my left ear

[hauser gabone]

ok, paranoid as always here.
i have been listening to music in my headphones for about 8 years. when i was younger i would always turn it to the maximum volume. i had many ear infections as a youngster and two tubes put in. i didnt lose any hearing from these surgeries but i do have scars on my ear drum, which my ENT says dont really matter. the ear infections were caused by sinuses, which still kill me. i have pain in my ears all the time, not a pain in my eardrum...just the pressure i suppose. i also smoke cigarettes, though i would like to quit.
so, i realize that i have been listening to my headphones pretty loudly, not ridiculously, but as a youngster listening to ozzy i felt it was pretty called for.
i dont believe i have any hearing loss but it is my biggest fear.
so my question, can constant sinus pressure, cigarettes, or listening to my headphones somewhat loudly cause hearing loss? i dont amplify my headphone with anything, its usually a disc man set at about 90%
i dont usually attend shows and when we practice loudly i use earplugs. i am away from home right now for a few months but plan to visit my ENT on my arrival home. as for recording, i bought some fairly nice monitors to avoid any unecessary headphone use in the studio, but i find that my ears are sometimes sore, which im not sure is from the loudness of the sound or all the cigarettes i smoked. anyone have any advice, personal stories to put my mind at ease? i am not hard of hearing, if anything i sometimes experience super sensitive hearing...that may be the pot though. thanks

[jjbohn]

I don't know about smoking (if any one does let me know cause that would suck) but loud headphones can definitely mess up your hearing. The SPL is going straight into your ear and that can cause some problems. Also with headphones you have to keep in mind that if you are trying to drown out background noise, this means that you're turning them up even louder to overpower that noise. So even though your ears automatically makes it even out, it's still real loud. Keep in mind that for cars.

Do you have any tinnitus? If not you might be okay. Even if you do have it it's still not the end of the world. You might just a some compacted earwax or something, which is pretty common and easy to get rid of. I recommend Debrox, which is over the counter and you can get at Wal-Mart or any drug store.

As for hearing loss, I've always that if you're used to listening with music with the hearing loss, you compensate automatically. Unless it's sever of course. However you listen to music is how your gonna record and mix, just matching it up to what you think is normal or 'good'.

Hope this helps, sorry about the grammer.

[@?,*???&?]

Yes. The close range of the speakers in a set of headphones combined with long term exposure at a certain DB level can contribute greatly to hearing loss.

There have been many articles written in the past few years regarding this new generation of people being exposed to such noise through iPod use. Google that.

Also, google the OSHA recommended standards for exposure to noise. You'll find it very informative.

[TapeOpLarry]

I got some Shure earbud in canal things for the iPod. Great because you turn down the level as there's little outsside noise. I have tinnitus but it's mild. Sucks to lay in bed after mixing and want to sleep and hear that tone all night. You don't want it.

[8th_note]

You mention that you have sinus problems - a stuffed up head can affect your hearing quite a bit. If your sinuses are blocked due to allergies there's a great treatment that is now available over the counter. It's called NasalCrom. It takes a while to completely kick in (a few days to a week or more) but it can really help keep your head clear with a minimum of side effects. I've used the stuff for years and except for the occassional seizures and rectal bleeding it works great (just kidding ).

[hauser gabone]

thank you everyone

[Roboburger]

cheaper than the Shure earbuds are the Sennheiser model, and they have the same effect of shutting out outside noise so much that you can listen to the player at a more rational volume. I'm able to use my iPod while mowing the lawn without maxing out the iPod. They sound Sooooo much better than the iPod white buds, too. I listen to the playe on 'flat' or 'acoustic'

usually about 60 bucks from JR.com

http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4077877

[snuffinthepunk]

if smoking doesn't clog up your sinuses then you should be fine with that. you want to use headphones to drown out outside noise, you might wanna research "noise cancelling" headphones. I've never used any, so I don't know how good any of them are. but you'd be able to listen quieter...don't wanna blow your ears away by listening too loud all the time.