R/E/P > Reason In Audio
WARNING! headphones will ruin your hearing
maxdimario:
First of all, an article with some statements by Pete townshend regarding using headphones in studios etc.
http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060104_earbuds.html
Today I went to another doctor, and did another hearing test, because a few months ago I had an outburst of loud tinnitus.
the tinnitus has subsided enough that it is now possible for me to enjoy music somewhat, although not as long, and only music which will not create too much stress on the ears.
Although I am still able to make fine judgements regarding sound and electronics at moderate listening levels, I have definetly lost the ability to enjoy the music as much as I used to, given the constant 11KHz, 4Khz and 2K ghost tones that are now my backround noise.
My hearing loss would be technically described as 'moderate' not severe.
I just wanted to underline that I now realize that most of my hearing loss was due to my constant demo-writing in headphones, over the years, which is why I posted the article above.
The final straw, as far as I can tell was playing over a live drum kit and monitoring in headphones, for a couple of weeks, a month BEFORE symptoms arrived.
At first I could not listen to anything without hyperacusis.
So the moral of the story is: it's better to have extra loud monitors than moderately loud headphones.
throw those headphones away, if you don't want to end up like myself.
We need to make people more aware of how dangerous headphones are to hearing, I feel.
Headphones haven't been around enough for people to know the real truth: you will become deaf prematurely.
I am currently looking for some way to make the damage less frustrating.
who'd have thought it would kick in at my age? (37)
rankus:
Sir George Martin also credits headphones as the main cause of his hearing loss. (Excessive volume levels in the cans)
I make a point of only wearing them for 20-30 seconds at a time for drilling down on parts of a mix (to confirm what I hear in the monitors) then get them off as quickly as possible... I try to keep the volume as low as possible in the cans as well... still hanging in there at 47 years old... (fingers crossed)
Greg Youngman:
And hearing aids are not a solution to hearing loss. They only do more damage.
Ronny:
Researchers have been successful lately in regenerating hair cells in birds with certain drugs. In the past, once a hair cell was gone and we have an average of only about 16,000 of them, it was gone. Hopefully as research develops and what they are learning and doing now with birds can be carried over to mammals and humans in particular, the days of hearing aids may be numbered and may be replaced with biological reconstructive hearing repair in the not too distant future.
tamasdragon:
I think the main point is not the equipment, but the usage. You can easily 'achieve' hearing loss, with constant very loud monitoring through speakers too.
Regards Tamas Dragon
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