Hearing loss/Ear sensation

[Trdat]

My place has solid sound system with a 15inch Mid Woofer and Compression driver horn 90 by 40 degrees, dual subs front right corners, tri amped with Audiolense DSP with a fully treated room in a Soviet built concrete apartment. I can crank the system for hours and I can easily reach 100db and have no pain, no headaches, mild ringing at night nothing too disturbing, can listen to normal levels the day after with 4 days recovery for exceedingly loud levels which I don't do much anyway. I traveled to my parents place in Australia which is a standard Australian style bricked house with plaster boards and a fully tilled room with a Bookshelf Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 and a Hypex 120watt NC122MP amp.

After cranking my sound system with the Wharfedales I got mild ear pain or a weird sensation that has developed in my right ear, with a sensitivity to loudness. It was obvious to me that my room acoustics with its decent reveberation times in the conrete block I could listen for long sessions while the tilled room in the house really ruined the experience and has given a touch of pain in one ear. Now that I am back to my Soviet apartment unfortunately the pain that I thought would have dissapeared hasn't. Furthermore the day after is definitely no listening all day, at all, at any level with much longer to recover for louder sessions. Does this mean I am loosing my hearing ?

Maybe its a part of aging? Its just the ears were superb up until listening to the inferior sound system and listening room, so can something like that have an impact on your ear health even though the volume levels were significantly less than my sound system in the Soviet apartment?

 

[AnalogSteph]

So you were on a plane for how long exactly? Armenia to Australia is a bit more than a short hop. Between ambient sound levels aboard, height changes and risk of thrombosis from sitting for long periods of time, flying isn't exactly pure canned health for your sense of hearing.

Aging doesn't make anything better once you hit your 40s, of course (ask me how I know), and most hearing damage tends to be not easily reversed if at all.

 

[Trdat]

So you were on a plane for how long exactly? Armenia to Australia is a bit more than a short hop. Between ambient sound levels aboard, height changes and risk of thrombosis from sitting for long periods of time, flying isn't exactly pure canned health for your sense of hearing.

Aging doesn't make anything better once you hit your 40s, of course (ask me how I know), and most hearing damage tends to be not easily reversed if at all.

All up 19 hours each way. I never considered that flying could be the icing on the cake for hearing when you already push the limits with powerful sound systems.

Yes, I'm in my 40's. And of course its not from the one thing it is a build up just funny how it happened after the flight there so it could possibly have something to do with the flying.

 

[MAB]

All up 19 hours each way. I never considered that flying could be the icing on the cake for hearing when you already push the limits with powerful sound systems.

Yes, I'm in my 40's. And of course it’s not from the one thing it is a build up just funny how it happened after the flight there so it could possibly have something to do with the flying.

My hearing is affected by air travel. Takes best part of a week to recover. Some antihistamines help, but not always. Planes are also very noisy, some well above my threshold of comfort. Even quiet planes are 85 dB of pink(ish) noise when cruising, much higher when not cruising or in turbulence.

 

[LGD_]

My hearing is affected by air travel. Takes best part of a week to recover. Some antihistamines help, but not always. Planes are also very noisy, some well above my threshold of comfort. Even quiet planes are 85 dB of pink(ish) noise when cruising, much higher when not cruising or in turbulence.

Wear earplugs...

 

[MAB]

Wear earplugs...

Yes

I actually use noise cancelling phones.

Straight up earplugs cause many people discomfort due to the pressure changes in the plane. The resulting congestion can take a long time to go away. I accidentally edited this out of my post.

But you are right, wear some form of hearing protection. Earplugs are great if you don’t suffer the pressure changes.

 

[Leon74]

My place has solid sound system with a 15inch Mid Woofer and Compression driver horn 90 by 40 degrees, dual subs front right corners, tri amped with Audiolense DSP with a fully treated room in a Soviet built concrete apartment. I can crank the system for hours and I can easily reach 100db and have no pain, no headaches, mild ringing at night nothing too disturbing, can listen to normal levels the day after with 4 days recovery for exceedingly loud levels which I don't do much anyway. I traveled to my parents place in Australia which is a standard Australian style bricked house with plaster boards and a fully tilled room with a Bookshelf Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 and a Hypex 120watt NC122MP amp.

After cranking my sound system with the Wharfedales I got mild ear pain or a weird sensation that has developed in my right ear, with a sensitivity to loudness. It was obvious to me that my room acoustics with its decent reveberation times in the conrete block I could listen for long sessions while the tilled room in the house really ruined the experience and has given a touch of pain in one ear. Now that I am back to my Soviet apartment unfortunately the pain that I thought would have dissapeared hasn't. Furthermore the day after is definitely no listening all day, at all, at any level with much longer to recover for louder sessions. Does this mean I am loosing my hearing ?

Maybe its a part of aging? Its just the ears were superb up until listening to the inferior sound system and listening room, so can something like that have an impact on your ear health even though the volume levels were significantly less than my sound system in the Soviet apartment?

You're definitely damaging your hearing. See it as a serious signal and lower the volume. Hearing damage is irreversible. You don't want that.
Hope you're doing better already.

 

[unpluggged]

Where these figures come from and what the AI-generated woman has to do with the topic?

 

[Leon74]

Where these figures come from and what the AI-generated woman has to do with the topic?

Those are from Yamaha, but I also looked at info from the WHO, they give similar figures.

 

[DWPress]

Late 50's here and hearing problems from turning it up too much too many times as well as a healthy dose of tinnitus from not wearing hearing protecting hunting, cutting firewood, concerts etc. Flights and the pressure changes involved totally wreck me for a couple days.

The above figures look like what I've seen before and wish I paid more attention to now. My system can cleanly play 104dB but I rarely do it anymore and when I do it's not for long. Beware for yourself going forward, hearing damage rarely improves.

 

[Leon74]

Late 50's here and hearing problems from turning it up too much too many times as well as a healthy dose of tinnitus from not wearing hearing protecting hunting, cutting firewood, concerts etc. Flights and the pressure changes involved totally wreck me for a couple days.

The above figures look like what I've seen before and wish I paid more attention to now. My system can cleanly play 104dB but I rarely do it anymore and when I do it's not for long. Beware for yourself going forward, hearing damage rarely improves.

Yes, the problem is that hearing loss can come about suddenly but also insidiously when it's too late when you notice it, unfortunately.

 

[Trdat]

Yes

I actually use noise cancelling phones.

Straight up earplugs cause many people discomfort due to the pressure changes in the plane. The resulting congestion can take a long time to go away. I accidentally edited this out of my post.

But you are right, wear some form of hearing protection. Earplugs are great if you don’t suffer the pressure changes.

I actually try and wear earmuffs for as long as possible and sometimes earplugs, but your correct about the earplugs I feel the tip touches a part of the ear and causes more pain.

How does noise cancelling phones help when the sound still travels to your ear, nothing is blocking it?

 

[Old_School_Brad]

My place has solid sound system with a 15inch Mid Woofer and Compression driver horn 90 by 40 degrees, dual subs front right corners, tri amped with Audiolense DSP with a fully treated room in a Soviet built concrete apartment. I can crank the system for hours and I can easily reach 100db and have no pain, no headaches, mild ringing at night nothing too disturbing, can listen to normal levels the day after with 4 days recovery for exceedingly loud levels which I don't do much anyway. I traveled to my parents place in Australia which is a standard Australian style bricked house with plaster boards and a fully tilled room with a Bookshelf Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 and a Hypex 120watt NC122MP amp.

After cranking my sound system with the Wharfedales I got mild ear pain or a weird sensation that has developed in my right ear, with a sensitivity to loudness. It was obvious to me that my room acoustics with its decent reveberation times in the conrete block I could listen for long sessions while the tilled room in the house really ruined the experience and has given a touch of pain in one ear. Now that I am back to my Soviet apartment unfortunately the pain that I thought would have dissapeared hasn't. Furthermore the day after is definitely no listening all day, at all, at any level with much longer to recover for louder sessions. Does this mean I am loosing my hearing ?

Maybe its a part of aging? Its just the ears were superb up until listening to the inferior sound system and listening room, so can something like that have an impact on your ear health even though the volume levels were significantly less than my sound system in the Soviet apartment?

100 dB? A, C, average, or peak?

Regardless, I notice a significant difference between listening to loud music on a high-quality, distortion-free system and one that compresses and distorts the sound. This is a risk with powerful systems; they can encourage listening at excessively loud volumes since they don't feel uncomfortable. I'm acutely aware of this issue, and I am aware of the sound pressure levels my system can reach at different settings on my amplifier’s attenuation knobs because I want to protect my hearing.

 

[Trdat]

100 dB? A, C, average, or peak?

Regardless, I notice a significant difference between listening to loud music on a high-quality, distortion-free system and one that compresses and distorts the sound. This is a risk with powerful systems; they can encourage listening at excessively loud volumes since they don't feel uncomfortable. I'm acutely aware of this issue, and I am aware of the sound pressure levels my system can reach at different settings on my amplifier’s attenuation knobs because I want to protect my hearing.

Its C weighted and peak it can reach around 110db but I don't listen to those levels for long at all a few seconds at most. Maybe the longest ill listen is 10 min on 85-90 db but then 75-80 for an hour and then drop down to 65-75 for another hour but this is worst case scenario.

Yes, my sound system is very clean, little distortion and an average RT60 .2 to .3 down to 70hz but RT60(I know its not for small rooms but gives us an idea) not RT60 Decay so I can play extremely loud levels which are extremely enjoyable which like you said is very encouraging.

 

[copperblue]

100 dB? A, C, average, or peak?

Regardless, I notice a significant difference between listening to loud music on a high-quality, distortion-free system and one that compresses and distorts the sound. This is a risk with powerful systems; they can encourage listening at excessively loud volumes since they don't feel uncomfortable. I'm acutely aware of this issue, and I am aware of the sound pressure levels my system can reach at different settings on my amplifier’s attenuation knobs because I want to protect my hearing.

Compressed and distorted sound is frequently a feature of the source material - brick-walled masters featuring audible digital clipping baked in.
Turning up the volume a bit on these specimens REALLY sets my Tinnitus off.
If I'm hunting for a legacy CD I spend some time selecting which second hand version to buy...avoiding remasters if possible.

 

[Old_School_Brad]

Its C weighted and peak it can reach around 110db but I don't listen to those levels for long at all a few seconds at most. Maybe the longest ill listen is 10 min on 85-90 db but then 75-80 for an hour and then drop down to 65-75 for another hour but this is worst case scenario.

Yes, my sound system is very clean, little distortion and an average RT60 .2 to .3 down to 70hz but RT60(I know its not for small rooms but gives us an idea) not RT60 Decay so I can play extremely loud levels which are extremely enjoyable which like you said is very encouraging.

It's great that you've measured it and can distinguish the differences.

Your listening habits are quite similar to mine. You should be fine with short sessions at high volumes. For my system, 110 C-weighted peaks correspond to an average of about 80-85 dBA with bass-heavy music. -In other words you should be fine.

Considering your low-risk listening habits, I would suggest that you might be experiencing some temporary or semi-permanent hearing loss from the high volume with distortion (?) on the other system, or you could have unequal pressure in your ears from your air travel.

 

[Trdat]

It's great that you've measured it and can distinguish the differences.

I have a D C weighted sound level meter around to make sure what sound levels I'm listening to.

Your listening habits are quite similar to mine. You should be fine with short sessions at high volumes. For my system, 110 C-weighted peaks correspond to an average of about 80-85 dBA with bass-heavy music. -In other words you should be fine.

Like I said, I don't doubt there is some damage from my clubbing days and my listening sessions however it was all of a sudden.

Considering your low-risk listening habits, I would suggest that you might be experiencing some temporary or semi-permanent hearing loss from the high volume with distortion (?) on the other system, or you could have unequal pressure in your ears from your air travel.

You should also take in consideration I had sinus hematoma just before my travel to Australia, not sure if that can damage the ear or worsen the damage the air travel can do?

My last question is, an can ear and throat specialist take a look inside and confirm it is something from the air travel or are we taking an educated guess because of our strong experience with these issue? I ask because in Australia my ear was hurting which of course was after my air travel and I had to go to hospital and when they looked they said very slight touch of inflammation on the tip or something and although it has improved a little from that day I can't say it has totally got better.

 

[Randyman...]

Any tooth pain or sensitivity lately? Not totally off topic - but I've read gum care and general dental health can directly impact sinuses that are situated millimeters away from the upper roots (and then sinuses impact hearing). Seems that a good dentist can look at your dental X-Rays and see this kind of thing - "low level infection" or something like that.

My hearing loss is all self inflicted via SPL. I wish I could blame sinuses or dental hygiene

 

[Old_School_Brad]

I have a D C weighted sound level meter around to make sure what sound levels I'm listening to.

Like I said, I don't doubt there is some damage from my clubbing days and my listening sessions however it was all of a sudden.

You should also take in consideration I had sinus hematoma just before my travel to Australia, not sure if that can damage the ear or worsen the damage the air travel can do?

My last question is, an can ear and throat specialist take a look inside and confirm it is something from the air travel or are we taking an educated guess because of our strong experience with these issue? I ask because in Australia my ear was hurting which of course was after my air travel and I had to go to hospital and when they looked they said very slight touch of inflammation on the tip or something and although it has improved a little from that day I can't say it has totally got better.

It sounds like your condition may have a physical cause, and I strongly recommend consulting a specialist rather than relying on advice from strangers online. Don’t ignore it or simply "wait and see."

 

[MAB]

I actually try and wear earmuffs for as long as possible and sometimes earplugs, but your correct about the earplugs I feel the tip touches a part of the ear and causes more pain.

How does noise cancelling phones help when the sound still travels to your ear, nothing is blocking it?

Active noise cancellation actually cancels noise.
Simplified: noise is measured by a microphone, a signal equal and opposite to the noise is sent to the speaker to cancel.
It doesn't require music to be played over the speaker. There are active industrial noise cancelation schemes too, both over-ear, in-ear, and using speakers to quiet an area around a source of noise. One place I worked had active noise cancellation using speakers installed on a semiconductor test floor to deal with the high SPL from the testers and cooling.
A pair of Apple AirPods work great with over 20dB of noise reduction, a few consumer products even more:

AirPods Noise Canceling: All Your Questions Answered

AirPods Noise Canceling: All Questions Answered! How to switch noise canceling on, how it works, which AirPods have ANC and more.

thegreatestsong.com

Many people could benefit, many occupations are hard on our hearing. Musicians often have dramatic hearing loss, band teachers being particularly at risk. Airplane pilots too. Many trade workers as well.