Let's talk about your hearing.

[MrGreen]

What is your hearing range (no need to lie here)?
What are quirks about your ears?
What do you fear most about age-related hearing loss?

The equipment I used for this was STX -> 770 pro (too lazy to break out the amp or etys).

Left ear is about 21-16000 (but 16k is really quiet, cant find any files after that that are inaudible, nearest frequency i have is 18k), right ear is about 24-15000.

Interestingly, the bass in my left ear not only extends deeper but is louder, however the treble is louder in my right ear (up to about 14000 where it rolls off).
Most of this damage is surgery and infected related

The biggest scare for me is that instruments will lose their timbre over time, and if I continue to lose hearing that speech will becoem difficult to understand (which I experienced at the age of 5 prior to surgery). Ultimately I fear that things will start to homogenise.

As I am fairly young (20s), I'd like to hear about the gradual change from older members.

 

[Punnisher]

I remember doing a test on my pc and I got about 17000-18000. It was very, very hard to hear. I had to turn the volume up to hear that high, which defeats the purpose of the test but gives you an idea. I am 23 years old.

When I was a teenager I almost never went to concerts so my ears are better for it.

Sometimes I am hypersensitive to sounds. For example, if someone claps their hands next to me when it's silent, my ears do not like the high contrast in volume.

I can hear very low volume sounds extremely well. I'm not saying that I get more enjoyment out of music because of this, it's just interesting. Most people on this forum can not hear hiss when using sensitive iems with portable players. It's a huge problem for me and it drives me mad.

My biggest fear is tinnitus, so I use earplugs at work and ety er20 at live shows. I used to think I had tinnitus but it comes and goes. I think it's mainly from stress or wax buildup. I clean them sometimes, to minimize this effect.

 

[The-One]

My right ear is more deaf than my left, and I'm 20. All frequencies are quieter with bass noticeably different to my left ear.

I have no idea as to why this is. And neither do the doctors, one said it's eustashian tube problem, another said the problem is neurological, whatever that means.

That affects me when I listen to my custom IEMs, the soundfield is forever screwed slightly, even if I turn the R side volume up because the L channel can only be heard by my left ear and the R channel can only be head with my right ear. With speakers the problem is better however and is mostly unnoticable when the volume is sufficiently adjusted.

 

[MrGreen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Punnisher /img/forum/go_quote.gif I remember doing a test on my pc and I got about 17000-18000. It was very, very hard to hear. I had to turn the volume up to hear that high, which defeats the purpose of the test but gives you an idea. I am 23 years old. When I was a teenager I almost never went to concerts so my ears are better for it. Sometimes I am hypersensitive to sounds. For example, if someone claps their hands next to me when it's silent, my ears do not like the high contrast in volume. I can hear very low volume sounds extremely well. I'm not saying that I get more enjoyment out of music because of this, it's just interesting. Most people on this forum can not hear hiss when using sensitive iems with portable players. It's a huge problem for me and it drives me mad. My biggest fear is tinnitus, so I use earplugs at work and ety er20 at live shows. I used to think I had tinnitus but it comes and goes. I think it's mainly from stress or wax buildup. I clean them sometimes, to minimize this effect.

I have tinnitus with indistinguishable frequency (although it is high) in my right ear.
I also experience hyperacusis like you describe.

A question to the gentleman with the bass issue, are your outer-canals slightly different sizes? Mine are and I experience what you describe as well.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I can still hear the 20kHz test tones and I'm 37.

I'm not that concerned about age-related hearing loss (it will happen) because I mostly listen to the mids. I should be able to keep that range for a very long time. Also, my equipment is all about the mids, so I'll have many more years of use from it.

I should enjoy it, as well. When I get a really nasty cold every year or so, it welds mt ears shut and I temporarily lose some hearing. While frustrating, I find that I can still enjoy music.

Unless I go completely deaf, I think I'll be able to enjoy my gear and music for decades to come.

 

[MrGreen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif I can still hear the 20kHz test tones and I'm 37. I'm not that concerned about age-related hearing loss (it will happen) because I mostly listen to the mids. I should be able to keep that range for a very long time. Also, my equipment is all about the mids, so I'll have many more years of use from it. I should enjoy it, as well. When I get a really nasty cold every year or so, it welds mt ears shut and I temporarily lose some hearing. While frustrating, I find that I can still enjoy music. Unless I go completely deaf, I think I'll be able to enjoy my gear and music for decades to come.

Considering organs only go up to about 7khz, I don't think you're ever in any real danger of losing the "music", just some overtones which may make things sound less rich (I'm not sure). Although I would summise that most sounds above 16khz are essentially inaudible in real situations (since they are mostly 3rd+ harmonics)

 

[miloxo]

Im pretty deaf since i was born, Im 17 now and have 2 hearing aids

These hearing aids gave my life a real boost, I can finally hear people

Both ears sounds different. I can hear basslines with my right ear, but cannot hear them with my left ear, altough my right ear is worse then my left ear in terms of dB. Left ear is easier to hear piano/violin with.

I also have a slight tinitus in my right ear, I have no idea since I have this. I discovered it while reading about tinitus

Good thing is I started listening at lower volume levels.

 

[Bilavideo]

I have a sensitive ears and have been bothered by HF tones all my life. Now that I'm 44, some of that sensitivity is giving way. I can hear sounds past the mosquito tone. On tests, I have heard tones (or tone-like sounds) up into the 30 kHz range, but I can't say I've heard anything actually worth hearing much past 10 kHz. I'm not particularly interested in anything past 12 kHz.

 

[MrGreen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by miloxo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Im pretty deaf since i was born, Im 17 now and have 2 hearing aids These hearing aids gave my life a real boost, I can finally hear people Both ears sounds different. I can hear basslines with my right ear, but cannot hear them with my left ear, altough my right ear is worse then my left ear in terms of dB. Left ear is easier to hear piano/violin with. I also have a slight tinitus in my right ear, I have no idea since I have this. I discovered it while reading about tinitus Good thing is I started listening at lower volume levels.

Do you listen with or without your hearing aids?
I'm assuming you dont but I figured I'd ask anyway.

Have you talked to your audiologist about headphone listening? I think that if I still had trouble hearing, I'd turn-up to compensate. You should definitely check out what level its at with an SPL meter if you haven't and get advice from a professional to protect what you have (until they develop a significant treatment for hearing loss which to be honest I do not think is too far off)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bilavideo /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have a sensitive ears and have been bothered by HF tones all my life. Now that I'm 44, some of that sensitivity is giving way. I can hear sounds past the mosquito tone. On tests, I have heard tones (or tone-like sounds) up into the 30 kHz range

Got any test papers you could scan? I'd love to see it.
If you're hearing sounds outside the typical production of hairs in the inner ear for people, thats one hell of a birth defect to have.

 

[b0dhi]

I have an imbalance in my left ear. The bass in ~2dB quieter. Usually this isn't an issue though, since most headphones have an imbalance in the bass roughly as large, so I swap the L/R sides until the bassier earpiece is on my left ear.

My canals are different on each side too.

 

[hockeyb213]

Am I the only one here with no distinguishable differences between both my ears and hear a fairly normal range of about 15hz-20khz?

 

[120717]

Damn tinnitus. Appears at low volumes. Considering the fuzz I see at low lighting levels (and the same random rubbish I see when my eyes are closed at V low light levels), and the fact that the pitch and volume changes if I think about it, I'm figuring it's psychological. Still I wanna get my ears checked out by a doctor or specialist to be sure, and maybe cleaned properly which I don't know how to do myself. It helps apparently.

 

[MrGreen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hockeyb213 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Am I the only one here with no distinguishable differences between both my ears and hear a fairly normal range of about 15hz-20khz?

I've always thought it interesting that audiophiles tend to be the ones who had ear problems as children, or at the very least it seems very common here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by P4Z /img/forum/go_quote.gif Damn tinnitus. Appears at low volumes. Considering the fuzz I see at low lighting levels (and the same random rubbish I see when my eyes are closed at V low light levels), and the fact that the pitch and volume changes if I think about it, I'm figuring it's psychological. Still I wanna get my ears checked out by a doctor or specialist to be sure, and maybe cleaned properly which I don't know how to do myself. It helps apparently.

Personally I find the pitch of my tinnitus becomes more clear when I clean my ears out with warm water (leave it in a few seconds then pour it out), rather than a blur of pitches. I need to get my ears professionally cleaned too just to make sure that the imbalance isnt caused by earwax buildup due to my use of canalphones.

 

[120717]

It's a single noise and pitch, put I can somehow change the pitch by thinking about it :S
I defo wanna get them professionally cleaned, I'll ask my doctor to see what he can do.
Also I'll try some kind of hearing test from my PC.

 

[Stereo_Sanchez]

The iPhone has an interesting app that is designed to drive teenagers crazy by emitting high frequencies only they can hear. A great quick frequency test for those of us over 50 who are losing the high-end.