my ears have become "sensitive", "vulnerable"?
Jul 22, 2012 at 4:52 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 29
reddragon

reddragon

Headphoneus Supremus
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Beyerdynamic dt990 has become my main home phone for a while and people have said its harsh on the treble but I didn't have problem with it. However, recently I get ear fatigue very often. Today while listening to music (iTunes calls it jazz, I just call it female vocals) for half an hour on low volume, my ears still got fatique. I don't even think its the treble, I'm thinking maybe even the high mid where the female vocal lies even sounds harsh to me. Weird thing is I don't think the mid is even all that bright for me to get fatique from it... my Sony z1000 is worse, it sounds very "sharp", both in a good and bad way. It sounds very clear in the beginning (maybe due to brighter mids or so it seems?) and after a short while they become very ear piercingly "sharp". I also think I play music louder when I'm on z1000 even though i lessen the volume when im using it because its so easy to drive, so that can also be a factor why my ears hurt faster with it. Any thoughts guys? BTW I went to the doctor in summer (for another reason) and they examined my ears and I also had to listen to different high frequency tones and I had no hearing loss, and doctor said he didn't find anything wrong with my ears.
 
Jul 23, 2012 at 2:24 AM Post #3 of 29
Do you think you may have a problem with sibilance?
 
Jul 23, 2012 at 2:40 AM Post #5 of 29
Quote:
reddragon said:
Don't know, wasn't particularly listening for sibilance but didn't notice any emphasized Ss. You think I do?
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I mean, it is possible. But usually that's not something you're not aware of.
 
How about signs of tinnitus? Try playing some kind of ambient music. Youtube Carbon Based Lifeforms, could just be general ear fatigue.
 
Jul 23, 2012 at 2:56 AM Post #7 of 29
Quote:
reddragon said:
I see, and YouTube carbon based lifeforms is a song???
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Nope, a band, just pick any song. haha. They are all good. 
biggrin.gif

 
 
You only specified the harshness with jazz, so I thought maybe something much more subtle could help you out
in diagnosing whatever your problem may be.
 
Jul 23, 2012 at 3:15 AM Post #9 of 29
Jul 23, 2012 at 7:53 AM Post #10 of 29
Quote:
reddragon said:
No one has the same experience?
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I do but mine is related to having tinnitus in my Left ear.Is why I cant stand bright Highs in my left ear. but can in my right.
 
Jul 23, 2012 at 2:26 PM Post #11 of 29
Quote:
reddragon said:
No one has the same experience?
Click to expand...

I have some high frequency hearing loss which results in sensitivity to higher frequencies; particularly voices. Voices can sound (as you've described) harsh. I've also described it  as irritating or uncomfortable. I notice it most with the Sony (XB 1000 and XB 700).  Now I always use an EQ when listening to them. I don't know if all Sony HPs are bright or harsh but I've seen similar terms used to describe the SA 5000s and other Sony models.
 
Jul 23, 2012 at 2:45 PM Post #12 of 29
I also have a certain sensitivity to high frequencies. The main problem, I think, is that a lot of headphones have considerable, narrow treble spikes. These spikes are not readily audible to most people, but tend to be "hidden" since bass and mids tend to cover treble for most of the time.
As a result, it is easy to turn up the volume to a safe level without noticing how loud the high frequencies actually are. Due to the spikes, these frequencies can easily exceed safe listening volume.
 
It took me a while to realize this, but now I know pretty well what to look for. I sold the Beyer T1, one of my favourite headphones, due to such treble spikes - listening to it often resulted in fatigue and my tinnitus getting worse (I've had tinnitus in my left ear nearly all my life due to an accident when I was a kid). Headphones without such spikes do not produce any of these complaints in my case.
 
Frequency response graphs, which can be found for almost all common headphones, can be very helpful in this regard, as they clearly show if a headphone has distinct treble spikes. I recommend checking the graphs before choosing a headphone, especially if you've already noticed your sensitivity to boosted treble.
 
 
(Pronounced sibilance is often symptomatic for treble spikes, by the way, and another reason to avoid them)
 
Jul 23, 2012 at 3:26 PM Post #13 of 29
I get this problem as well and I have noticed it is mainly due to the sibilance at 5-10khz frequency.... Best way to stop this is to EQ these frequencies down a bit and also just dont listen to loud....
 
Also people always say it is to do with high frequencies and sibilnace but I have also noticed that large amounts of bass pressure can cause ear fatigue as well.
 
Jul 23, 2012 at 6:43 PM Post #14 of 29
Quote:
dennito said:
I have some high frequency hearing loss with results in sensitivity to higher frequencies; particularly voices. Voices can sound (as you've described) harsh. I've also described it  as irritating or uncomfortable. I notice it most with the Sony (XB 1000 and XB 700).  Now I always use an EQ when listening to them. I don't know if all Sony HPs are bright or harsh but I've seen similar terms used to describe the SA 5000s and other Sony models.
Click to expand...

Yea for me it's the High's, Bright Vocals doesn't bother my left ear. but  Highs that is too bright or bright does annoy it.
 
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