Pain

[timp]

Hey fish

I knew we had something in common. I too hear the rings all the time. It almost sounds like pink noise. I blame it on Yes, ELP, Ramones and, etc.

[selmerdave]

Steve,

Having played (and continuing to play unfortunately) in a number of *very* loud bands, the mids are generally not that loud on stage as they are mostly in the mains pointing away from the stage. The bass, however, is less directional and more prominent on stage, and it absolutely causes hearing damage.

I used to think that you could "build up a resistance" as you describe, but science most definitely does not support that nor does my experience. After a couple of years of playing with a band once or twice a week with sustained on-stage levels of around 117 dB (I measured) my ears went from ringing after to ringing constantly. I could no longer stand even moderately loud noises such as a quiet jazz drummer, it was painful to hear. I quit that band and after about six months my hearing finally started to improve and the ringing went away and I was able to listen to moderate levels again.

I recommend not waiting until you reach that point to conclude that you are like everybody else and will suffer hearing damage before your ears develop a resistance.

I use earplugs most of the time now, but most don't do as good a job of blocking the lows as they do the highs and I still get some ringing after gigs. The ringing from loud bass is generally high-pitched.

Do as you please, I'm pretty sure the scientific evidence is out there, I just don't have it at this moment at my fingertips.

Dave

[Old Guy]

Just throwing in my two cents...the mid seems to hurt more since the ears are more sensitive there. Lows are every bit as damaging.

As far as building a tolerance- think it thru. Any muscle thickens with use. Research what happens when you add mass to a HF diaphragm. The HF rolls of...so building a tolerance is just plain folly.

I'm amazed my ears are still as good as they are, I didn't protect them till the late 70's. And the early 70's...if names like the MC5,Ted Nugent, and other Ann Arbor bands mean anything, I was messing around some loud stuff. Got to be where like touring with Kenny Rogers was a vacation...

My roomies hated it when I came off tour, I would hide the cords to the stereo.

[dr.joe]

On the one hand, it's not my place to contest the scientific research done on SPL/time exposure and hearing damage.

On the other hand, if the figures are correct then ANYONE who has ever attended even one rock 'n' roll concert has permanent hearing loss, no?

The average SPL at such a concert is something like 110-115 dB (with some bands being louder)--and that, of course, isn't for one minute or thirty seconds. Multiply that by dozens or scores or even hundreds of concerts that so many of us have attended and continue to attend (BTW saw Lucinda Williams here in Toronto a couple of weeks ago--very impressed!).

So I can't resolve what the scientific measurements say and the scores of people I know personally who should be suffering various degrees of deafness...but who aren't....

[Richard C.]

My ringing is a fairly steady high pitched tone, and it seems deafening at times, especially at night when I "should" be sleeping. I don't notice it as much during normal day activity, and a HEPA air filter (white noise) masks it at night.

My doctor tells me there is a special clinic for Tinnitus that can help a person live with it.

Richard C.

[oface1]

Joe,

My take is from what I have been told by my audiologist, is that if you hear a long term ringing after exposure to loud spl's, then what you are hearing is that last throws of those receptors singing their last song........

-chris

[mah]

My son (mid twenties) is experiencing some early hearing loss due to playing drums in a punk band and listening to recordings LOUD through earphones.

I found this web article on the topic and thought it was appropriate for this thread.

web page

[bfish]

That's too bad. First they don't listen (to sage advice), then later they can't listen (to music with f-d up hearing) 'cause they didn't listen (to afore-mentioned advice).

The "pod-phones" are becoming quite the scourge to youthful ears;

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1014093323.htm

[jnorv]

If you Google Tinnitus you get an idea of the pleasures of life that you have to give up to make a slight difference. Coffee, Bourbon no way. Fortunately they don't mention sex. It looks like we are paying for our younger indulgences. It was fun thou wasn't it? Got any regrets other than that babe at Woodstock?

Jim N
San Jose

[bfish]

Originally posted by Jim Norvell:
...It was fun thou wasn't it?...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Sure was Jim, and no, no regrets (none that I'll cop to anyway).

As some philosopher said in a recent thread;

"The quality of a man's life would be better measured not in how long he lives, but in how much."

...And I've lived enough for a roomful of geriatrics...

<font color="#FFFFFF" size="1">[ November 17, 2008 11:00 PM: Message edited by: bfish ]</font>