Deafness, tinnitus and the invisible toll of loud music

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Decadent_Spectre said:
dbA uses a different frequency range, you'd need to measure with a dbA scale. I usually don't do that.

Edit : Here is a link you may find useful -

www.vernier.com

What is the difference between "A weighting" and "C weighting"? - Technical Information Library

Acoustical engineers organize the audio spectrum into sound octave bands. The weighting switch on the or selection of the A- and C-weighted channels on the...
www.vernier.com www.vernier.com
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Reason I asked because loudness levels most people familiar with are in dbA scale, on which anything above 100db is loud enough to cause ear injury if sustained for prolonged periods. I suspect your value would be much lower if you use that scale.
 
Bloom@83 said:
Reason I asked because loudness levels most people familiar with are in dbA scale, on which anything above 100db is loud enough to cause ear injury if sustained for prolonged periods. I suspect your value would be much lower if you use that scale.
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I haven't used A weighting in a while, but I reckon my number on that should be around 100db for regular listening. Since A weighting looks past 500Hz and my system is EQed to roll off much higher so that energy will still register around 100 by my estimate. Whats the point of measuring the SPL if the bass/mid bass frequencies are excluded.
 
100db would be significantly loud in my books , but I wouldn’t mind that once in a while when I like to go full blast with my AC/DC or Led Zep or Rolling Stones records. But there is a different kind of sonic satisfaction listening at moderate levels focusing on all the micro subtleties of a well recorded Tull or a Bismillah- Vilayat.
 
I don't really care for low volumes (or soft music), the 108db C I mentioned is just my regular levels, at higher volumes I push 130db (C). My view is that there is no point listening to music at anything lower than this. Its not enjoyable to me. I suppose there is someone out there who likes to lay back in his chair and sip his whiskey as he listens to jazz/vocal/classical etc at 60 db but this is not me. I sit back push play and close my eyes. No food, no drink, no interruptions. Door locked. So while some may draw pleasure from the above I certainly don't. My preferences are posted in the what music genre you listen to thread but I'll post it here too, Rock,Metal,Electronic,Pop.
 
Decadent_Spectre said:
I don't really care for low volumes (or soft music), the 108db C I mentioned is just my regular levels, at higher volumes I push 130db (C). My view is that there is no point listening to music at anything lower than this. Its not enjoyable to me. I suppose there is someone out there who likes to lay back in his chair and sip his whiskey as he listens to jazz/vocal/classical etc at 60 db but this is not me. I sit back push play and close my eyes. No food, no drink, no interruptions. Door locked. So while some may draw pleasure from the above I certainly don't. My preferences are posted in the what music genre you listen to thread but I'll post it here too, Rock,Metal,Electronic,Pop.
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Low volumes does not necessarily mean soft music. Anyway this is purely subjective preference, so no point haranguing on this either.My level of immersion in my purely analog setup does not allow me to even pick up my phone , let alone talk on forums while listening to music ,unlike you. :)
 
Bloom@83 said:
Low volumes does not necessarily mean soft music. Anyway this is purely subjective preference, so no point haranguing on this either.My level of immersion in my purely analog setup does not allow me to even pick up my phone , let alone talk on forums while listening to music ,unlike you. :)
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Low volumes doesn't mean soft music but soft music is often heard at low volumes. I care for neither.

Analog/digital doesn't make a difference to me, I'll leave that to the other thread for those who think it matters.

Listening to music while talking on the forums is not my style either however I am currently down with a cold and needed a distraction from my blocked ears while I surf the web. Usually this is done in silence. In normal listening sessions no one disturbs me and forget picking up the phone, my phone is off, unlike you :)
 
IIRC, A weighted takes into account frequencies from 500-10000 hz. C weighted takes into account frequencies from 30- 10000 hz. In the A weighted scale on a continuous basis the legal limit is 87 dB. In the C weighted scale I think it’s something like 140 dB
 
prem said:
IIRC, A weighted takes into account frequencies from 500-10000 hz. C weighted takes into account frequencies from 30- 10000 hz. In the A weighted scale on a continuous basis the legal limit is 87 dB. In the C weighted scale I think it’s something like 140 dB
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100dB regardless of weighting is high on a continuous basis. Busymusic, say rock or bhangra can be considered continuous basis.
Take care of your hearing. Coming from a guy who got hearing aids recently.
ENT said its heredity accelerated by lifestyle (clubbing/pubbing/loud music and earphone listening)

PS: Here is a nice link/calculator/table

dBA weighting filter frequency to dBA and dBC dB(A) and dB(C) A weighted sound calculate DIN IEC 651 calculator equal-loudness contours - sengpielaudio Sengpiel Berlin

dBA weighting filter calculator calculate frequency to dBA and dBC dB(A) and dB(C) A weighted sound DIN IEC 651 equal-loudness contours - Eberhard Sengpiel sengpielaudio
www.sengpielaudio.com www.sengpielaudio.com
Cheers,
Raghu
 
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Covid and hence work from home has ensured that I am not listening to my FIOO MP3 player . But yes there is music from the system and laptop speakers . I sort of keep the volume anywhere between 35 and 40 DB , For me its mostly eye strain due to work and all those web series
 
COOLDUDE7808 said:
Covid and hence work from home has ensured that I am not listening to my FIOO MP3 player . But yes there is music from the system and laptop speakers . I sort of keep the volume anywhere between 35 and 40 DB , For me its mostly eye strain due to work and all those web series
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Off topic:
Web series, yes definitely addictive :D
Nice to know another PM7001 owner. Sweet amp

Cheers,
Raghu
 
Today morning I downloaded mobile app based Audiogram for checking my hearing loss - my niece helped me with calibration and later I took the test.

Outcome - mild hearing loss above 2 KHz onwards. If I want to bring them to normal levels for my age I shall require frequencies 2 KHz till 6 khz to be boosted by 5 dB and 6 khz upward till 15 dB.

Can I use my 31 + 31 band graphic EQ for this? Wondering? No harm in trying though - anyways it's gathering dust :)-
 
Hari Iyer said:
Today morning I downloaded mobile app based Audiogram for checking my hearing loss - my niece helped me with calibration and later I took the test.

Outcome - mild hearing loss above 2 KHz onwards. If I want to bring them to normal levels for my age I shall require frequencies 2 KHz till 6 khz to be boosted by 5 dB and 6 khz upward till 15 dB.

Can I use my 31 + 31 band graphic EQ for this? Wondering? No harm in trying though - anyways it's gathering dust :)-
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Don’t be trusting the mobile app results. Go to a good audiologist and take an audiogram. I also tried the app and the results where not matching my audiogram. Also audiogram is till 8khz only. There are other tests like tympanometry and OAE tests that will show you the ear pressure and hair cells function. This should cost you 3-4k and if only audiogram and tympanometry it will cost about 1-1.5k.
 
Love4sound said:
Don’t be trusting the mobile app results. Go to a good audiologist and take an audiogram. I also tried the app and the results where not matching my audiogram. Also audiogram is till 8khz only. There are other tests like tympanometry and OAE tests that will show you the ear pressure and hair cells function. This should cost you 3-4k and if only audiogram and tympanometry it will cost about 1-1.5k.
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This app is also till 8 kHz and has calibration for the mobile soundcard and headphones used. Hence should be reasonably accurate imo - but I could be wrong again.
 
The day mobile apps could be even quarter as accurate as diagnostic tests using sophisticated medical equipment is the day I could start believing in audio racks and flowerpots improving sound quality….
 
Hari Iyer said:
This app is also till 8 kHz and has calibration for the mobile soundcard and headphones used. Hence should be reasonably accurate imo - but I could be wrong again.
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Ok but to get accurate results I will recommend an audiogram. The audiologist will also analyse how you are responding to the frequency and repeat the test tone 2-3 times if there is no response at a particular volume to avoid any errors with the results.
 
Hari Iyer said:
This app is also till 8 kHz and has calibration for the mobile soundcard and headphones used. Hence should be reasonably accurate imo - but I could be wrong again.
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It definitely helps in screening for hearing loss, though it can not replace specialised equipment and skilled interpretation to identify which part of the hearing system is affected, severity etc.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Evaluation of an internet-based hearing test--comparison with established methods for detection of hearing loss - PubMed

Though an Internet-based hearing test cannot replace a clinical pure-tone audiogram conducted by a trained audiologist, it is a valid and useful screening tool for hearing ability in a large population carried out at a low cost.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
 
Some encouraging new research
After 20 years searching for a cure for tinnitus, researchers at the University of Auckland are excited by ‘encouraging results’ from a clinical trial of a mobile-phone-based therapy. The study randomised 61 patients to one of two treatments, the prototype of the new ‘digital polytherapeutic’ or a popular self-help app producing white noise.
On average, the group with the polytherapeutic (31 people) showed clinically significant improvements at 12 weeks, while the other group (30 people) did not. The results have just been published in Frontiers in Neurology.

www.frontiersin.org

A randomized single-blind controlled trial of a prototype digital polytherapeutic for tinnitus

ObjectiveThis randomized single-blind controlled trial tested the hypothesis that a prototype digital therapeutic developed to provide goal-based counseling with personalized passive and active game-based sound therapy would provide superior tinnitus outcomes, and similar usability, to a popular...
www.frontiersin.org www.frontiersin.org
 
Decadent_Spectre said:
I don't really care for low volumes (or soft music), the 108db C I mentioned is just my regular levels, at higher volumes I push 130db (C). My view is that there is no point listening to music at anything lower than this. Its not enjoyable to me. I suppose there is someone out there who likes to lay back in his chair and sip his whiskey as he listens to jazz/vocal/classical etc at 60 db but this is not me. I sit back push play and close my eyes. No food, no drink, no interruptions. Door locked. So while some may draw pleasure from the above I certainly don't. My preferences are posted in the what music genre you listen to thread but I'll post it here too, Rock,Metal,Electronic,Pop.
Click to expand...
At those levels i won't be siting pushed back with eyes closed, i would be dancing my balls off :oops:
 
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