[iluvcans]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tkam Not to go off-topic, but technically speaking this isn't accurate. It takes much higher dB levels of low frequency sound to damage your ears compared to the dB levels in which high frequency sound can cause damage.

this is not true,

any sound level produced over 80-85db for an extended amount of time-- will cause damage. one such www (of many) that will illustrate this for you:

http://www.webmd.com/hw/health_guide_atoz/tf4173.asp

your "perception" of your hearing loss might not be there-- or in other words-- you might not know that you're losing it-- but sure enough, in long enough time at this exposure, you're in big trouble.

 

[Zenja]

I don't know if I'd be blaming it on the subwoofer for sure. How loud could you have possibly listened to that sub? Also it's not like there's way more volume in your right ear than your left ear when it comes to subs. And the biggest question I have is how could the sub make your ear canal thicker in your right ear compared to your left ear? I've never heard of something like this happening before.

 

[Carl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zenja I don't know if I'd be blaming it on the subwoofer for sure. How loud could you have possibly listened to that sub?

A lot of people have more difficulty gauging volume levels of bass than they do with mids and treble.

 

[cosmopragma]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squeek But bass is omnidirectional

Deep bass is omnidirectional, but we are talking here about a crappy PC sound system consisting of four tiny satellites and a sub.The crossover frequency is surely quite high.

 

[Beach123456]

Thats some messed up stuff. I would much rather lose my hearing equally than in one ear, hearing things lopsided like that would drive me crazy to the point of wrecking my left ear just to even it out. Good luck with the hearing tests, though, maybe its not as bad as it seems.

 

[alex_cs]

very odd. never ever heard of someone going deaf in only ONE ear from a subwoofer. it just doesnt happen. there are a myriad of reasons for one of your ears losing hearing, the reason you and your doctor have given is right down the list compared to some others.

high frequency sound is a lot more detrimental to hearing than low assuming same volumes, and as many have pointed out, unless the sub was aimed at your ear less than a foot away, and it was loud to the point of vibrating your head, the chances of a single ear being damaged is slim to none. i would suggest you get a second opinion from another unrelated doctor, there may be something else at play.

 

[Illah]

Bass is *NOT* omnidirectional, we just can't localize really low frequency sounds. We perceive it as coming from 'everywhere' but it's still eminating from the sub.

I also worry about the blaming the sub. If it was loud enough to reduce hearing in one ear to 65%, it surely would have damaged the other ear as well. There's only what, 6" of space between the ears? Even if you factor for the sound bouning off an opposite wall and coming back to the other ear it wouldn't lose so much energy that it would do little or no damage at all.

Could it possibly be a medical condition of some sort? I have tinnitus in my left ear from TMJ (jaw condition), and if I open my mouth really wide it starts ringing loudly. Has nothing to do with sound damage at all.

--Illah

 

[nick danger]

I have uneven frequency hearing and I try to adjust the bass and treble for the most even respsonse to both ears. Then let each ear adjust a little and fill in the frequency voids, it is a compromise.

I've often thought of listening in mono to minimize the effect but haven't gone overboard yet in that direction.

 

[gdg]

It may just be a coincidence that the right eardrum is thicker (or a result of something else). I believe that it's fairly well known that it is generally "high" frequencies that are most damaging.

 

[luc0]

Sitting facing the computer, the sub used to be on the floor directly adjacent to my right ear. The speaker on the front of the sub was only about 2 and a half feet away from my right ear canal. So the sound waves flooded my right ear, but my left ear was protected by my skull. Not only that but sometimes I would sideways at my desk with my right ear facing the sattelites more then the left. This could have caused damage as well.

One thing that makes me think it was the subwoofer is the lack of low frequency in my right ear. The thumping bass of my Super.Fi's is almost gone in my right ear.

Sucks to hear people confirm that it will likely never come back. Now I will have to learn to get used to it now that I'm aware of the difference. One thing thats especially annoying is bands or artists that use fading and seperate channels for instruments and different vocals. I'm a Frank Zappa nut and he did a lot of complicated mixing which can be very distracting with the imbalance I have.

Oh well. Live and learn I guess.

 

[newbalance]

Yea, um actually after years of my roomates farts I can barley hear a drum that isn't pounded right on my chest!
Ohhhhh horrible flatulance, this is a problem which must be discussed more on this site...its a problem!!

peace

 

[iGig]

oh luc0, how horrible!

Maybe because you're so young your hearing recovers if you take care of it. The human body is an amazing machine and sometimes it heals itself under the right conditions. Give your ears a rest and keep your whole body healthy. Good luck!

 

[Patu]

Sad to hear about this luc0.

How loud did you listen then? I'm interested because I just got me active monitors + subwoofer to use on my computer and they're positioned almost like yours.

You can see the picture here.

It's funny to think that subwoofer could damage my hearing with normal sound levels. I really think that I don't listen with very loud volume. By listening there's no way for me to tell where's my subwoofer sitting in my room. It always sounds like even the deepest basses would come from my monitors (just like it should sound).

 

[hembergler]

Put the sub on the left side for 4 years

Seriously though, that's really too bad. I hope you can recover at least some of your hearing.

Good luck with it

 

[Electro Point]

Thats harsh to hear, Hope you could gain back some of your hearing.