Does bass damage hearing? Edit: Perhaps I have found the answer.

[chickendinner]

when you get older youll need a bigger amp BFD

 

[geekender]

I think the bass is ok....its the catfish I would worry about

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

Actually, ATOT statistics show that you are much likelier to get hit in the ear region with a trout.








Lower frequencies carry less energy, but your ears are just as suspectible to cochlear damage at the lower frequencies, assuming that the energy levels are equal.

 

[erikiksaz]

I think i'm going to buy myself a dB meter one of these days, just to check that i'm listening at safe sound levels. I've been turning my music down, both in my headphones and my speakers. I find that i can't stand riding in some of my friends' cars while their stereos are blasting. It actually HURTS MY EARS when i sit in their car. All i can think of while in their car is, "mannnn, this better not screw up my hearing." Since i take it that they're not uncomfortable with that level of music, would you say their hearing's pretty screwed up?

 

[Cattlegod]

i went to a dB drag once.

i'm putting out 150 dB at 33 Hz, i only have an MTX 2300 pushing my subs, it is the way it resonates off my hatch i think though.

you can feel your ear drum move back and forth, your throat shakes up and down and makes you swallow. along with your nose hairs start tingling and your nose starts to itch like mad.

 

[tcsenter]

We all know that repeated exposure to high-frequency noise (industrial, traffic, other) will damage hearing if loud enough, but what about bass?

Bass can be more dangerous by virtue that it is not uncomfortable or painful even though it is loud enough for damage to occur. High frequencies are uncomfortable, painful in some instances, at volumes loud enough for damage to occur. So you avoid one because its downright uncomfortable while not the other though they're both damaging.

 

[Ultima]

Originally posted by: Electric Amish
BAH!

You kids with your over-use of bass.

You claim to be audiophiles yet you drowned out all the highs.

amish

Not me. I like high quality, not high SPL's. I do like listening at high volume though, so I'm trying to find an answer to my question.

 

[Freejack2]

Bass and Trout can both damage your hearing, though you'd have to slap them over your ear pretty hard.

All kidding aside I used to blast the headphones when I was mowing the lawn as a teenager, now in silence I can hear a pretty loud ringing in my ears.
The silence can be deafening.

 

[Ultima]

Originally posted by: Harvey

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: crawford
ive heard that if doesnt affect you as much when youre young, but when you get old youll pay for it. i love tons of bass so i guess we'll see.....

Yep.... that's usually how it works.. heh.. :frown:

NO! That is NOT how it works. :Q Hearing loss from exposure to high sound levels is cumulative. The more your exposure, the greater the damage. When I see (or hear) people driving around with their windows up and their cars rumbling from loud music, I know they're in for a future of impared hearing. The same is true for exposure in loud concert venues and from playing music too loud through earphones.

If your ears are ringing after you listen, you have already done some damage. Please trust me on this. I am an audio professional. If you want to continue to enjoy music, or even simple conversation, as you grow older, protect your hearing, NOW!

My ears have never rang from my friend blasting his sub, they did once from a concert I went to. Once my friend turned his subs up to the max (after around 30 they didn't sound any louder but everything kept vibrating more and more the louder he turned it up). We drove around like that for a couple mins and then he put it down to 15 and I didn't really notice anything different, except things seemed a bit quieter after been exposed to that much volume.

Okay, so let's say that I had my sub pounding at 125dB at 40hz by using a SPL meter with C weighting, but when I switch it to A weighting it says its 95dB? Does that mean it's not really so dangerous after all? I think 95dB is safe for an hour or so a day, or is it? I'm confused... what's the diff?

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

Originally posted by: Ultima

Originally posted by: Harvey

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: crawford
ive heard that if doesnt affect you as much when youre young, but when you get old youll pay for it. i love tons of bass so i guess we'll see.....

Yep.... that's usually how it works.. heh.. :frown:

NO! That is NOT how it works. :Q Hearing loss from exposure to high sound levels is cumulative. The more your exposure, the greater the damage. When I see (or hear) people driving around with their windows up and their cars rumbling from loud music, I know they're in for a future of impared hearing. The same is true for exposure in loud concert venues and from playing music too loud through earphones.

If your ears are ringing after you listen, you have already done some damage. Please trust me on this. I am an audio professional. If you want to continue to enjoy music, or even simple conversation, as you grow older, protect your hearing, NOW!

My ears have never rang from my friend blasting his sub, they did once from a concert I went to. Once my friend turned his subs up to the max (after around 30 they didn't sound any louder but everything kept vibrating more and more the louder he turned it up). We drove around like that for a couple mins and then he put it down to 15 and I didn't really notice anything different, except things seemed a bit quieter after been exposed to that much volume.

Okay, so let's say that I had my sub pounding at 125dB at 40hz by using a SPL meter with C weighting, but when I switch it to A weighting it says its 95dB? Does that mean it's not really so dangerous after all? I think 95dB is safe for an hour or so a day, or is it? I'm confused... what's the diff?

link that explains the artifact of A,B,C weighting and the impact of low frequency dB on the ear.

The human ear filters out low frequencies. Both the shape of the ear, and the ear canal itself, serve to damp <200 Hz. The middle ear, actually amplifies mid-range frequencies. This double whammy effect makes it LESS likely to suffer hearing loss from purely low frequency tones. HOWEVER, it isn't impossible to damage your hearing with bass (or trout).

 

[RU482]

if you are that kid who keeps driving by my house, yes, bass does damage hearing

 

[Ultima]

I found this.

Also,

To provide a basis for determining safe sound-pressure levels, OSHA has established the following guidelines:
For sound-pressure levels of 90 dBA (A-weighted decibels), the maximum allowable continuous exposure time is eight hours. For every 5-dB increase in SPL, the allowable exposure time is cut in half. Note that OSHA regulations prohibit exposure of any duration to sound-pressure levels above 115 dBA unless hearing protection is used.

 

[Lithium381]

*without reading past the third post.....*

yes, it can at high volume, however, at the same volume, treble is more damaging to your ears(if high) high SPL's hurt either way.....i'm not a bass head, and i barely turn past 30% of my amp .. .. .

 

[Harvey]

Can you hear me now?
.
.
.

Can you hear me now?
.
.
.

(Ten years with very loud music pass)
.
.
.

ca.. y... h...r.. m.. . na....?

 

[LethalWolfe]

Harvey,,,, we got yer point, lay off the melodrama My dad is retired military and has severe hearing loss form the service so I'm very aware the how sh*tty life is w/poor hearing. I'm a concert junkie and I'm usually good w/the ear plugs but I have forgotten a couple of times. Once was at a small, loud club and I didn't hear normally for 3 days. Damage anyone? If I'm in a quiet room/place I have a "ringing" in my ears (sounds like a 1khz tone actually). Thankfully I can "focus" away from it and make it "go away." Other wise it would drive me insane.


Lethal

 

[Spoooon]

Originally posted by: LethalWolfe
Harvey,,,, we got yer point, lay off the melodrama My dad is retired military and has severe hearing loss form the service so I'm very aware the how sh*tty life is w/poor hearing. I'm a concert junkie and I'm usually good w/the ear plugs but I have forgotten a couple of times. Once was at a small, loud club and I didn't hear normally for 3 days. Damage anyone? If I'm in a quiet room/place I have a "ringing" in my ears (sounds like a 1khz tone actually). Thankfully I can "focus" away from it and make it "go away." Other wise it would drive me insane.


Lethal

I wonder if you have tinnitis? Exposure to loud noises can possibly trigger it. I too hear a "ringing" that I can make go away. But it's loud and proud at night unless I leave my computer or a fan on.

"Noise-induced hearing loss ? Exposure to loud noises can damage and even destroy hair cells, called cilia, in the inner ear. Once damaged, these hair cells cannot be renewed or replaced. Millions of Americans have hearing loss due to noise exposure, and up to 90 percent of all tinnitus patients have some level of noise-induced hearing loss."

 

[Ultima]

you both have tinnitus? that must be awful

The only time I hear a ringing in my ears is in dead silence - no noise of any kind. Then I can hear a slight ringing, but even then its hard to hear.

 

[mztykal]

I guess my hearing will go bad when I'm old too. In my car I'm a basshead.

 

[tcsenter]

The only time I hear a ringing in my ears is in dead silence - no noise of any kind. Then I can hear a slight ringing, but even then its hard to hear.

Same here, its faint but I can hear it if I'm in a completely silent room and with no distractions. Even if I start thinking about something else, the ringing 'goes away'. I rarely listened to my music 'loud' (as in 'blaring'), but I went to a dozen or so heavy metal and rock concerts as a teenager, and found it extremely uncomfortable so I usually stayed as far away from the speakers as I could.

I remember a couple people who thought the 'deafness' you had for the next 24 hours after attending a rock concert was a 'good' thing, because that meant it was a kick-ass concert.

I also remember thinking these people were idiots.

 

[Kinger]

My signature states my opinion.

 

[XFreebie]

huh? what u say?!

 

[Ultima]

so does anyone else here have any insight on this? Is the Db(a) scale an accurate way of seeing how much damage sound will actually do (and 120dB bass is more like 90dB on that scale)?

 

[BD2003]

Although it probably causes enough damage by itself, if I hear your bass THAT loud, I'm going to cause some damage to you on the spot.

 

[Harvey]

Originally posted by: Kinger
My signature states my opinion.

-------------------------
"If it's too loud, you're too old!"

You're a moron. Can you hear me, now?
.
.

Yr... a m..r..n. Ca.. yo hr.. me, na..?

 

[BillGates]

Originally posted by: chickendinner
when you get older youll need a bigger amp BFD

Right on.