[armyowalgreens]

I own a pair of AKG 271MKII's and use them for extended periods of time (sometimes up to 10 hours at a time). Most of that time is spent listening to music at moderate volume. But I will sometimes break out electronica or hip-hop and crank up the volume. 
 
The issue is that my AKGs never distort. Not even at maximum volume while playing some incredibly dynamic tracks. So there is no real "warning" for my brain that I may be playing music too loudly. 
 
Occasionally, the low frequency response will actually cause air pressure to build up inside the cans. I only notice when I lift them up and I can feel the pressure drop. 
 
I worry about hearing damage for a number of reasons. The first one is, of course, I listen to a lot of music with closed-back headphones. The second is that I ride a motorcycle every day and do a lot of highway commuting. Which exposes me to both low and high frequency wind buffeting from the airflow around my helmet. I try to minimize the damage from wind buffeting by wearing ear plugs on long commutes. 
 
But I really don't have a clue if I'm causing hearing damage with my headphones. 
 
What do you guys think?

 

[ChipnDalebowl]

Unless you start hearing some ringing in the ears after listening to music, its hard to judge if any real damage is being done.  If in doubt, drop the volume a notch or two.

 

[kboe]

 
 
One thing I have noticed since coming to headfi is that I listen to music at really low volumes, at least when compared to the other people I've met in this community.  I always start by turning the volume down to where I think I'm beginning to lose information, then turn the dial back up only a little bit to recover that last bit of data.  

 

[infinitesymphony]

Decibels are decibels, doesn't matter what type of headphone you're using. What you're saying is, "My headphones make low bass sound good and I like it." No problems there. The real problem is with the volume.

 

[binson]

One easy way to monitor your hearing is to keep track on the volume levels on your amp (or whatever is your listening setup). If you see a trend that you need (constantly) more volume compared to past, then that could be one sign or a warning of a hearing loss. But if you stay happy with your current levels, then your levels should be ok. 
 
Actually, I got the idea when I read somewhere, that a guy going to music concerts always listened to radio in his car while driving to the concert. Then after the concert, while driving back, he listened to the radio with the same level as coming to the concert. If he didn't have a need to increase the radio volume, then he was sure he had enough hearing protection during the concert.. I think it was quite clever.

 

[khaos974]

Buy a SPL meter and measure how low you listen to music, the average shouldn't be above 85 dB, and even this is considered as quite loud (not damaging level though).