Chris Robinson Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 One of our dear friends on this board has tinnitus, a condition with which I was not familiar until this afternoon. I went to the internet and found the following which I wanted to share with you. I think there are a few of us who might push the envelope, and I wanted to tell you guys to TURN IT DOWN!! There ... I said it ... I feel better now. I need a hug. ------------------------------------------------------ The American Tinnitus Association is committed to funding research for tinnitus treatments and relief. ATA also believes in preventing and reducing the debilitating effects of tinnitus through education and awareness. One way to accomplish this is by encouraging healthy hearing habits Hearing conservation means protecting your ears from excessively loud sounds. Examples of everyday sounds and their decibel levels are below. Earplugs are recommended when you are exposed to sounds of 85 dB and above. As a general rule, if noise is too loud for you to speak at a normal conversation level and be heard, you should wear earplugs, move away from the noise source, or better yet, turn it down. More examples of hearing conservation tips are below. Remember that even if you experience tinnitus now, it is never too late to protect your hearing from further damage Sounds You Live By Decibel levels of common sounds: 20 - Ticking watch 30 - Quiet whisper 40 - Refrigerator hum 50 - Rainfall 60 - Sewing Machine 70 - Washing Machine 80 - Alarm Clock at two feet 85 - Average traffic 95 - MRI 100 - Blow dryer, subway train 105 - Power mower, chainsaw 110 - Screaming Child 130 - Jackhammer, Jet engine plane (100 ft. away) 140 - Shotgun blast, airbag deployment, firecracker 160 - NOS440 and JCTurboT playing Godsmack and Megadeath Earplugs are recommended for sounds of 85 dB and above. ------------------------------------------------------ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 Screaming Child -- 110db Notice that "Screaming Wife" wasn't on the list. Easily 115db. This necessitates 120db listening levels from a music reproduction system. Any system not employing Klipsch speakers will subject the audiophile to much more dangerous potential health risks: Brain damage, blindness, and possibly...death. Seriously though, 95db is tops for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted December 17, 2002 Author Share Posted December 17, 2002 I don't know what 95 db sounds like ... I've never had an MRI. A few of us do suffer from drain bamage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 Classic post with beautiful Dean response. Ironically enough, I spent the ENTIRE day in the mid 90s db ...from about 10:30 till NOW. FUnny how you can block it out when needed. I got in a vinyl rotation high with 45rpm 7" coming out as well as NOISE that would frighten an Elk. kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 As PWK would say BULLSH!T !!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 "Hell, I'm 95 years old. I can't hear anything over 2Khz!" -- PWK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale W Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 When i went to college for my power engineering certificates we had a occupational health and safty spokes person come and give us a talk at great lengths on this topic. To start with no two people hear the same as well as being subject to the same noises through out the day. your bodys natural defense against noise is to produce ear wax.That being said , if john doe works in a office all day long and mr smith is operating heavy equipment. When they go home to listen to there klipsch gear (of cource) then one is going to have more protection then the other when it comes to harmfull db levels. One summer while working on the farm , i had a chunk dislodge in one ear and had to go to the clinic for the shot of warm water in the ear.When i got back to the tractor the noise gave me a headache. your body has a way of adjusting to long term exposure to db levels. not to say thats a good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryanJ Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 Tinnitus is very common among earphone/headset wearing or repetitive high volume "tube" stereo listeners. I have it due to my occupation. My wife many times has tried to get me to wear ear protection but then I could not hear the timbre differences between solid tooth matter and decay. The wife is an "industrial hygienist". She deals with decibels, picograms, and rocket fuel vapors and oodles of paper work for Honeywell/NASA. I've got my La Scala's at about 40 watts to permeate the lower level. It is a real affliction so people beware. It will drive some crazy hearing the buzz that tinnitus gives when all is quiet and that is all you can hear. I'm fortunate that it just kind is normal to me. If you have any detailed questions I could ask the MRS for you. Bryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnalOg Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 Man I think I have it. Is it when your ears are constantly ringing 24/7. I had this since childhood. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovedrummin Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 HUH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Invidiosulus Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 I took my spl meter and was supprised to realize that when I have my heresies cranked loud blasting the stones or AC/DCand I am shaking the floor(which is the concrete slab my apartment complex sits on) I am only hitting about 90dB. It's nice to know that even when it seems loud it's not that bad. Peace, Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnalOg Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 hell, 90db,it's normal listening level for me, love the dynamics & SNAP OF IT LOUD!! Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Disc Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 Thanks for the support Chris. I don't know that my tinnitus developed from music listening or not. It started at the very end of the week long vacation I took to get acquainted with my new turntable and vinyl. I read up on Tinnitus, or "T" as the long time afflicted refer to it. It's a big mystery with no known cure. Sometimes it just goes away just like it started. I read many people have it and have just learned to live with it. It hasn't gone away yet for me. It seems to be mostly in the right ear and varies in intensity. I did manage to take my own self administered hearing test. Using headphones and a program I found to generate the various test frequencies, I was able to determine that I did have a slight loss at about 1500 - 3000 Hz in the right ear and also about 12000 Hz the right ear dropped off. Could not hear past 14000 Hz in either ear. I tested my wife for reference and I could hear higher frequencies then her. She could not hear past 12000 Hz in either ear. I visited my doctor, but he didn't find anything wrong. Basically said come back in a month if it's still there and he'll check for nerve damage. It's basically a pain in the a s s and because it's always there can drive someone nuts. Mine is not loud enough to do that, but it is very annoying to say the least. Here are some links for reference. http://www.tinnitus.org/ http://www.tinn.com http://www.bixby.org/faq/tinnitus.html http://www.ata.org/ http://www.hearusa.com/tinnitus/tinnitus_home.html http://www.tinnitus.org.uk/ http://www.tinnitus-pjj.com/ - tb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soundthought Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 Hello Chris. Nice thread. I posted a similar thread a month or so ago. Good job. IMO. This topic should be regularly discussed. It is extremely important that we all try to maintain what health our ears have left. So keep it cool, and no tinnitus for you. BTW. You forgot the top and bottom of the scale. 0db -absolute silence. Threshold of hearing 10db - soundproof room Whisper, Rustle of leaves. 194db - Saturn Rocket 50# of TNT at 10ft. 225db - Deafening 12" cannon at 12ft, in front and below. Silence is golden. John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 TB Thats terrible. My mom suffers from this. She says hers is a loud whomp, whomp sound. Describes it like a Helicopter hovering over the house all the time. It started out of the blue. I do not think hers was from loud music or loud sounds. She was a stay at home housewife. The loudest environment for her was the weekly vacume. The sound in her head almost drove her insane, having to live with it day and night. It took some time, and medication but she has learned to live with it. JM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted December 18, 2002 Author Share Posted December 18, 2002 JM, really sorry to hear that ... I can't imagine what it's like to live with something like that. No peace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Disc Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 JM - That sounds pretty bad. It's great that she has been able to cope with it. As I understand it, the sounds and intensity vary wildly between people. Many people have resorted to anti-depressants and such. Luckly for me, mine is subtle enough to allow me to sleep at night. A running HEPA air cleaner helps to drown out the sound. If it were any louder things could be much worse for me. - Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted December 18, 2002 Author Share Posted December 18, 2002 Tim, never asked but how do you find your Cornwalls? I know Kelly swears by his but I thought I'd ask the question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 I think the importance of the subject can not be overstated. Humor just distracts from the importance. Maybe young ears can tolerate higher dB, and perhaps aging is evidence of "If it's too loud, you're too old." Nonetheless. Most rock concerts I go to sound too loud and I stuff spitballs in my ears. It sound better that way. Some movie theaters and bars have the same problem. And I do put fingers in my ears for passing El trains and fire trucks. I've never found any high dB to be worth listening to for the esthetics. There is a cumulative damage to hearing sort term, and I wonder about it long term. So it is wise to not overdose and keep our ears in tip top shape, just in case there is something coming up soon worth hearing with acuity. Gil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted December 18, 2002 Author Share Posted December 18, 2002 I didn't think of this when starting this post, but my dear father-in-law, a retired AF Colonel, is basically deaf ... from sitting on runways in EB-66 and B-47s, loaded up with nukes during the Cold War. He did nothing wrong but lived with chronicly high db levels ... and we stand 3' apart and he can't hear me. It's true ... be careful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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