Going deaf... who else?
 

Just had my hearing tested today and found out I've already lost 30% of my hearing. I basically have the ears of a 55 year old.

I've been playing drums for 10 years, played in a few bands, went to a lot of live concerts, so I guess that explains it.

It will never heal, but I ordered some 120$/pair earplugs to prevent further damage.

So how good are your ears, why (not) and what are you doing about it?

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

ehh??

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

[ QUOTE ]
ehh??

[/ QUOTE ]

woooow....didn't see that one coming...

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

People, have been telling me my whole life I was going to lose my hearing (lots of concerts, loud music, big car stereo, etc). Funny thing is, sitting around the house, I'm always the one that hears stuff, like cell phones viberating in another room, etc, when nobody else picks up on it.

If I lose my hearing, so be it, I'll just by a bigger stereo.

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
ehh??

[/ QUOTE ]

woooow....didn't see that one coming...

[/ QUOTE ]

hmm?

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

as you get older you loose your hearing anyway , you may want to order the miracle ear, so small no one will notice!

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

I have really bad hearing from years of playing gigs with loud drummers, horn players etc. in my experiences playing in bars is the worst for your hearing, big clubs that have a nice sound system usually have a good monitor setup which is really key.

now I wear earplugs on loud gigs and wish I would have started when I was much younger. I have tinnitus also which only bothers me at night when it's quiet but it still sucks. not taking care of my ears/hearing is probably my biggest regret in life so far.

--turnipmonster

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

[ QUOTE ]

wish I would have started when I was much younger.

[/ QUOTE ]

I feel exactly the same. Fortunately, I don't have any trouble understanding what people say to me, so it's not the worst regret of my life. But it still sucks.

And it's true your hearing will get worse with age. It's just that I'm now at 70dB and dropping, when I should be at 90 or so, and dropping. I'll be needing a hearing aid at the age of 40-45.

For someone who's planning on playing music for many, many years to come, that's pretty bad news.

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

my hearing is still essentially 100%. i can still hear up to 18khz or so....still hear the noise that TV's make when you turn them on.

fitted earplugs are the best thing ever. im 22 now...been using them since i was 18. i make my living in the audio field so my ears are essential.

it sucks that you've already lost a bit of hearing...but i guarantee that starting to use the earplugs now will make a big difference compared to continuing on as you have been.

jon

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

[ QUOTE ]
i can still hear up to 18khz or so....still hear the noise that TV's make when you turn them on.

[/ QUOTE ]

Me too. And me too. Unfortunately, I found out that it's not the frequency of the tone that matters, it's the amplitude at which you start noticing the sound at that frequency.

But you're right, I hope this won't get too bad too soon if I start using earplugs. Wish someone had told this me a few years ago though.

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

[ QUOTE ]
Wish someone had told this me a few years ago though.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah. Who knew loud noise = hearing loss ??

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

all i know i bet astro will get a decent laugh out of this one

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

i have palatal myclonus in my left ear. its REALLLY annoying. also i have partial hearing loss in the same ear.

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

I lost over 90% of my hearing in both ears when I was 8 months old to menigitis. I wear hearing aids in both ears. I've been told by audiologists that by the time I am 60, I will have better hearing than 50% of the population due to the fact that people listen to the radio so loud. When you guys start getting tinitus, you WILL go apeshit.

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

I too predict hearing loss on an epic scale for the young guys of today. Those house-shaking car stereos are going to give them the ears of a very old man very young. And people wearing earphones all the time with their ipods and portable CD players are doing a number on themselves too. You're going to see a drastically different percentage of people wearing hearing aids this century than you did the last. Fortunately, they'll probably be miniaturized and much harder to see. But being a young guy living next to an old guy who cranks the t.v. to hear it and screams every time he's on the telephone is going to be crazy bad in the future.

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

[ QUOTE ]
I too predict hearing loss on an epic scale for the young guys of today. Those house-shaking car stereos are going to give them the ears of a very old man very young. And people wearing earphones all the time with their ipods and portable CD players are doing a number on themselves too. You're going to see a drastically different percentage of people wearing hearing aids this century than you did the last. Fortunately, they'll probably be miniaturized and much harder to see. But being a young guy living next to an old guy who cranks the t.v. to hear it and screams every time he's on the telephone is going to be crazy bad in the future.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yea, any noise over 80dB (I think it's 80) causes damage that can't be replaced. It's never a good thing when you hear some dipsh@t listening to a car stereo when the car is 50 feet away and you are inside your own car with music on. I think tinitus will be more widespread though.

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

Yup, guys in my neighborhood have music so loud that from quite a distance I can still get wood furniture and glass to start to vibrate so hard they give off noise of their own. They must be completely destroying their ears.

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

My hearing is still pretty good though Ive been to a ton of shows over the years. The only one that ever bothered my was a Reverend Horton Heat show, it was on a Friday and my ears were still ringing on Monday. That cant be good.

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

heh?

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

[ QUOTE ]
heh?

[/ QUOTE ]

DO YOU NEED US TO TYPE LOUDER?

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

I've worn hearing aids for a few years now. I'm only about 35-40% deficiant. Unfortunately the range where I'm most deficiant is where the human voice falls. So conversing without them is a pain for both parties.
I too had ringing in the ears until I got my hearing aids. After a month or two it starts to decline. When I'm not wearing my hearing aids it's there but as soon as I pop 'em in it gets cut right off. An audiologist told me that as hearing declines, the stimuli the brain is used to receiving also declines. So, the brain makes it's own.
Luckily, technology has come far enough for my HA's to fit totally in my ears out of sight. When they need an adjustment my Dr. hooks up his laptop. Nice.
After years of not hearing it was like a different world. If you really need them, you should get them.

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

I'm already somewhat deaf. But I did it the old fashioned way. No cholesteotoma, no gain.

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

I've only been able to hear out of one ear since I was 2 years old. It sucks ass when someone sits on my bad side and I have to turn my head just to hear what they're saying. I try to protect my good ear, wear earplugs when at concerts and keep my stereo at a low volume.

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

BobboFitos

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

tinnitus [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] It's too late for me now, wish I did something to avoid it while I was younger.

TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

[ QUOTE ]
all i know i bet astro will get a decent laugh out of this one

[/ QUOTE ]

i knew you'd comment on my behalf! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

http://www.startribune.com/789/story/150546.html !

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
all i know i bet astro will get a decent laugh out of this one

[/ QUOTE ]

i knew you'd comment on my behalf! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

http://www.startribune.com/789/story/150546.html !

[/ QUOTE ]

Meh, headphones don't cause hearing damage- loud music does. Personally, I don't listen to music louder than 85dB, regardless of the conduit. I will agree, however, that most young people just crank it up, but 110dB from a home stereo system is worse than 65dB from headphones; it's all in the volume settings. Use your music wisely.

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

astroglide,

Why are you linking a Star Trib story, do you live in the Twin Cities?

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
heh?

[/ QUOTE ]

DO YOU NEED US TO TYPE LOUDER?

[/ QUOTE ]

that's better. Thank you, Sonny.

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

I think my hearing is good, but my wife believes I damaged it with rock 'n roll music. So that's pretty sweet.

"Honey, would you take out the trash?"

*act like I didn't hear that*

[img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

I have this really random fluttering in my right ear that drives me nuts when it comes around. Nothing triggers it, it just decides to happen.

[img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
all i know i bet astro will get a decent laugh out of this one

[/ QUOTE ]

i knew you'd comment on my behalf! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

http://www.startribune.com/789/story/150546.html !

[/ QUOTE ]

Meh, headphones don't cause hearing damage- loud music does. Personally, I don't listen to music louder than 85dB, regardless of the conduit. I will agree, however, that most young people just crank it up, but 110dB from a home stereo system is worse than 65dB from headphones; it's all in the volume settings. Use your music wisely.

[/ QUOTE ]

85dB is too loud. Even 65dB w/ headphones is too loud. W/ headphones, the noise is going directly into the canal so it's more concentrated. (air acts as an insulator) If you have headphones on, and someone has to raise their voice to get your attention, you have the music on higher than it should be.

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
all i know i bet astro will get a decent laugh out of this one

[/ QUOTE ]

i knew you'd comment on my behalf! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

http://www.startribune.com/789/story/150546.html !

[/ QUOTE ]

Meh, headphones don't cause hearing damage- loud music does. Personally, I don't listen to music louder than 85dB, regardless of the conduit. I will agree, however, that most young people just crank it up, but 110dB from a home stereo system is worse than 65dB from headphones; it's all in the volume settings. Use your music wisely.

[/ QUOTE ]

85dB is too loud. Even 65dB w/ headphones is too loud. W/ headphones, the noise is going directly into the canal so it's more concentrated. (air acts as an insulator) If you have headphones on, and someone has to raise their voice to get your attention, you have the music on higher than it should be.

[/ QUOTE ]

I said I never listen above 85dB, which doesn't mean I listen to only 85dB. Plus, 85dB isn't too loud (hearing loss starts to occur at around 95dB with sustained exposure).

As far as 65dB goes, I'm not talking about 65dB from the earphone and then cramming it into your ear. I'm talking about 65dB total exposure in your ear. 65dB is normal talking conversation. Surely you can put on headphones and judge what normal conversation level is.

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

[ QUOTE ]
I have this really random fluttering in my right ear that drives me nuts when it comes around. Nothing triggers it, it just decides to happen.

[img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

I get that once in a while. I think it's high blood pressure or has something to do with it, because it tends to hit when I can feel a lot of pressure in my head.

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

Actually headphones are a big cause of hearing damage supposedly, because people tend to crank it when wearing them, and don't realize how bad that's hitting their ears.

My guess is that part of the reason it's so natural to really crank your music when you have earphones/headphones on is because unlike hearing music normally, there's a tendency to find sounds besides the music less acceptable, so we crank it high enough to hear only the music, or just hear very little else. You don't need that same volume to feel like it's loud enough without headphones, because youi don't except the music to completely coccoon you and block out the world. So we crank it to envelop ourselves in our own little music world.

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

[ QUOTE ]

I said I never listen above 85dB, which doesn't mean I listen to only 85dB. Plus, 85dB isn't too loud (hearing loss starts to occur at around 95dB with sustained exposure).

As far as 65dB goes, I'm not talking about 65dB from the earphone and then cramming it into your ear. I'm talking about 65dB total exposure in your ear. 65dB is normal talking conversation. Surely you can put on headphones and judge what normal conversation level is.

[/ QUOTE ]

anything over 85db is pretty loud. every 3 dbspl is actually doubling the loudness (3 db less is 1/2ing it). db is non-linear

if your ears are ringing, you have attained some (possibly very little) permanent hearing damage. The ringing sound is cause by the stereocilia in your ear trying to repair itself.

Re: Going deaf... who else?
 

nope. it just happened to be the top story on slashdot at the time i made the post.