SPL's and hearing loss.

[Bevan]

I'm feeling a bit guilty at the moment. Went to a trance club last night and my ears are still ringing. I'm wondering what amount of damage i may have caused.

There was a mixing dest at the venue that was on the far side of the dancefloor from the speakers. I'm guessing it to be 30m/100' away from the speakers, The sound engineers SPL meter was reading 110dbl at this possition. If my math is correct this would make the volume 1 meter in front of the speaker(where many were dancing) about 140dbl. This seems a bit irresponsible does it not?

The thought of losing the means to enjoy this great hobby is depressing. I think it'll be a long time before I go clubbing again. And I think some earplugs will also be in order next time.

take care

b

 

[gene]

Bevan;

Unfortunately thats a sad reality with most night clubs, and party type events. Most people are very ignorant to noise pollution and its adverse affects on hearing, especially in young ones.

Here is a chart and graph of SPL and human hearing, granted this is dBA so if you were measuring 110dB (c-weighted) for bass peaks than its not as bad. However if you were measuring continous output of 110dB even with no deep bass present, than this is pretty accurate.

http://www.dangerousdecibels.org/hearingloss.cfm

Next time bring hearing plugs. People may look at you funny, but whats more important, your image or your ears? They also sell clear hearing plugs which are less noticeable. In a pinch even cotton will help partly block the high frequencies but wont provide much protection in the lower to upper mid frequencies.

 

[Bevan]

thanks gene.

beleive me, i care nothing for how i look compared to how i'll miss my silk dome tweeters. saw two people with earplugs in the club actually.

i think i'll also get a hearing test done at some stage, just to monitor my ears over years.

cheers

b

 

[Shadow_Ferret]

So last year when we sat in the front row, in front of the speakers, at a Journey concert, that probably wasn't the wisest thing to have done?

What exactly is "trance" music? Sounds like something that should be quiet and soothing to mediate to.

 

[Bevan]

psychedelic trance. typically around 140 bpm. not quiet but can be sort of soothing if it's more of the progressive as opposed to uplifting or 'full-on' type. definitely can be trance inducing though, if one is in the right frame of mind IYKWIM. infact this type of unmediated musical experience is the purest type of aethetic experience in my opinion. but it trance gets a bum rap usually because people dont understand it or know how to listen to it. at least initially, one needs help (unless one has perhaps been meditating for 40 years) in slowing discursive thought and lenthening attention spans inorder to stay involved with the music, because if one isnt completely invested in the music it doesnt really do it's thing and will turn to 'boring monotonous noise' some people take it for. some peoples general prejudice against electronic music as a whole can bar them from experiencing trance which is sad. country music used to be stigmatised in head and for a long time i wasnt able to enjoy it, even though i had to concede that there must be good country music as there is any kind of music where the prime motivation of the 'artists' is not fame or fortune. i'm very glad to have overcome that prejudice and i just hope that if there are people reading this who consider anything with a repeditive 4/4 beat as being inherently inferior, that they give it another shot.

interestingly, trance theory, which is the science and study of inducing trance states and which covers music from native indian drumming ceremonies to modern psy/goa trance and even house, dub and breakbeat, states that one of the previsors to achieving the state of trance is that the music be "engaging". i.e listened to as 'background' misic it will not work. this is why trance music can be so much more effective and therefore enjoyabe on a good hifi than listning to it on a boombox over ones left shoulder. the enjoyment of well the created sounds in themselves can be enough, if heard on a good system, that one stayed engaged with the music long enough that it starts to work its magic. most music genres sound better over hghi fidelity systems than over boomboxes, and when one is in a very realaxed and concentrated frame of mind, but i think with trance music there is more of a qualitative difference than a merely quantitative one.

i ramble a bit, but for anyone interested in trying out some well produced and extremely creative 'trance' music, i'll recommend two albums for getting ones toes wet with. Firstly, either of Shpongle's two albums. These are not typical trance but are highly psychedelic. More down-tempo home listening than dance floor fodder. Extremely well produced and the second of the albums (Tales of the inexpressible) having many live string and wind instruments. Similar to Peter Gabriels Passion, but even better for those who would believe me.
Secondly, if anyone is interested in seeing if they like full on dancefloor mayem type trance, possibly the most respected album ever made in this genre would be Infected Mushrooms' "Classical Mushroom". As the name suggests, classical music fans might even find a lot to enjoy here. Again, very well recorded and absolutly amazing studio mastery of Cubase.

cheers

bevan

 

[Doug917]

Whhhaaaaat

 

[mtrycrafts]

thanks gene.

beleive me, i care nothing for how i look compared to how i'll miss my silk dome tweeters. saw two people with earplugs in the club actually.

i think i'll also get a hearing test done at some stage, just to monitor my ears over years.

cheers

b

The other source of hearing loss is headsets. If I can hear them in a car or on a sidewalk, imagine how loud it must be next to the ear drum So be careful and if and when you have kids, it is a constant battle to protect their hearing.

 

[Khellandros66]

What scared me most is I had a couple wanting to buy big headphones to play music for the baby she was carrying. What shocked me more was her doctor said it was ok to do...

O told em H3LL no that is proven to cause damage to the infants hearing in the early stages of it developement.

EDIT: It is recognized that this can stimulate the babies IQ and ability to properly rotate in the womb in the 8th moth but if not done properly can cause damage.

~Bob

 

[amadeo]

thanks for the thread very interesting ....and very good to know information....i think my hearing is ok but in our country (kuwait) the weather is so hot reaches 50 degrees C on a normal summer afternoon ...so airconditioners are a must or you die ....now i realy do imagine my ac reaches 160 db and it runs continuosly so now i either die of heat or have permenant heairing loss god forbid that sucks .....every day i get the worst headache after i get up in the morning and the f$#@ ac was on all night and when i close it ......i get a great feeling in my ears like they are saying "thank you.... you a$$"

 

[sploo]

Bevan,

Find yourself a good music shop (instruments, rather than recorded) and you should be able to buy some 'gigging' ear plugs.

I always use a pair when I go to concerts and the difference is huge. To me, they sound like they cut a lot of the distortion and high midrange that I find unpleasant, the result is actually a more enjoyable listening experience, and no ear ringing the morning after.

 

[Bevan]

nice the concern.

i'll take some squashy foam plugs i got from the hardware store next time, or the spare foam or silicone plugs that came with my Etymotic headphones. they are supposed to provide 28dbl of noise reduction of i remember.

i dont use headphones much anymore as i dont travel as much as i used to, and i'm no longer a singleton. but i think the Etymotic insulating type were a good choice as for ones longterm hearing goes because they doesnt have to turn them up as loud as you would normal open headphones(cause you dont have to drown out the noise of the bus/train/plane)

cheers

b

p.s ears feeling nearly back to normal this morning what a relief. though that doesnt mean they didnt suffer some small amount of permanent damage on the weekend

 

[mtrycrafts]

but in our country (kuwait) "

WOW, Welcome aboard from there. Unusual.

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

in our country (kuwait) the weather is so hot reaches 50 degrees C on a normal summer afternoon ...so airconditioners are a must or you die ....

You think underground housing would have been a good idea in areas with such extreme temperatures , But not much to look at I suppose.

Plus you have the added horror of AC induced tinnitus while your new JBL Tik's are in the living room, waiting to be used......

 

[Jagger]

I've spent alot of time at rock concerts as well as in my car with near competition quality sound, and now I've decided that hearing is one thing that needs to be protected. No longer to I "crank" it up in the car, and at every concert I go to, I wear earplugs!

 

[cornelius]

We are exposed to so much noise! I wore my etymotic headphones (basically earplug/ear buds) with my ipod on my way into work once. I took the subway in that day and when I got into the office I felt so relaxed. It was a nice change, not being exposed to all of that street/subway noise. Unfortunately it's really not safe to walk around with those headphones, but I always have them with me for travelling, and I use them when I'm practicing (playing the drums). BTW, just because I'm a drummer doesn't mean you shouldn't take my equipment recommendations seriously I still have some hearing left.

 

[Dolby CP-200]

Got “Tinnitus” what do you use to cure it?

Well I’ve had “Tinnitus” since I was young thou never have I mentioned it to my GP since a few years ago, has I thought this was kinder of fun hearing this high pitch sound many years ago thou I wasn’t aware of what misery it ca really be at the end of the day.

Well I’ve been drinking plenty of orange juice which has (vitamin C) for about 4 or 5 days I have missed or rather skipped the orange juice which left me in a miserable mood, with high pitch ringing. So last night I said to myself, sod I’m going down the road and get some orange juice. Upon returning home I drank quite a bit, then I got some kip.

Well that appears to sound better on this fine miserable dull cloudy windy day, no high pitch ringing, well I’m going to drink at least a few swigs from the carton per day to keep a moderate concentrated about of (vitamin C) and see if there’s any truth to this.

 

[satish536]

psychedelic trance. typically around 140 bpm. not quiet but can be sort of soothing if it's more of the progressive as opposed to uplifting or 'full-on' type. definitely can be trance inducing though, if one is in the right frame of mind IYKWIM. infact this type of unmediated musical experience is the purest type of aethetic experience in my opinion. but it trance gets a bum rap usually because people dont understand it or know how to listen to it. at least initially, one needs help (unless one has perhaps been meditating for 40 years) in slowing discursive thought and lenthening attention spans inorder to stay involved with the music, because if one isnt completely invested in the music it doesnt really do it's thing and will turn to 'boring monotonous noise' some people take it for. some peoples general prejudice against electronic music as a whole can bar them from experiencing trance which is sad. country music used to be stigmatised in head and for a long time i wasnt able to enjoy it, even though i had to concede that there must be good country music as there is any kind of music where the prime motivation of the 'artists' is not fame or fortune. i'm very glad to have overcome that prejudice and i just hope that if there are people reading this who consider anything with a repeditive 4/4 beat as being inherently inferior, that they give it another shot.

interestingly, trance theory, which is the science and study of inducing trance states and which covers music from native indian drumming ceremonies to modern psy/goa trance and even house, dub and breakbeat, states that one of the previsors to achieving the state of trance is that the music be "engaging". i.e listened to as 'background' misic it will not work. this is why trance music can be so much more effective and therefore enjoyabe on a good hifi than listning to it on a boombox over ones left shoulder. the enjoyment of well the created sounds in themselves can be enough, if heard on a good system, that one stayed engaged with the music long enough that it starts to work its magic. most music genres sound better over hghi fidelity systems than over boomboxes, and when one is in a very realaxed and concentrated frame of mind, but i think with trance music there is more of a qualitative difference than a merely quantitative one.

i ramble a bit, but for anyone interested in trying out some well produced and extremely creative 'trance' music, i'll recommend two albums for getting ones toes wet with. Firstly, either of Shpongle's two albums. These are not typical trance but are highly psychedelic. More down-tempo home listening than dance floor fodder. Extremely well produced and the second of the albums (Tales of the inexpressible) having many live string and wind instruments. Similar to Peter Gabriels Passion, but even better for those who would believe me.
Secondly, if anyone is interested in seeing if they like full on dancefloor mayem type trance, possibly the most respected album ever made in this genre would be Infected Mushrooms' "Classical Mushroom". As the name suggests, classical music fans might even find a lot to enjoy here. Again, very well recorded and absolutly amazing studio mastery of Cubase.

cheers

bevan

psy progresssive is at 140 to 150 BPM ......... Dark Psytrance goes to 170 BPM .Festivals in the beaches of goa start the early morning scene with progressive to full on in the day and play dark in the nite. There are a lot of people tripping in these festivals which is why this kind of music highly appeals to us. Psytrance is all about the thick bass lines and trippy samples. I love this genre of music.

 

[davidtwotrees]

As a teen in the Seventies, I used to stand right in front of the PA towers at any concert I went to.....the movement of air would literally make your hair bounce to the music........Ted Nugent was REALLY LOUD..........so I don't know how many exposures one needs to experience permanent hearing loss..my hearing is ok, knock on wood........
I have been to concerts in the last couple of years wear a lot of young people were wearing earplugs.......that is so cool......I don't think me and my Hard Rock Heavy Metal buddies in the seventies would have worn them!

 

[Joe Schmoe]

So last year when we sat in the front row, in front of the speakers, at a Journey concert, that probably wasn't the wisest thing to have done?

What exactly is "trance" music? Sounds like something that should be quiet and soothing to mediate to.

When I was young (late high school-early college), I went to a lot of concerts. Most were seriously loud. My last one was Blue Oyster Cult, and my ears didn't stop ringing for three days! I haven't been to a concert or club since.
FWIW it is possible to enjoy trance music without chemical enhancement, but doing so will never approach the full experience (of course, the same can be said of Pink Floyd et. al.)

 

[Dolby CP-200]

As a teen in the Seventies, I used to stand right in front of the PA towers at any concert I went to.....the movement of air would literally make your hair bounce to the music........Ted Nugent was REALLY LOUD..........so I don't know how many exposures one needs to experience permanent hearing loss..my hearing is ok, knock on wood........
I have been to concerts in the last couple of years wear a lot of young people were wearing earplugs.......that is so cool......I don't think me and my Hard Rock Heavy Metal buddies in the seventies would have worn them!

So you’re immune too high sound pressures are you, I have never come across a fine specimen that hasn’t complained about ringing in they’re ears.