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Re: my poor ears : \
^^^ Bear's suggestions are very good, ear plugs are definitely a bonus and are not dorky... just laugh at the people who are ruining their hearing. 
| quote: | Originally posted by DjJade
i have recently noticed that it takes me longer to recover my hearing from going out to clubs and i am wondering if anyone else has noticed this problem over time.
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The problem isn't so much that you should be taking longer to recover, in fact it's the other way around. When you notice that it takes LESS time to recover, and when you feel as if you're "adjusting" to the sound (i.e. your ears don't hurt for a few days after - instead, they feel normal-ish on the next day, and completely regular the day after that) - THEN you should be worried, because you are causing damage to the receptacles in the cochlea (I'm pretty sure that's what it's called) in your ear. That's basically the place that transforms the sound into electrical signals. You don't want to damage that. 
I'm no expert on this matter though! Because, on the other hand, I can easily see the ear getting infected or the ear drums getting damaged, then one could carry pain with them for a longer time afterwards.
Certainly, if you feel pain in your ears the next few days after going to a club, then I would definitely say that you should go see a doctor.
Otherwise, take Bear's advice. Just generally listen to things at a lower volume. Here are a few hints and tips that I've learned over a while:
1. The proper volume to listen to music is at JUST the level when you can hear the music properly. (!!) The first time I learned that I was quite shocked, because it seemed way too soft for me. The way to do this is, on your CD player for example, turn the volume all the way down until you can't hear anything. Then slowly increase the volume until you get to the point where you can hear the music adequately, and can make out all the details etc. You probably will feel uncomfortable, because you WANT to turn it up a bit more - but your ears will eventually adjust.
2. If you're listening to a CD player (or MD, or MP3, or whatever) in a bus or car or any other noisy environment, try to "preset" the sound level *before* you enter that environment, and keep it at that level throughout. This is because when in a bus (or subway etc.), the amount of volume that is present can get very deceiving, due to the interference of outer noise. However, this might seem absurd because, if you keep your CD player at a "regular" volume while in a bus, you probably will barely hear anything at all!! When I'm in that kind of a situation, I just don't listen to my CD player anyway. Be warned - although you might think that you're listening to a safe volume, when you get back home (or in a low-noise area), just check your volume level. You may be surprised that it's set at an immensely loud level that you normally wouldn't listen to at home! And you were exposing yourself to that throughout the entire bus trip! (or wherever) Certainly an eye-opener! (or EAR-opener? )
When in a bus, your headphones are giving out the same amount of volume as they would anywhere (like at home, etc). So if you have to increase the volume - beyond what you would usually be listening to - in order to hear the music properly, then it's not a good idea. Your ears will usually ache after a while, which will clue you in.
3. Club advice, just read Bear's post above. Ear plugs and another key thing - try not to be too close to speakers. They are designed to provide adequate sound to the entire club, meaning that they are more powerful and louder (than you should be listening to anyway!) the closer you get to them. So if you're right up to them, that's an insane amount of volume right there. If you find (or anyone else) that you can bear that punishment (at "point blank range"), then it's a very good sign that you've damaged (destroyed, even?) your ears.  Of course, it depends on the sound system itself. In a smaller club it could be more tolerable.
4. Spinning at home - read Bear's post above as well. 
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i think part of it could be due to the fact that i have gotten used to good quality speakers and headphones so my ears are much more sensitive to harsh sound...[clubs around here have bad systems] or could it be that i listen to music too loud on a normal basis? |
This reminds me - it's ok if you listen to music at a normal level most of the time, then listen to it at above normal levels at infrequent opportunities. For example, if you go clubbing once every one or two weeks, exposing yourself to super loud levels (without ear plugs) then I don't think there should be much of a problem. The problem occurs when you prolong exposure.
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personally i don thtink i lisent to music that loud but compared to normal people i guess i do.
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Like I said above, what you think is "normal" can be very deceiving, depending on where you are! 
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i hardly go out... maybe once a month or so becuase i am so busy with school... someone please enlighten me becuase its starting to scare me when my ears are still not fully recovered two days after being at a club. |
That's not a problem... if your ears recover fully two days after being at a club, then you're getting slight damage. I remember when it almost took me a week to get back to normal. Now, I recover the next day usually. Bad sign. 
You know what, based on reading up on your situation, I wouldn't worry at all. I think you're just getting a placebo effect of sorts. I mean, ear damage is a serious issue, but it's not like ears are THAT fragile.. the human body is well designed. Of course, it wasn't designed to withstand 110+ dB of clubbing goodness, but then again, if you don't go out every other night and stand next to the speakers, you should be fine... (usually)
If there's one thing that you should remember from all this, it's:
Pain And Discomfort Are Your Friends!!!!
If you ever feel pain, or any discomfort in your ears, either stop listening to the music or turn it down, even if you think you're listening at a safe volume! Pain is your body's way of telling you, "Stop, you Fool!!!" Remember, your body knows what's good for it better than you do. Listen to it. 
Last edited by Alccode on Feb-24-2003 at 20:43
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