to hear a high frequency screeching sound like someone scratching nails over a surface. He then cut off the nerves of his ear. He prefer being deaf than to hear the screeching sound. What a sad story...

That's bad enough to scare a hardcore metalhead!

 

[uoods]

Etymotic had a good insert in the box they shipped my serviced ER-4's back in, it had a big chart of what was "safe" as far as noise level in dB vs. time, and gave examples. The closest thing I can find is: http://www.hei.org/news/factshts/nihlfact.htm

 

[D-EJ915]

Quote:

Originally posted by MusicLover That's bad enough to scare a hardcore metalhead!

that's why I only turn it up to body-shaking levels when my parents are gone...

(and I'm not kidding about the body-shaking part either), normally I listne to a good level, sometimes I get obsessed, and then it's like SHAKE THE VMA'S GOD-DAMNED FLOOR TIME!!!!, of course that level is never attained, because my sub over-excursiones itself and I have to turn it down

, that's one reason why I want a NEW and IMPROVED madness maker

 

[MD1032]

Average level of normal conversation is alonly 5 db. below hearing loss? OH GOD I'M DOOMED!!! I don't get it.

 

[Canman]

Welcome to Team Tinnitus guys.