[Phalangees]

I think I can safely say we all enjoy music and would like to continue enjoying music for as long as we possibly can. This thread is here to discuss what your ear care procedures are.
 
I used to use q-tips to clean wax out my ears. I've since read that it's apparently a bad practice and washing ears out with something like hydrogen peroxide is a better idea, so I try to do that once a week. I'll also let warm/hot water in the shower into my ear to try and rinse out any dislodged wax.
 
I also listen to music at low volumes. Within 5 minutes of listening at a volume lower than the rest of the outside world, my ears adjust to the point that I don't realize it's low anymore. I hope that will help prolong my hearing. I also try to avoid loud noised outside, and if I'm going to be exposed to loud noises I try to take all precautions I can, like bringing along IEMs for isolation during mowing the lawn, etc.
 
In the last few years I seem to have lost the top 5khz from my hearing. I used to be able to hear 22khz, and now I can barely hear 17khz. I can still hear down to 10hz on the low end, but it's a little disconcerting to see my hearing degrade. I realize it happens to all of us as we age but I'm only 22 now and wasn't expecting to lose it so quickly.
 
Enough about me, what do you do to take care of your ears?

 

[misterblack]

I dated a audiologist and she was always on my ass about protecting my hearing. The main thing she always stressed (besides not blasting your ears of course) is to take breaks. Prolonged exposure, for example concerts with no hearing protection, is the biggest no-no. I have IEM's and I'll listen for a while and then take them out, then listen again, and so on.

 

[adamlr]

well im 23 and my hearing range, which i tested with a sine wave generator is 50hz - just under 17 khz... it may be all those years of blasting metal when i was a teenager...
my doctor told me not to bother with ear cleaning, she said i can clean them out with a q-tip here and there and that should be fine.
as far as volume goes, i just put it up where id like it to be, and then slowly decrease it every couple of minuets. when i feel im loosing detail, i turn it slightly back up, and keep it there.
i also eq my headphones. iv found a very large peak in the frequency response at ~7khz, which is hardly audible, yet rather detrimental, and very fatiguing.