Listening Fatigue?

[-DLS-]

causes of listening fatigue?

[Big Daddy]

If you care about your hearing, turn the volume down. The following table from the U.S. Department of Labor gives data regarding safe sound level exposure.

Hours per day, Sound Level (dB)
8hrs, 90db
6hrs, 92db
4hrs, 95db
3hrs, 97db
2hrs, 100db
1.5hrs, 102db
1hr, 105db
0.5hrs, 110db
0.25hrs or less, 115db

[-DLS-]

Thanks for lookin out Big_Daddy. Yeah I knew it was kinda bad so is that even what you would call "listening fatigue" or was that just too loud?

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by DLS_222

Thanks for lookin out Big_Daddy. Yeah I knew it was kinda bad so is that even what you would call "listening fatigue" or was that just too loud?

It really doesn't matter what you call it. It is bad for your hearing and you may also get a headache.

[acritzer]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

If you care about your hearing, turn the volume down. The following table from the U.S. Department of Labor gives data regarding safe sound level exposure.

Hours per day, Sound Level (dB)
8hrs, 90db
6hrs, 92db
4hrs, 95db
3hrs, 97db
2hrs, 100db
1.5hrs, 102db
1hr, 105db
0.5hrs, 110db
0.25hrs or less, 115db

This is why I bought musician ear plugs to use while I teach. I have two HS Steel Drum Band classes, and when they're all playing, man it gets loud. The ear plugs are great, they are custom fit and filter out the harmful sound, but still allow an accurate hearing of the various tones. You can even get different filters for different applications.
Only problem is, I should be more habitual about using them.

[Icedburden]

After years of listening to music in my various headphones at about 90% volume I have noticed a small dip in my hearing. After I read this article: Cautionary Story, I have started to wear earplugs to concerts and turned down my headphones much lower.

[BergerForLife]

It really sucks for me as an Audio Engineer, because it's necessary to mix at around 85dB (see Fletcher-Munson curves if you'd like to know why) . These mixes can last anywhere from 6 to 12 hours a day, and there is a lot of ear fatigue sometimes after only a couple hours depending on the speakers. Basically, keep your speakers turned down unless you only plan on listening for a very short amount of time.

[FreddieFerric]

I agree with the prior posts and can add this caveat: Once damaged, you NEVER get it back! I write from personal experience in that regard.

[Fors*]

No offense, but I thought this thread might be about our wives and what we have to listen to.....

[acritzer]

Originally Posted by forsberg21

No offense, but I thought this thread might be about our wives and what we have to listen to.....

I've evolved to filtering out that type of sound all on my own. Sometimes it happens automatically. The other night she said "If I knew you were going to obsess over the placement and settings for the new speakers I would have discouraged you from getting them." Silly, silly comment.

[Crimson King]

Makes me wonder how good musicians hearing is?, especially rock artists from the early years, the ones that are still living that is! For example, groups like Queen,The Rolling Stones,Led Zeppelin,The Who and Deep Purple played damn loud concerts!

[Johnny Vinyl]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I always thought that Listener Fatigue was a by-product of the type of speaker one listens to, and not the volume level.

For instance, I cannot and never have been able to listen to speakers with a very high slant towards the upper frequancy range. I find the current crop of Klipsch speakers falling into that category for me, as an example. As a result I have a tendency to avoid speakers with very high sensitivity ratings. My ears do not like this sound and I can't handle more than a few hours at a time.

Regarding the volume level issue, I would think that any speaker driven at very high volumes for an extended period will result in getting that ringing sound in your ears.

John

PS~ The reference to Klipsch wasn't meant to bash the company. I only wanted to give an example of my personal opinion with them.

[-DLS-]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

If you care about your hearing, turn the volume down. The following table from the U.S. Department of Labor gives data regarding safe sound level exposure.

Hours per day, Sound Level (dB)
8hrs, 90db
6hrs, 92db
4hrs, 95db
3hrs, 97db
2hrs, 100db
1.5hrs, 102db
1hr, 105db
0.5hrs, 110db
0.25hrs or less, 115db

To add to that here is a comparison chart

Environmental Noise
Weakest sound heard 0dB
Whisper Quiet Library 30dB
Normal conversation (3-5') 60-70dB
Telephone dial tone 80dB
City Traffic (inside car) 85dB
Train whistle at 500', Truck Traffic 90dB
Subway train at 200' 95d - Level at which sustained exposure may result in hearing loss 90 - 95dB
Power mower at 3' 107dB
Snowmobile, Motorcycle 100dB
Power saw at 3' 110dB
Sandblasting, Loud Rock Concert 115dB
Pain begins 125dB
Pneumatic riveter at 4' 125dB - Even short term exposure can cause permanent damage - Loudest recommended exposure WITH hearing protection 140dB
Jet engine at 100', Gun Blast 140dB
Death of hearing tissue 180dB
Loudest sound possible 194dB

I was right at the first danger zone!


As I mentioned but I don't usually sit there and listen when I am playing it that loud but now I know and won't ever do that again. Also like I said earlier my normal levels are usually 10dbs lower but that's still pretty loud. My ears are comfortable at that level and could listen for hours straight.

I Googled to see if others have had a similar experience and some people actually claim they listen to music at over 100dbs!? Now that's loud if it's true.

Anyway this is from Wikipedia.. to answer my original post

"Listener fatigue occurs when the ear tunes out unwanted noises and focuses on the wanted ones. When listening to music for example, the speakers may give off an unwanted hissing noise that the person has to focus out, causing "Listener Fatigue".

This is an extension of the quantifiable psychological perception of sound, adding time-variance effects.

If listeners get fatigued when listening to a radio station they may tune out, and either consciously or unconsciously they may come to avoid listening to that station. Digital audio may cause greater fatigue for the listener than analog audio because hidden and unexpected distortion is sometimes created, particularly in sample rate converters and D/A converters.

Data-reduction systems are another possible reason why listeners fatigue can creep in. The constant quest for greater loudness, an obsession with pushing levels to the maximum, and a lack of understanding of the ways in which digital equipment can generate distortion all seem to lead to an increase in listener fatigue.However, the understanding of what causes fatigue is still relatively limited."

[risingstar]

Originally Posted by Icedburden

After years of listening to music in my various headphones at about 90% volume I have noticed a small dip in my hearing. After I read this article: Cautionary Story, I have started to wear earplugs to concerts and turned down my headphones much lower.

I am convinced that listening to music on my headphones (while jogging, especially) has effected my hearing.

[BluLobsta]

Originally Posted by BillyJack

Makes me wonder how good musicians hearing is?, especially rock artists from the early years, the ones that are still living that is! For example, groups like Queen,The Rolling Stones,Led Zeppelin,The Who and Deep Purple played damn loud concerts!

http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/...king_fans_deaf

Makes me wonder how good my hearing is after all of these Ted Nugent, Police, Fleetwood Mac, etc. concerts when I was a teenager...

[richteer]

Originally Posted by John72953

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I always thought that Listener Fatigue was a by-product of the type of speaker one listens to, and not the volume level.

For instance, I cannot and never have been able to listen to speakers with a very high slant towards the upper frequancy range. I find the current crop of Klipsch speakers falling into that category for me, as an example. As a result I have a tendency to avoid speakers with very high sensitivity ratings. My ears do not like this sound and I can't handle more than a few hours at a time.

John, you're absolutely correct in observing that listener fatigue has nothing to do with volume per se. As you indicate, listener fatigue stems more from the quality (or lack thereof) of music playback--especially when it's overly bright--rather than its loudness. (As an aside, a speaker with a high sensitivity doesn't necessarily suffer from the Klipsch's brightness you complain of. I find it very hard to listen to at least some of their current speakers too...)

But the OP would do well to heed Big Daddy's advice about turning it down a bit too. Ringing ears are a symptom of temporary hearing damage.

[progers13]

Originally Posted by forsberg21

No offense, but I thought this thread might be about our wives and what we have to listen to.....

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by richteer

John, you're absolutely correct in observing that listener fatigue has nothing to do with volume per se. As you indicate, listener fatigue stems more from the quality (or lack thereof) of music playback--especially when it's overly bright--rather than its loudness. (As an aside, a speaker with a high sensitivity doesn't necessarily suffer from the Klipsch's brightness you complain of. I find it very hard to listen to at least some of their current speakers too...)

But the OP would do well to heed Big Daddy's advice about turning it down a bit too. Ringing ears are a symptom of temporary hearing damage.

Rich, thank you for your comment. I thought I was losing it since no one brought up this fact. And yes, I stand somewhat corrected in grouping high sensitivity rated speakers in to one category.

A point of interest. I never suffered from listener fatigue when I had my Klipsch Heresy speakers several decades ago.

John

[Icecoldblue]

Originally Posted by John72953

A point of interest. I never suffered from listener fatigue when I had my Klipsch Heresy speakers several decades ago.

John

John, you might have had some ear fatigue when you first bought those Heresy's, but your ears adjusted to the sound. And decades later when you try out Klipsch (or another bright speaker) again, it makes your ears fatigue, as they aren't used to that anymore. If you spent a few days with a bright speaker nowadays you most likely would get rid of ear fatigue for that type of sound. But, then you wouldn't be able to play those Sttaffs as much now would you.

Sorry for the poor use of words, I just woke up.

[DonRSD]

Originally Posted by acritzer

I've evolved to filtering out that type of sound all on my own. Sometimes it happens automatically. The other night she said "If I knew you were going to obsess over the placement and settings for the new speakers I would have discouraged you from getting them." Silly, silly comment.

leave her a 'present' in the toilet bowl