[DiscoProJoe]

I've come down with a cold these last couple o' days and my headphones sound weird! I've had to turn the volume up considerably more, and the lower the pitch is, the less I can hear it. Feels funny for my M-100s to be vibrating a lot, but can't hear any sub-bass. And if one ear has slightly more congestion than the other, then the other side sounds like it's playing louder.
 
Ah,...the wondrous effects of the body's natural "spring cleaning" cycle. It kinda sucks to be a basshead with your ears clogged up, but hey,...at least it's better than back during my old car stereo days before I started using Dynamat and weather-stripping foam. Back in those days I'd hop in the car on a day with congested ears, pump up the bass, and hear nothing but rattling noise competing with the treble.  

  At least I don't have to worry about that anymore. (I sold my last car when moving to China more than 6 years ago.)
 
Anyway, have you ever "enjoyed" or endured any weird sound effects from your headphones when you have a cold? Tell us about it! 

 

 

[Sefelt103]

I try to avoid listening to headphones if I have a cold. It makes expensive headphones sound like cheap ones.

 

[lulu52001]

I would say that listening to music is the only thing I can do when I have a cold and lie on the bed..

 

[CaveManta]

You know, I just got over a cold two weeks ago. So I didn't listen to my cans for a whole week straight, which was hard to take. One of my ears got filled with fluid, leading to "Tin Ear Syndrome" as I call it, so I had a sound imbalance. But when I finally put my Q701 on my head..I was blown away! Even though my ear was still kinda messed up!
Colds make great break periods for your ears.

 

[DiscoProJoe]

I could feel my sinuses vibrating with my headphones today.

 

[HiFiChris]

If your paranasal sinuses are clogged an underinflation could be the case and often there won't be pressure compensation and your eardrum can't move as it should - listening to music really is no pleasure then as your hearing is not as good as without a cold. I experienced that last Winter when a cheapheadphone didn't sound much different to much more expensive one.

 

[CaveManta]

Originally Posted by HiFiChris /img/forum/go_quote.gif

[A really smart post]

   It makes listening to good headphones seem utterly useless if you can't hear the difference. That's scary to think about. I just hope that the symptoms won't cause any long-term effects, like damage to hearing. What if all non-audiophiles just have clogged sinuses?

(If only it were that simple.)
 
Originally Posted by DiscoProJoe /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I could feel my sinuses vibrating with my headphones today.

   I hope they're good vibrations. Wait. You're getting vibrations out of an AD700?

You found the bass! Just kidding. I love my AD700!
 
Being posted by myself, right now /img/forum/go_quote.gif

You know what's crazy? They say you shouldn't ride an airplane while you have such sinus problems. However, I did take a flight while my "Tin Ear Syndrome" was going on anyway. My hearing seems to be...fine now. So I survived.