is loud music really dangerous?

mtrycrafts

mtrycrafts

Seriously, I have no life.
PENG said:
When I did a search on the web I found all kinds of articles/papers that say loud music does cause hearing loss over time.

And, that is why I questioned that organisation about what they have published in peer reviewed journals. I don't think they have and am most skeptical about their research.
But, I did see them indicating that when the community changes to their way of thinking..... That is not how science is or how advancement in science comes about.
 
J

Johnd

Audioholic Samurai
mtrycrafts said:
And, that is why I questioned that organisation about what they have published in peer reviewed journals. I don't think they have and am most skeptical about their research.
But, I did see them indicating that when the community changes to their way of thinking..... That is not how science is or how advancement in science comes about.
mtry: I don't have such a problem with their paper.

Firstly, recognize that it was written nearly a quarter century ago, and much has been learned about hearing loss since (it is a complicated issue, after all).

Secondly, in the very first paragraph, and repeatedly thereafter, the author states that high volume levels are dangerous.

Thirdly, the paper goes on to state that erratic sound levels are dangerous.

All of these thing are widely accepted today. My only issue is his contention that you can "warm up" to certain sound levels, particularly if they are:
1) of the "highest quality";
2) the sound is equalized; and,
3) the listener remains "relaxed".
If this crosses over into the area of abruptness and erraticity, I don't know. In the meantime, I will keep the volume down, and refrain from abrupt, erratic noises. It is now known that these things, do in fact, cause hearing loss. Cheers.
 
jeffsg4mac

jeffsg4mac

Republican Poster Boy
The fact is, if you have listened to something that has made your ears ring, say a concert or a gun blast or other loud noise, you have done irreversible damage to your hearing. This all accumulates over time. When I built speakers in the past at a small shop in FL, I used to cut ports from PVC on a radial arm saw. This never really seemed all that loud but after my ears would be ringing for a minute or two. Now I know that I have lost some extreme upper end hearing. I can't hear above about 13,000 or so and all because I did not wear hearing protection that was hanging right above my dumb head.
 
G

Gmoney

Audioholic Ninja
i was searching for information pertaining to tone adjustment within the audible spectrum when i stumbled on this paper outlining the effects on people from properly equlised loud music with spl's of over 110 db, very interesting reading i might add.

what i was trying to find out is why most (audio purists) believe that equlizers & tone controls degrade the sound quality & avoid them at all costs chosing room correction instead of source correction, not only does this paper touch heavily on the subject of tone control vs room correction it also supplies alot of understandable information regarding the heightend sensitivity in peoples hearing after listening sessions that many would brand as "ear bleeding levels".

ive always been dumbfounded as to why so many audiophiles preach that loud music is dangerous, after 30 years of listening to music at levels well over 110 db & having my hearing tested yearly ive suffered no hearing loss at all, this paper suggests that its not the sheer volume levels that are dangerous & places the danger on listening to loud music that is not equlised to a persons hearing & the tones that each person finds uncomfortable.

this paper may also explain why a great number of audiophiles who chose room correction over source correction are constantly unhappy with the performance of their systems.

any thoughts?

http://www.anstendig.org/Impairment.html
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
i was searching for information pertaining to tone adjustment within the audible spectrum when i stumbled on this paper outlining the effects on people from properly equlised loud music with spl's of over 110 db, very interesting reading i might add.

what i was trying to find out is why most (audio purists) believe that equlizers & tone controls degrade the sound quality & avoid them at all costs chosing room correction instead of source correction, not only does this paper touch heavily on the subject of tone control vs room correction it also supplies alot of understandable information regarding the heightend sensitivity in peoples hearing after listening sessions that many would brand as "ear bleeding levels".

ive always been dumbfounded as to why so many audiophiles preach that loud music is dangerous, after 30 years of listening to music at levels well over 110 db & having my hearing tested yearly ive suffered no hearing loss at all, this paper suggests that its not the sheer volume levels that are dangerous & places the danger on listening to loud music that is not equlised to a persons hearing & the tones that each person finds uncomfortable.

this paper may also explain why a great number of audiophiles who chose room correction over source correction are constantly unhappy with the performance of their systems.

any thoughts?

http://www.anstendig.org/Impairment.html
Do your ears ring, at all? If they do, you have permanent hearing loss in that range. Hearing tests performed by audiologists don't go higher than 8KHz because they don't care if people can listen to full-range music, they care about people being able to hear the frequency range needed for speech intelligibility.

I find it doubtful for anyone to have listened to 110dB music for >30years and not having any hearing loss; the OSHA and NIOSH noise exposure charts aren't new- OSHA shows that exposure to 95dB should be limited to 4 hours and NIOSH for 1 hour @94dB.


Audiophiles want to feel that they're special and have all kinds of bizarre ideas about sound, often without any scientific or factual basis. They hang their hopes and dreams on many things that are supposed to make angels sing, clouds part and little birdies chirp, but those are just ways to get them to spend money.

However, I do agree with them on equalization and controls but only in the sense that if the controls are improperly used or if their circuits are badly designed and cause problems for the actual signal, their use should be avoided. I have had conversations with people who considered themselves to be 'audiophiles' and asked if they thought EQ wasn't used in the recording process and they always start their answers with 'Yabbut...".
 
John Parks

John Parks

Audioholic Samurai
Do your ears ring, at all? If they do, you have permanent hearing loss in that range. Hearing tests performed by audiologists don't go higher than 8KHz because they don't care if people can listen to full-range music, they care about people being able to hear the frequency range needed for speech intelligibility.

I find it doubtful for anyone to have listened to 110dB music for >30years and not having any hearing loss; the OSHA and NIOSH noise exposure charts aren't new- OSHA shows that exposure to 95dB should be limited to 4 hours and NIOSH for 1 hour @94dB.


Audiophiles want to feel that they're special and have all kinds of bizarre ideas about sound, often without any scientific or factual basis. They hang their hopes and dreams on many things that are supposed to make angels sing, clouds part and little birdies chirp, but those are just ways to get them to spend money.

However, I do agree with them on equalization and controls but only in the sense that if the controls are improperly used or if their circuits are badly designed and cause problems for the actual signal, their use should be avoided. I have had conversations with people who considered themselves to be 'audiophiles' and asked if they thought EQ wasn't used in the recording process and they always start their answers with 'Yabbut...".
For some reason, in the wee hours last night, Gmoney went through and commented on several fifteen-year-old threads, including this one. Not that I am keeping track of what our cajun friend posts...
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
For some reason, in the wee hours last night, Gmoney went through and commented on several fifteen-year-old threads, including this one. Not that I am keeping track of what our cajun friend posts...
DAMMIT!
 
cpp

cpp

Audioholic Ninja
YES, I played in a few rock bands in high school and in my college days in Gainesville Fla and my ears are pretty much toast, now with tinnitus which was diagnosed back in 1982. So go on, crank it up and let it happened. Is only you're ears and there is NO fancy dancy cure. Been there tried them all. Its permanent, you just live with it. .
 
Last edited:
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
Op claiming to regularly listen to music over 110 dB with no negative effects.

I find that hard to believe. Wonder if he's still around 15 years later...
 
panteragstk

panteragstk

Audioholic Warlord
For some reason, in the wee hours last night, Gmoney went through and commented on several fifteen-year-old threads, including this one. Not that I am keeping track of what our cajun friend posts...
Poor guy hasn't been sleeping well. Maybe this is helping?
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
For some reason, in the wee hours last night, Gmoney went through and commented on several fifteen-year-old threads, including this one. Not that I am keeping track of what our cajun friend posts...
It was hard to miss....
 
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