[bcschmerker4]

Thanks for raising a medical point about audio. Autistics such as myself tend to have auroneural issues; every once in a blue moon, one ear shuts down and in place of the cochlear signal set is a steady pseudosignal of 12 kHz tone (mimicking tinnitus). Driving my issue GMC®/General Motors M11006, I find a closed-back dynamic earphone (e.g. the earpieces in a Hubble Connected filter mask with BT5.0+EDR transceiver) to give sufficient attenuation of external sounds for communication.

 

[purk]

Speak a little louder.....I can't hear you....

 

[fablestruck]

I have a set of IEMs plugged on a Bluetooth cable which I usually carry on me.
I use them as earplugs when needed.

 

[acohen001]

I do everything I can to protect my hearing. I am a range officer at my local Izaak Walton League and I use foam ear plugs AND a set of Peltor noise suppressing cans when at the range. I do notice more ringing/tiniuitus after listening to my headphones. I tried the exercises in the youtube video and it helps, but I not very much, that I can discern. I simply try not to play music too loud, but there are times when the music calls for us to raise the volume.

 

[drftr]

Define preferred listening level

When I listen for longer times (like in train rides) I hover between 10-30 of 120 at low gain of my M11 Plus LTD with the FiiO FA9

The loudest I ever used was 100 of 120 at low gain.

If you think "that is loud", it's loud. Don't listen longer than one album and take a break afterwards.

If it's painfully loud, turn the volume down instantly

So how to measure it? The purpose of this thread is to limit risk, so I want to measure how much risk I'm really taking when I think the level is adequate.

drftr

 

[Vamp898]

So how to measure it? The purpose of this thread is to limit risk, so I want to measure how much risk I'm really taking when I think the level is adequate.

drftr

What Earphone are you using and what DAP.

With that information I think I can give you an safe level

 

[buffer]

Sennheiser,
In the spirit of this topic, I would like to know how an average audiophile listening to over-the-ear headphones can accurately gauge the decibel level they are hearing?

I have a 'RadioShack' sound pressure level (spl) meter*. I take the headphone off of my head while its playing music and I place the microphone portion of the spl meter directly into the earcup so it rests on the portion of the driver that faces my ear. Hopefully, this is a conservative approach that will, if anything, yield a decibel level higher than what is actually hitting my ear? Of course, sound could amplify in the pads when the headphone is actually over the ear and I cannot say that the driver outputs the same level of sound consistently across all portions of the driver. And then there is the concept of ear gain (which i assume is irrelevant to this conversation)? and the driver vibration against the mic may add extraneous noise (so sometimes i hold the mic very slightly above the driver so it isn't actually touching) but i am not sure if that is significant ...so I don't really know that my approach of resting the meter on the driver is a reasonably accurate/acceptable way to measure?

When it is stated that 80db is safe for x hours of listening what techniques and technology is best to determine that decibel level?

1. is it adequate to do the procedure I described above?
2. is there a particular spl meter or style of meter that is more accurate?
3. is there anything similar to an iem that can be placed into the ear to measure spl in decibels and then send via bluetooth (in real-time) the measurement to a phone app all while listening to an over the ear headphone?
4, what are the appropriate (weighting and response) settings to use when measuring the spl to determine whether we are listening safely?

Obviously a measurement rig would probably be the most accurate way to measure, but they are expensive ...unless a cheap one exists for the simple purpose of measuring overall SPL with a lower degree of accuracy than is needed by a pro trying to map out frequency response?

These are questions that would be helpful to have answered.

*generic image of radio shack spl meter - this unit has the mic slightly inset from the outter edge of the casing so when i place the mic onto the driver the mic is technically not directly touching, but it is very close. i would think this works better than the spl meters that have a mic with a spherical foam wind guard as there would be less extraneous noise introduced and the meter can rest perfectly flat and still against the driver.

 

[Steven31]

It is indeed very important to protect our hearing, Head-Fiers should be aware and never underestimate the damage that prolonged listening sessions at loud volumes can do to our hearing. I started at the age of 18 in this hobby, buying and collecting headphones - and speakers too. I was young and naive and never even considered the damage I might do to my hearing, listening to music through speakers or headphones at a minimum of 75-80 DB for hours on end, it only took 8 years for damage to set in. At the age of 25 I developed tinnitus in my right ear, and it never went away. One day I just woke up with it, and it's here to stay! If i'd listened at an average of 15-20 decibels lower, and for shorter periods of time (maybe a couple of hours at the most) I would never have developed tinnitus in my right ear. So this happened in 2016 and it took 2 years to get used to..now I hardly even notice it. One thing I will say is that the human body has an amazing ability to kind of work around or shield certain malfunctions/deformities/abnormalities in it's functioning.

 

[Evshrug]

@buffer and others wondering how to gauge the decibel level of headphones:

A smartphone or smart watch app gives a general idea of ambient volume, and a dedicated SPL Meter will be more accurate, but these devices do not replicate the listening conditions of a headphone resting against/ around/ in your ear. If you don’t have access to a realistic ear-shaped microphone rig (like most of us), it is useful to compare the sense of pressure and energy against other common sources of noise.

Check out this chart from the CDC:

The SPL levels at theaters are trending up higher, but if you keep music to conversational talking levels (and quieter than a typical lawn mower), you should be good for a long time. Keep in mind that higher end headphones can produce very “loud” sounds with low distortion, so we could strain our ears long before we strain our headphones.

If you think about nature, we haven’t had many loud noises to contend with besides thunder, until the most recent fraction of a percent of human history where we have created some very loud man-made things!

 

[buffer]

while i appreciate the chart, i'm not sure how well the comparison works for me. i'll give an example why. I find if I play my Susvara's at a level that pleases me it tends to be in the 87 to 92 db range. If I match to another headphone by ear, let's say my Final Audio for example, it sounds similar in volume but the decibel level is 82 to 85 db. differences in frequency response make it difficult to compare 2 headphones, let alone to compare a headphone to a lawnmower.

I think if I am willing to spend a thousand on a headphone maybe I should invest in a rig or make my own to protect my hearing. It wouldn't be precise but maybe a mannequin head with a couple of holes approximately the diameter of an ear's opening with a couple of mics inside would suffice ...or maybe one of the cheaper measurement rigs, not sure what they cost, would suffice.

anyone have a recommendation for a headphone measurement rig for maybe $500?