Is the iPod Generation Going Deaf? 632
prozac79 writes "Ars Technica and Wired News are both running interesting articles on how personal music players are a major contributor [ArsTechnica] to early hearing loss [Wired]. According the ArsTechnica article, an increasing number of people are now living in "noisy" environments that is only made worse by blocking it out with even louder music. The article also suggests that listening to music for one hour a day is considered safe. So now you have a choice... go deaf early or go insane listening to your coworkers chatter."
What about Bose Headphones? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:What about Bose Headphones? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:What about Bose Headphones? (Score:2, Funny)
Probably not (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:What about Bose Headphones? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:What about Bose Headphones? (Score:3, Interesting)
This shouldn't be marked as funny. For people like truck drivers, machine operators, or generally anyone who's around whole bunches of loud noise the first thing to go sub-base to base followed by the high range. And these people, no insult intended, when picking out speakers that sound the best to them pick out things with a strong mid range. These are the people who can't tell th
Re:All your sub-base belong to me (Score:3, Funny)
All your bass are belong to us.
You can always sniff out a snobby XYZ-phile (Score:3, Insightful)
Whether we are talking about speakers, wine, chocolate, cars, or golf clubs, there is nothing the aficionado hates more than anything in his or her realm of expertise that is pretty good and reasonably priced, as it undermines the value of their hard-earned knowledge.
Re:You can always sniff out a snobby XYZ-phile (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:You can always sniff out a snobby XYZ-phile (Score:5, Insightful)
Bose tends to market their products using technobabble that impresses the mainstream consumer, but is absolutely ludicrous to anyone with a modicum of knowledge of acoustics. Their 'surround with 2/3 speakers' claims are a good example: it doesn't bloody work!
Try comparing Bose products to equipment that costs the same, but is produced without the technobabble influence. Mainstream stuff will do, nothing exotic is necessary. The Bose stuff won't sound better.
I did this once with a set of Bose 301 speakers versus a set of Magnat Concept 2 speakers (about $100/pair cheaper than the Bose set). The Magnats had a much more linear frequency response, the Bose really emphasized the midrange frequencies too much. The Bose's direct/reflecting system made them sound unfocused: close your eyes and you've no idea where the sound comes from. With a good system, you should be able to point out where the instruments are - can't do this with the Bose, piece of cake with the Magnats.
Also the Magnats were far less fatiguing to listen to (side effect of the flat frequency response).
Re:You can always sniff out a snobby XYZ-phile (Score:5, Insightful)
As opposed to "audoiphile" marketers using sciencebabble that impresses the audiophile consumer, but is absolutely ludicrous to anyone with a modicum of knowledge of physics.
Re:You can always sniff out a snobby XYZ-phile (Score:4, Interesting)
From a soundperson perspective I find this discussion 'A is better than B' a bit pointless. In a discussion "Bose vs Magnat", "Better" is relative.
First of all recording technique makes a huge difference in this. In signals recorded with crossed microphones (x/y), locating the instrument is a piece of cake, though it might lack in 'spatial' feeling. When recorded with 2 parallel mics (A/B), things might sound very spatial but locating the panorama of the instrument in the stereo image is much harder. For this reason, most pop recordings are recorded in X/Y (mono compatible for radio play, good panning, does not sound very spatial) while most classical/jazz is recorded A/B (spatial sound but poor localization of instruments. Phase problems may occur, possible mono incompatibility).
Something similar happens in playing back the sound. Bose designed their speakers to have an as large as possible 'sweet spot', resulting in a more consistent spatial sound across the room, however this is at the cost of localization of the instruments.
The magnats have a relatively narrow 'sweet spot' compared to the bose speakers. As a result, localization of the instruments in a stereo image is more accurate, but the 'sweet spot' is much smaller.
All other things left out of consideration, if accuracy in stereo image is your thing, you'll prefer the Magnats. If you prefer consistent sound all over the room, you'll prefer Bose.
Re:Heh, the irony (Score:5, Informative)
That doesn't make them untrue. This isn't painting-the-edges-of-a-CD audiophile nonsense, it's verifiable through simple means.
That 'niche at the upper end of the mainstream' is occupied by companies like Denon, Onkyo and Marantz, not Bose.
Have you ever tried comparing a Bose system with anything else? You know, actually do listening tests?
Re:Heh, the irony (Score:5, Insightful)
I have. I worked in the Audio department for about a year at Best Buy.
For starters, bose dictated sale prices to best buy - best buy couldn't just choose to put them on sale; they had to put them on sale when Bose corporate said to, which is why the circulars always said "All Speakers Onsale*" *except bose.
And the no highs, no lows, must be Bose does hold true. I am by no means an audiophile, but even my damn-near deaf due to rock concerts ears can tell they suck. I mean, the 201's and 301's aren't terrible speakers, but they are a bit muddy and much more expensive than, say, a pair of JBL bookshelfs that sound better.
The crux of the matter is the Lifestyles systems, though. The bass tube with the little cubes? Ugh. You're not going to get good bass out of a 6.5" woofer, especially if it's the unpowered one. If you do a sound sweep from like 50 hz to 50 khz, you're going to hear huge dropoff points all over the place. They just sound bad. Which would be acceptable for consumer electronics, if they were cheap, but they're upwards of $1000! The one with the dual cubes and the powered sub was $1300 when I worked there, and I bet it hasn't gotten cheaper. Give me $1300, and I'll get you some relatively inexpensive Sony tower speakers for front and rear, and a JBL center channel and 10" sub, and give you $400 back, and it'll sound vastly better (just going off of the brands that were there when I worked there). I know that sony and JBL aren't excellent names in home theater, but jesus, they're a far cry better than Bose.
It's not an audiophile thing. It's a listen to it and say ugh thing.
~Will
Re:What about Bose Headphones? (Score:5, Interesting)
On the other hand, since noise cancelling only works on low to mid frequency noise, and hearing loss is caused by high frequency sound, they aren't helping either.
On the third hand, if you are using noise cancelling to allow you to listen to music at a lower volume in a noisy environment, then they might actually help out a bit.
Actual causes of hearing loss; you==misinformed (Score:3, Insightful)
hearing loss is caused by high frequency sound
Hearing loss is caused by a number of factors; yes, loud sound can do it, but high_volume != high_frequency. Where did you unearth this particular piece of mis-information??
According to the the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association [asha.org] there are at least seven causes of hearing loss in adults. PS, "high frequency sound" is not on the list.
Neither is "marriage", but that's a topic for another time...
Re:Actual causes of hearing loss; you==misinforme (Score:3, Informative)
Take a course in biology and you'll learn that high-frequency noises are indeed related to loss of hearing.
The cochlea (inner ear) uses tiny "hair cells" to "catch" sounds (vibrations) and transform them into a signal that the auditory nerve can get to the brain. Different lengths of hair cells catch different wavelength of sound. Hi
Re:What about Bose Headphones? (Score:5, Informative)
Preventing significant hearing loss is easy - don't blast music, and give your ears a rest once in a while. It's kind of like not staring into the sun all day, but for your ears.
Re:What about Bose Headphones? (Score:3, Informative)
The cochlea is a waveguide - incoming sounds launch a wave along the basilar membrane. This wave is dispersive, meaning that at a given location, low frequency energy travels more quickly than high frequency energy. For energy at a given frequency, the wave slows down as it travels until it reaches a "characteristic place". At the same time, the amplitude of vibration increases. The characteristic place is defined as the location where the amplitude of vibration peaks; for a given location, the fr
Go deaf. (Score:3, Funny)
1985 (Score:5, Insightful)
US News and World Report and Newsweek are both running interesting articles on how personal tape players are a major contributor [US News] to early hearing loss [Newsweek]. According the US News article, an increasing number of people are now living in "noisy" environments that is only made worse by blocking it out with even louder music. The article also suggests that listening to music for one hour a day is considered safe. So now you have a choice... go deaf early or go insane listening to your coworkers chatter."
Nothing new hear, we've been getting this since at least 1980. There are likely stories about how the photograph, motion picture "talkie", transister radio and lord knows whatelse cause problems.
Re:1985 (Score:5, Insightful)
I am hard of hearing, and I lay the blame squarely on myself for, in the late 70s/early 80s, slapping on headphones and cranking up the volume.
My parents warned me, but of course I didn't pay attention...
Re:1985 (Score:5, Informative)
The turning point for me was seeing At the Gates and a couple of other bands at a small pub in 1997 (and, I admit it, seeing a photo of Alx Hellid of Entombed wearing plugs on-stage). Before then, the longest periods of tinnitus I'd experienced were 2.5 days after seeing bands (e.g. Anthrax) in larger venues in the late 80s. After this gig, though, I experienced tinnitus for 4 days. By the end, I was promising myself that if it went, I'd wear plugs at gigs in future. The tinnitus did pass, and I've kept that promise (with the exception of "treating myself" for favourite songs or short sets!)
Similarly, once I started jamming in a band earlier this year, I got fed up with the tinnitus and general fatigue induced by the drummer's brass, and quickly picked up a pair of Elacin ER-20 [hearingprotection.co.uk] plugs. I can thoroughly recommend these for use by musicians and concert-goers as the attenuation (-20dB, or 75% of the energy) is fairly flat across the audio spectrum. If you've previously tried foam plugs, or cotton wool, and didn't get on with either, try these and a reckon you'll be pleasantly surprised.
One note though; I saw Cradle of Filth and Mendeed recently, and despite wearing my ER-20s throughout both sets, I still had some minor post-gig tinnitus afterwards that was gone by morning!
Re:1985 (Score:5, Informative)
Beyond just passive plugs, have you thought about picking up honest to god in ear monitors?
They take a little getting use to, but they work pretty well. The last band I was working with was a grammy nominated r&b group and with a dozen people on stage with brass and other instrumentation, it was as loud as any death metal band I'd ever worked with. Anywho, I started taking a pair of Shure in-ears with me and having the monitor guy give me a nice custom mix to my remote and this meant not only did I have near isolation, but I only needed to hear enough to keep my parts in line.
A good pair of in-ears will isolate everything enough that you can listen at a much lower volume than you would have normally (this is especially true if you get the earpieces custom molded to further isolate). I prefer the Shure's, but there are a few others that are professional range and work for these applications.
Anywho, posting this anonymously because slashdot don't like anyone that has made money through RIAA means and it would taint my future posts as a geek
Earplugs (Score:4, Informative)
Re:1985 (Score:5, Informative)
They may look lame or uncool, but the alternative to wearing earplugs is much much worse.
Re:1985 (Score:2)
I think I've suffered slight hearing damage from too much time in nightclubs where the volume was way high.
However, I never listen to portable music, not for the risk of hearing damage, but because it lowers concentration levels, I think. I spend most of my day thinking quite deeply about various things, and a constant soundtrack in the background interferes with that. Plus it's anti-social as it cuts out any interaction with people you don't know who might otherwise say "hello," along with all the litt
Re:1985 (Score:2)
"Lunch -- Quizno's or Subway?"
Re:1985 (Score:2)
Re:1985 (Score:2)
Pun intended I assume.
I agree with you to the extent that this was my first reaction as well. But then I considered the difference between the iPod and the Walkman. I was there in 1984 and played Panama and Hot for Teacher (but not Jump) over and over and over.
But I didn't have 20+ GB of music to listen to and play all day long like I do now.
Maybe now that I'm in the late summer of my 30s I'm just getting older but it does seem like my hearing is going more now than it did back then.
Re:1985 (Score:3, Funny)
Hello, Mcfly! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Hello, Mcfly! (Score:5, Funny)
Problem: if stupid people go deaf the rest of us will have to listen to them shouting their inane conversations at each other.
Re:Hello, Mcfly! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Hello, Mcfly! (Score:5, Funny)
I think you might have more serious things to worry about than your iPod volume...
Re:Hello, Mcfly! (Score:3, Funny)
Is it just music players? (Score:5, Insightful)
Had I kept the iPod down to a lower level, say at 0.75 or 0.5 - then I simply wouldn't be able to hear it - so, perhaps the problem is not the music players, but rather, an increase in noise from other locations? For example, traffic?
Is the world itself getting noisier?
Re:Is it just music players? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Is it just music players? (Score:2, Insightful)
As for the world being noisier, I think it is. Get a pair of Bose noise reduction headphones and try them in your office. Once the dr
Re:Is it just music players? (Score:2)
As for the world getting noiser, yes it is. Cars with farting cans of bumble bees, increasing amounts of traffic, hvac, and more and more electronics/gadgets.
go away to a national park for a week and come back to a major city. holy moly
Re:Is it just music players? (Score:5, Insightful)
If you don't have 300 bucks, I would said 300 bucks is a lot!
Re:Is it just music players? (Score:3, Informative)
They offer really good sound isolation (I sat next to the engines in a loud airplane last month and when I wore them I heard almost nothing).
They are a good alternative to sound cancellation - if you don't let sound in, you don't need to cancel it with iffy technology. Plus it costs less than 10% of the money and gives superb sound quality (not audiophile, but the best you can expect for less than a 100 imo).
Re:Is it just music players? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Is it just music players? (Score:2, Insightful)
Headphones with active noise canceling will help with that. Where I used to keep the volume at 75% or more, I now rarely bump it above 30%.
Re:Is it just music players? (Score:3, Insightful)
Anyway, on the few times I use it to play music versus regular pairs of headphone, I notice that I don't have to set the volume up nearly as much.
Even when a TV is blaring in the next room.
Note: I don't know if those things fit an iPod or portable music player in general as I don't have one..... but mine uses a battery in of itself, so I see
Car stereos + loud exhausts (Score:5, Interesting)
Even base stereo systems these days are 60+ watts. That's enough to cause substantial hearing loss in a matter of weeks if listened to repeatedly, for an hour or more per day.
I can't even imagine how profound the boomcar boyz hearing loss must be. Not that I care... karma and all that.
Ever attended a rock concert? It's a near certainty that you did permanent damage toyour high frequency hearing.
Bring lawn tools into the equation (leaf blowers, lawn mowers, chainsaws, etc.) and that == more hearing loss.
However, it's not just the under-thirty crowd. Many of our fathers served time in the military, when hearing protection meant sticking your finger in your ear before the guy next to you threw a grenade or fired a 30.06. Hearing loss didn't mean shit when your biggest concern was not being shot on a beach landing. The difference is the genX'ers are *choosing* to damage their hearing.
Riffle fire... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Car stereos + loud exhausts (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Is it just music players? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Is it just music players? (Score:5, Informative)
Environmental Noise
Weakest sound heard 0dB
Normal conversation (3-5') 60-70dB
City Traffic (inside car) 85dB
Train whistle at 500' 90dB
Subway train at 200' 95dB
Level at which sustained exposure may result in hearing loss 90 - 95dB
Power mower 107dB
Power saw 110dB
Pain begins 125dB
Pneumatic riveter at 4' 125dB
Jet engine at 100' 140dB
Death of hearing tissue 180dB
Loudest sound possible 194dB
OSHA Daily Permissible Noise Level Exposure
Hours per day Sound level
8h 90dB
6h 92dB
4h 95dB
3h 97dB
2h 100dB
1.5h 102dB
1h 105dB
Perceptions of Increases in Decibel Level
Imperceptible Change 1dB
Barely Perceptible Change 3dB
Clearly Noticeable Change 5dB
About Twice as Loud 10dB
About Four Times as Loud 20dB
Sound Levels of Music
Normal piano practice 60 -70dB
Fortissimo Singer, 3' 70dB
Chamber music, small auditorium 75 - 85dB
Piano Fortissimo 84 - 103dB
Violin 82 - 92dB
Cello 85 -111dB
Oboe 95-112dB
Flute 92 -103dB
Piccolo 90 -106dB
Clarinet 85 - 114dB
French horn 90 - 106dB
Trombone 85 - 114dB
Tympani & bass drum 106dB
Walkman on 5/10 94dB
Symphonic music peak 120 - 137dB
Amplifier rock, 4-6' 120dB
Rock music peak 150dB
Walkmen (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Walkmen (Score:2)
I didn't use my walkman that much, so my tinnitus isn't that bad.
Not a binary solution set (Score:5, Insightful)
Or wear ear plugs.
It'll be difficult for some people to stop wearing headsets. You get used to the "company", and become a bit nervous when there's silence.
Re:Not a binary solution set (Score:5, Funny)
Eh, what? What's that you say? Speak up!! (Score:5, Interesting)
Personally, I went partly deaf at the age of 16 from spending too much time on a firing range. But most of my peers went similarly deaf not from the iPod, but from the Sony Walkman.
This story is about 25 years too late. I guess each generation reinvents the "we went deaf because..." story.
Re:Eh, what? What's that you say? Speak up!! (Score:3, Funny)
Too late? It's a record! 25 years between dupes? They'll never top that!
Misbranded (Score:3, Insightful)
I believe EU iPods have a volume limit anyway, but this is easily removed [archive.org].
Industrial Rev? (Score:2)
Just asking.
Your damange from your iPod isn't changing the planet
Simple question (Score:2)
What the fuck, exactly, is the "iPod Generation"? Theres a whole generation that defines itself by its MP3 player now? Where are they and are their women cute, cos they sure ain't too smart.
Re:Simple question (Score:2)
I wonder if these are the sames people that we the "Tamagotchi" generation only a few years ago.
Re:Simple question (Score:2)
A generation is the period from when a person is born to when they start having children, or something like that. I think the common acceptance is 30 years. I've had people 4 years younger than me telling me they were a different generation. The next generation is being born now, my fine redheaded stepchild, at least from my perspective. Whatever it is, it AIN'T what the marketroids tell you. And yes I'm talking to you MTV and Apple fans.
Re:Simple question (Score:2)
They're mostly dancing in front of single-color backdrops, and their women are pretty much just silhouettes
Re:Simple question (Score:2)
and their women are pretty much just silhouettes
I'll still find a way to hit it.
Keep out of the Charity Noise on the Streets! (Score:2)
Almost every street block now in Sydney, we have these hawkers that try to come up to with "with a question" or some other crap, now I just simply ignore them - and it doesnt seem as rude if you have something stuck in your ear!
etymotic in ear headphones (Score:4, Interesting)
http://www.etymotic.com/ [etymotic.com]
Re:etymotic in ear headphones (Score:4, Informative)
Etymotic also makes sound attenuators for use when you actually want to be able to hear what's going on. They reduce sound by approximately 20dB in a fairly linear way, which is great for obnoxiously loud concerts, clubs, etc. They're pretty cheap, too.
Re:etymotic in ear headphones (Score:4, Informative)
The safety concerns are real. I probably wouldn't use them biking or around outside in a city, because you really can't hear what's going on around you. But on commercial airline flights, they are amazing. It can actually be startling to remove the earphones mid-flight and hear how loud the engines are. What's really weird is that you can indeed listen to your music at a volume that would be completely drowned out by the ambient noise without the isolating earphones.
As mentioned in the parent and grandparent posts, Because of the noise isolation, you don't have to turn up the volume a lot. I've heard a few people complaining about the bass response, but I attribute this to two effects. First, many people are used to listening to music in a way that would be appropriate for those ridiculous cars with the monster sound systems whose bass you can hear from a distance of several km. But even more important, I think the people who complain about the ER6i bass haven't properly inserted the 'phones into their ears. I believe this is a common problem. I've seen it mentioned in a few reviews of the ER6is, and Etymotic Research is even including a slip of yellow paper in the ER6i packaging now with the following message: So if you're researching ER6i earphones (and possibly other noise isolating earphones) online, and you read reviews saying they have "no bass" or something similar, keep this in mind.
Etymotic even makes optional smaller and larger eartips to allow for the correct placement and seal in ears that the standard eartips don't fit just right.
I do recognize that bass may be in the ear of the beholder, so YMMV. It's best if you can find somebody you trust and ask that person's opinion. I was fortunate to have the ER6i earphones recommended to me by somebody whose opinion I've come to trust, and I've been more than satisfied with them.
Ironic (Score:2, Funny)
Every generation has it's own disease. (Score:5, Informative)
Is the pr0n generation going blind? (Score:2)
I can still hear the music... (Score:2)
Personally, I've noticed the opposite. (Score:3, Interesting)
Consequently, this behavior makes me realize that I need a quieter PC case. I've got a home made hack job case too many fans. I think it's time to upgrade to a professionally built case that would be quieter but I'm still having a hard time justifying dumping $150-$300 on a case.
After that I've still got fish tanks that make a significant amount of noise. Not much I can do about that other than keep the water levels full or get rid of them alltogether.
Re:Personally, I've noticed the opposite. (Score:3, Interesting)
A while back I tried to figure out how to do this on the cheap; I eventually ended up with the computer box in the attic, with long wires connecting up the keyboard and monitor. USB was ideal for I/O, but I didn't have a USB CD drive so instead I used a slightly over-spec IDE cable --- which eventually turned out to be unreliable if I had DMA turned on, which was less than ideal. If I were doing it today, I'd use Firewire.
It was
The 80s called ... (Score:5, Insightful)
Seriously: I was born 1969 and clearly are part of the walkman generation, using one (OK, cheap copycats) from the mid 80s till the early 90s. Then I exposed my ears to techno parties :-P
Whenever they check my hearing at the doctor or hospital they are surprised how good I hear considered my age.
So let me say:
Bah.
I'm OK (Score:3, Insightful)
ipod == gateway device (Score:2, Funny)
iPods don't make people deaf; really really loud sounds make people deaf.
same old, same old (Score:2)
inadvertent danger (Score:3, Insightful)
The real dangers lie with people inadvertantly exposing themselves to danger because they are effectively disabling an important sensory organ.
Take hiking/running in the desert with a music player on full blast, how the world are you going to hear a rattle snake or other really pissed-off animal or reptile. conversely how can anyone tell if a car has just ramped on the sidewalk behind you while jogging in manhattan?
You've essentially reduced yourself to someone who is deaf. Although...when compared to listening to my coworkers....gimme the friggin thing on full blast.
Noise cancelling headphones do work (Score:5, Interesting)
Noise cancelling headphones if correctly implemented are rather more complex than just inserting an inverted signal. For the record, I am deaf (artillery and large engines, as if you care) and because of the strange hole in my hearing response I use a digital hearing aid. The configuration screen for programming this runs to a number of pages, and I can have it set to include or exclude things like refrigerator and fan noise. In fact, I have one program that does optimised noise cancelling to get the best speech response, and another that does no noise cancelling which is useful for music and for checking that things like HDDs are making the right noises.
Noise cancelling technology is already used in professional telephone headsets, and I am surprised that it is missing from iPods and the like. It would be easy enough to have a button which switched between cancelling and not cancelling external noise sources and which, like my hearing aid, has a setting which allows through a sudden loud noise when in N/C mode, as a safety factor in traffic. This would mean the ability to listen at lower volume levels in noisy conditions.
I have a local inductive loopset (one of the few good things to come out of Nokia in my view) which allows me to use the cell phone and to inject another sound source. With the hearing aid switched to inductive pickup only, and to block external sound, I can make a phone call in noisy conditions without difficulty.
Conclusion: the technology exists to fix these problems and enable people to listen at lower volumes, manufacturers just can't be bothered.
Re:Noise cancelling headphones do work (Score:3, Funny)
I have two, both recommended (Score:3, Interesting)
Oh, and I don't need any sympathy. The truth is, I am not a lot more deaf than many people of my age. I'm just willing to admit it and get it fixed. My mother would
Solution (Score:5, Insightful)
Etymotic, Shure and Koss all make noise isolating headphones, which are generally cheaper and have higher quality sound than noise cancelling gimmicks like the Bose headsets.
Basically, you put in a set of these ear-canal plugs, you hear nothing but the music, and therefore can listen to your music at far lower levels in noisy environments than you would be able to with normal open or closed can style headphones.
The isolation from the Etymotic ER-4p/s for example, is 44 decibels, which is phenomenal. I own a pair of Er-4ps myself, and have used them a lot while travelling, and have to say that spending 300 euro on a set of headphones does not look like a waste of cash once you get up to 30,000 feet in a packed Airbus.
The isolation is so complete that it's shocking to hear the noise levels that everyone else is being exposed to once you pull the headphones out after a period of use.
Not to mention the fantastic sound quality.
Re:Solution (Score:3, Interesting)
Etymotic, Shure and Koss all make noise isolating headphones, which are generally cheaper and have higher quality sound than noise cancelling gimmicks like the Bose headsets.
Not sure if this is the case with noise-isolators, but I have a pair of the early (gimmicky) Sony ND-5's (noicse canceling)... but they're impossible to use with the noise-cancelling on in a car... the anti-noise circuit is too slow, resulting in a choppy sound... happens sometimes in planes
Tinnitus (Score:3, Interesting)
I have tinnitus [wikipedia.org], "ringing in the ears". I hear a constant sound, like a high-pitched squeal, all the time. It's worse when the ambient noise is low, but I barely notice it when there's noise around. In a very quiet place the sound I perceive can be very intense.
It comes from damage to degeneration of the nerves in the inner ear, or so I've been told.
Any constant, low-level sound tends to "mask" the ringing, so I can ignore it. Riding in a car with the windows down or in an airplane I don't notice
Re:Solution (Score:5, Informative)
No. They fail to isolate the low frequencies.
Those go straight through something like a pair of earphones.
However, active noise cancelling headphones (which in-ear 'phones are not ever, despite the GP's claim) can help out in cancelling the lows.
Ear covering headphones (cans) have another problem in that the speakers themselves are not suspended, which causes problems with the high end getting absorbed by things that aren't your ears (causing strange nonlinearies).
The big problem that in-ear headphones solve is in sound reproduction. Within the human range of hearing, most in-ear headphones claim to be able to reproduce any frequency without any nonlinearies (I haven't actually tried it myself, however I can point you to studies that test frequency response that confirm that they're much better than anything else). This is possible simply because the tiny, tiny elements don't have to produce much vibration to do their job, so the inertia of the speaker element becomes negligible, and because there's nothing else to get in the way of absorbing the sound besides your ear.
Partial deaf people and I have advantages... (Score:3, Insightful)
Anyways, I can always turn off my hearing aid if things get too loud.
Although wearing hearing aid can be annoying (e.g., changing batteries, fall off if I shake my head, hurt a lot if wearing too much, my head gets itchy, etc.).
Hearing aid companies -- stock tips anyone? (Score:3, Insightful)
All those boomers that didn't listen to their parents telling them to turn the music down... they're getting up to retirement age now.
Re:Hearing aid companies -- stock tips anyone? (Score:3, Interesting)
You better believe it is a growth industry. I am looking for some good companies to invest in.
Earplugs + Headphones (Score:3, Informative)
Feedback (Score:5, Interesting)
Reactive noise-cancelling earphones would seem to be a good idea, especially if they can reduce the ambient noise to 50 or 60db and alow music to be heard at less than 85db. In fact, without music, I would be relieved sometimes to have noise-cancelling headphones to simply provide some near-silence. It would be a worthy project for competent technicians to come up with an inexpensive (less than $20) noise-cancelling headphone with signal contrast (outside noise less than 50db to inside noise less than 85db), easy equalization, and galvanic skin response sensors to indicate when the music was causing discomfort. (GSR might not be sufficient. Many recent studies showed that the type of music listened to can produce a variety of emotional and chemical responses ranging from peaceful, healthy, joyful to irritated, angry and unhealthy. Here's a a different question: If you knew loud rap and metallic rock were as bad for your system over the long run as cigarettes, would you quit listening to it?) An article written in layman's terms with good references can be found here: http://www.headwize.com/articles/hearing_art.htm [headwize.com].
Although the general consensus is that much hearing loss is irrepairable, I have heard rumors of people recovering some hearing ability by listening to specific music. (I think I first saw this in a book called "Superlearning 2000", and have heard subjective reports since then, but I haven't noticed any scientific papers.) Also, if high-frequency loss is a problem to you, I've heard good things about Echophone.
Obvious? (Score:3, Interesting)
Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital determined that listening to a portable music player with headphones at 60 percent of its potential volume for one hour a day is relatively safe.
60%! I would have thought it was bloody obvious that going over 60% of an iPod's volume was a danger area. I just tried mine at around that volume with the normal headphones and found it uncomfortably loud. Apart from anything else, I could tell which song was playing from the other side of the room, so anyone listening that loud on public transport deserves to go deaf.
I had always assumed that the only reason it went so loud was for powering external speakers etc.
95 dB is your threshold (Score:5, Informative)
Take it from a deaf person whose hearing loss is averaged as 64 dB at 20Hz down to 95 @ 8 KHz. That is the surveyed threshold for a lifelong usage of a hearing aid without losing ones remaining hearing (thus rendering such hearing useless).
Hearings is not recoverable as the many tiny cilia hair nerves gets shortened at greater than 95 dB due to excessive POUNDING of the noise whipping these reed-like cilia back and forth (tearing or cutting off blood flows) as amplified by your middle ear bones and outer ear's ear drum.
Protect your ears, take it from a deaf person. It is career threatening in your mid-life. No need to get another cow during your mid-life crisis.
Cholear implant (CI) is a proven technology, but a bothersome hinderance to those late-deafened teens and adult as they did not grow up accustomed to these CI outfits. (Doable, but takes longer to get accustomed to these CI). CI is not a perfect replacement as you would get 32 channels (more later) spread across the sound spectrum but with GAPS in between. Computer/signal processors back-fills in these inter-channel gaps (not pleasant to a true classic music afficiandos).
Keep it down... It might save your life.
Don't get hit by a bus because you're IPODing. (interesting tidbits: 422 deaf people were killed by bus.)
Doesn't the EU have maximum volume regs? (Score:3, Informative)
European ipods (Score:3, Informative)
I've given this thought recently... (Score:5, Interesting)
Nevertheless, I think the iPod generation is in luck, because they are also one of the first generations where genetic therapy is not purely science fiction. In the past couple of years, researchers discovered that the production of a protein (Rb1) was responsible for the behaviour shared by the inner ear hair cells of all mammals, or more to the point... the reason the hair cells do not divide and hearing does not regenerate. Recently scientists discovered the gene that was responsible for producing this protein in mice. Given 5 to 10 years, I am optimistic the naive iPod generation, senior citizens and even I will be eligible for gene therapy to reverse the effects of hearing loss.
It is important to protect your hearing, but damage is inevitable no matter how careful you are. Luckily, for musicians and the ignorant iPod generation, there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon
Noise Cancellation? Pink Noise is Better (Score:3, Interesting)
I don't understand why the noise cancellation headphones are so popular. They just reduce the background, making the cellphone shouters more clearly audible.
I use gray noise - equalized pink noise (See the Wiki [wikipedia.org]). It covers up everything with an even background that you forget you're even hearing. Turns a busy office into an acoustic oasis. Even better is to pop in some plugs on top of that.
Re:Noise Cancellation? Pink Noise is Better (Score:3, Informative)
I can personally attest to this. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Chatter is good for you (Score:2, Insightful)
I don't know about you, but I find a twenty minute "chat" about the latest goings-on of Survivor or the some other reality show to be about all it takes to drive me nuts. Especially when the "chat" involves someone who hasn't done a 5 minute task I asked them to do three days ago but has found time to have numerous other "chats" in addition to lunch breaks, coffee breaks, etc.
Re:Have a Heart (Score:4, Interesting)
You shouldn't have to crank up the sound level if you get yourself some proper headphones. I use shure e2c headphones that are buds that completely close off the ear - following a design that was originally intented for use as a 'monitor' for live performances so that artists could hear what they were playing and block out 90% the external sound from the rest of the band. The key thing is that I use the same volume level if I'm on a bus or in a quiet room. I wouldn't wear them (in both ears at least) if I'm crossing the street however - I'd be worried that since I was so deaf I'd be run over.
(additionaly note for audiophiles: Yes, I know the e2cs don't have the best sound in the world, but they're truely exellent for listening to audiobooks or the cricket and what everyone agrees with is that they're good at blocking external sound.)