Ringing in the ears after hearing loud music....

[maxg]

Just a simple question / observation I have made that has me wondering:

When I listen to music loud, outside of the house either at a live event or at someone else's house my ears will "ring" afterwards for a period of time. I usually notice this once I have got to bed.

The situation at home is somewhat different however. It seems that however loud I listen, and for however long - my ears are never left ringing.

Recently I have had 2 experiences that really brought this home:

The first was when the audiophiles decended en-mass on my house to hear my system. We had about 20 of them in total and as the evening progressed the music got higher and higher to the point that someone with a meter measured the volume at the entrance to the kitchen at 103 dB continuous (C weighting). I would guess that to mean more than 110 dB at a meter from the speakers.

Despite this volume (and it was held like this for at least an hour solid) no-one that I have spoken to recalls their ears ringing afterwards.

The second was last week with the Yamaha 500 wpc amp. We got to the point that even Tony (who has taken his B&W 802's to 116 dB) said - "Have you any idea how loud we are playing? If you move that volume control another touch we will melt your coils!"

It was certainly the loudest I ever heard my speakers play and the sub was going balistic but, yet again - no ringing.

Compare this to the time we went to hear the Giant Ushers playing, however, and the story is very different - my ears rang like a bell for a good hour afterwards.

Anty thoughts as to why? It seems there is more than volume that makes your ears ring - but what?

[Mark Hardy]

Didja ever see a micrograph of what them little tiny hairs (cilia) in a fellah's inner ear look like after exposure to loud sounds? Not a pretty sight. I think you're experiencing the result of age- or SPL-related hearing loss/damage.

I really cannot hear much above about 13 kHz anymore.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15007514&dopt=Abstract

Looky hear (oops, I mean here):

http://www.shurenotes.com/issue8/images/article_30.jpg

[DrWho]

I think if you sat down and actually measured the SPL at the listening

position you would have your answers. Due to the reverbant nature of

rooms the SPL is pretty much the same everywhere and 103dB really isn't

that loud.

Also, what was the weighting and impulse response of the meter you were

using? 103dB A-weighted slow is a crap load louder than 103dB

C-weighted fast...probably on the order of 10-20dB.

The reason more SPL is bad for our ears is because they have to deal

with more power...and a direct radiating system is going to have more

power compression then a horn loaded system - meaning that for the same

measured peak SPL there will be more power present - sort of "filling

in the gaps" (the quieter parts end up being louder than they should

be, which means the average power over time increases).

Or to put it another way - if your ears aren't ringing, then in some

way there was less power going to your ears than the other system.

One other possibility is the wonderful world of earwax. You will notice

that as a security defense your body generates earwax so as to dampen

loud sounds. I really feel this is the reason for what you are

experiencing. If you bring up the volume slow enough your body has

enough time to adapt and you'll walk away with no problems (except for

the whole cleaning your ears out part...)

[ZAKO]

Ringing in the ears is a sign that your stressing the chochlia and will soon damage them permenently. Turn the volume down. If your guests object. dont back down. your the host. Explain the dangers of permanent hearing loss. Half of the baby boomers now have a serious hearing problem.

[oldbuckster]

Ringing in the ears is a sign that your stressing the chochlia and will soon damage them permenently. Turn the volume down. If your guests object. dont back down. your the host. Explain the dangers of permanent hearing loss. Half of the baby boomers now have a serious hearing problem.

HUH, What did you say, What??? That is a very true statement, but it isn't all about the volume of your music. Boomers ears were subject to years of abuse before OSHA stepped in and made hearing protection mandatory in factories and other business. You can't correct damaged hearing. Mr. Horonzak is right on the money with his statement. If you must crank it loud, wear ear protection, it really doesn't kill the sound, just the harmful tones.

[laurenc319]

If your ears ring, its too loud and hearing loss can occur. Walk out of the venu or turn the volumn down.

Larry

[Lostinozz]

I've worked around loud equipment for the last 25+ years and have received countless hours of training / warning about the dangers of sustained high noise levels. One of the facts I have gleaned from these lectures and films is: if your ears are ringing after high noise level exposure, you HAVE suffered a degree of permanent hearing loss. [] My advice would be to keep these sesions to a minimum. Of course, I don't follow this advice myself but I never have been acused of being very smart.[<)]

[cjgeraci]

Max, I assume that at the live events, there was also a PA present, with at least the upper half run by horns? Interesting thoughts Dr. Who, and a nice theory if none of the other systems Max listened to involved horns.

I have had similar experiences, but even with my own system - as it has evolved. Back in the days when I ran Reference seven gear, and even somewhat recently with Reference, before I switched out to Trachorns and Eminence tweeters, there were times where one or the other ear kept ringing for a little while. Yes, I know - and appreciate the advice - to turn it down - that means signs of hearing loss.

Recently, however, after switching out to Trachorns and Eminence tweeters, and dialing in my system in where I want it, I have not noticed any ringing or adverse ear reactions - after listening to music at a comparable volume as before.

The one thing that is different with my system now - versus then is that none of the upper or mid frequencies ever sounds strained. Are your ears more likely to ring if you are listening to loud music with distorted or even "sharp" upper to mid frequencies?? Or the opposite, would a cleaner system that does not "pin your ears back" - even at higher volumes - have less negative impact on your ears?? Or does volume = volume?

Carl.

[sunburnwilly]

Tinnitus

[kaiser SET say]

Not sure if it was distortion, SPL or shear power but in 1984 I attended the Rush "Grace Under Pressure" show at Odessa Convention Center and it was my first and last time to have my ears ring for a solid 3 hours after the show (which was incredible I might add[])

I did not feel uncomfortable during or after the show other than the ringing which subsided very slowly over that next 3 hours. I did however decide from that day forward live shows required that I carry a pair of plugs with me from then on

[LarryC]

I did not feel uncomfortable during or after the show other than the ringing which subsided very slowly over that next 3 hours. I did however decide from that day forward live shows required that I carry a pair of plugs with me from then on

That's a VERY good idea. I developed a mild tinnitus from using a percussive electric typerwriter in a closed-in space, then suddenly one day had my vision go twisty and ended up with Menier's disease. That is a PERMANENT condition that leads to all kinds of bad things including eventual deafness, sometimes with loud tinnitus. In my case anyway.

Those ear plugs only reduce the sound level somewhat. Max, I think I would avoid those concerts if you can, or use ear plugs at a minimum.

Larry

[fini]

Ringing in the ears is a sign that your stressing the chochlia and will soon damage them permenently. Turn the volume down. If your guests object. dont back down. your the host. Explain the dangers of permanent hearing loss. Half of the baby boomers now have a serious hearing problem.

"Stressing the Choclia" is a little phrase Mrs. fini and I use. Woo-hoo!

[Spkrdctr]

For general[purposes such as this thread, volume = volume. Turn it down or suffer the damage.

[ZAKO]

Fini.....A Choclear transplant will not help your conditoin. Wait till you get to my age.

[Born2RockU]

I did not feel uncomfortable during or after the show other than the ringing which subsided very slowly over that next 3 hours. I did however decide from that day forward live shows required that I carry a pair of plugs with me from then on

That's a VERY good idea. I developed a mild tinnitus from using a percussive electric typerwriter in a closed-in space, then suddenly one day had my vision go twisty and ended up with Menier's disease. That is a PERMANENT condition that leads to all kinds of bad things including eventual deafness, sometimes with loud tinnitus. In my case anyway.

Those ear plugs only reduce the sound level somewhat. Max, I think I would avoid those concerts if you can, or use ear plugs at a minimum.

Larry

LARRY:

I have Menieres disease in my left ear. Total loss of hearing...never to return.

How often do ya get the spins ???

born2rock@pdq.net if ya want to contact me directly .

[JJkizak]

I read an article somewhere that said after listening to loud levels of music that it would normally take about 24 hrs for your ears to return to normal. After each successive listening to loud levels it takes your ears longer to recover. Then finally you can adution for a part on that FBI TV show. (Sue Thomas)

JJK

[Parrot]

One other possibility is the wonderful world of earwax. You will notice that as a security defense your body generates earwax so as to dampen loud sounds. I really feel this is the reason for what you are experiencing. If you bring up the volume slow enough your body has enough time to adapt and you'll walk away with no problems (except for the whole cleaning your ears out part...)

[LarryC]

LARRY:

I have Menieres disease in my left ear. Total loss of hearing...never to return.

How often do ya get the spins ???

Just saw this now -- Meniere's seems to be very kaleidoscopic -- I guess it's common to have the whirling vertigo, but I do not. I'm lucky not to, it would be maddening to have the room move & whirl around on me and having to fight nausea/vomiting. However, I have a hyperacusis (brought on by using a Nitty Gritty for several hours one afternoon), so I have to avoid loud sounds. Anything as loud as a vacuum cleaner is too much for me, and I can't fly without earplugs AND isolating headphones -- planes are way too noisy on the inside!

Bad disease, VERY debilitating!

Larry

[cwop]

"Also, what was the weighting and impulse response of the meter you were using? 103dB A-weighted slow is a crap load louder than 103dB C-weighted fast...probably on the order of 10-20dB."

This is not true-----when you get to 95-100 plus db (A or C) the Fletcher-Munson curve flattens out and the difference in measured level would be minimal. The fast response setting represents a 200 millisecond response to peak levels (still too slow for very short duration peaks). However a true impulse meter (good for gun shots and such) will give you 10-20db peaks of percussive sounds etc. that the standard meter would not. I've taken my ANSI type 2 meter to clubs and or musical presentations and, when reading levels for very loud music, get little to no difference from "A" weighting to "C". A good professional grade SLM is a great teaching tool. If you look up the OSHA standards you'll find that no one should be exposing the unprotected ear to 100db plus levels (A OR C weighting) for too long......I think the original poster was hearing this "live" music at much more intense levels than his home system.