That's a damn good question, I've also been thinking about that lately. I think getting a really good pair of headphones is the first step, so you don't need to crank it to hear the nuances. But other than that, I honestly think we're S.O.L.

Actually I just now thought of something that *might* work - you know how when you walk inside from the bright sunlight, you can't see shit for a few minutes? I wonder if it would help to take say, 5-10 minutes out of every hour to focus on some really quiet sound. I know this wouldn't actually repair any "damage", but I'm thinking it might help re-adjust my ears to normal sound levels so I don't need to listen as loud.

I'm surprised I didn't think of that before, because it actually makes a lot of sense... normally I'll sit down and get started with the volume at 20, and by the end of the night it'll make its way up to 30. Taking steps to keep it at or around the original "quiet" level might mitigate a *lot* of the hearing damage issues...

Any thoughts on that?

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if you are listening to music for 4-5 hours, try to keep it below 90 or so decibels.

here is a good read. http://hifivi.greatnow.com/hearing.html.

Mixing loud is always great, and you can hear the mix better and balance the level better, but a mix that was done at a high volume wont always sound good when quiet. A mix that sounds good quiet will most always sound good loud. So why not mix at a lower volume?

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quote:

Originally posted by moth Mixing loud is always great, and you can hear the mix better and balance the level better, but a mix that was done at a high volume wont always sound good when quiet. A mix that sounds good quiet will most always sound good loud. So why not mix at a lower volume?

That's not always true.. Since sometimes the hifreqs will tear your ears up at loud volumes. But at low volumes this will not occur. When mastering it's always best to keep it at loud volumes, to ensure the mix hasn't got any bad hi freqs devastating peoples ears!

quote:

Originally posted by chillsonic if you are listening to music for 4-5 hours, try to keep it below 90 or so decibels. here is a good read. http://hifivi.greatnow.com/hearing.html.

link doesn't work

for me,i must mixing loud if i want to hear things well,but i am too scarred about ear damage,i heard about earplugs,anybody tried it on forum?
how can i exactly know on what decibel level my ears are safe and how to know on which db level is music when i;m playing it for example in FL studio?i know about FL dm meter,but it show just about 0db i dont understand what it show actually.
is there any good article or web resource?

thanx

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First of all, nice thread.

Second and last...

* Doing five hours session of work is not advisable, first because you lose objectivity after 2 hours (max 3) of making , mixing , and mastering sounds. And second because as you stated every hour, you'll need one more decibel to keep it as loud as your ears need.

So take a break of 15 minutes every 2 hours doing something else than listening to / producing music.

* Get Monitoring Headphones, do not liten to your production tracks using $19.99 headphones, they generate more high frequencies and noise plus they don't isolate the noise that is in your environment.

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Don't use headphones all the time mate. You will end up damaging your ears. Use speakers as much as possible. They don't do as much damage when they're not strapped to your head.

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quote:

Originally posted by krivi link doesn't work for me,i must mixing loud if i want to hear things well,but i am too scarred about ear damage,i heard about earplugs,anybody tried it on forum? how can i exactly know on what decibel level my ears are safe and how to know on which db level is music when i;m playing it for example in FL studio?i know about FL dm meter,but it show just about 0db i dont understand what it show actually. is there any good article or web resource? thanx

earplugs are good for protecting your ears, but certainly not for producing because of high frequency attenuation. sound pressure level (spl) reccomended for monitoring on speakers is about 83-85 dB, and it should be lower for headphones because they are directly on your ears. the level depends on your amplifier gain, not on your fruity output level. fruity output level shows you the output level from your soundcard which has almost nothing to do with loudness since it is in the beginning of the analog signal chain.

dont use headphones that much man.. i would suggest only to listen through ur track a few times and make small adjustments ect...

making ur music in headphones will damage ur ears..

another thing.. mixing at an "normal" listening volume is preferable.. u have to be aware of the fact that music does sound much better at loud volumes..

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quote:

Originally posted by hey cheggy Don't use headphones all the time mate. You will end up damaging your ears. Use speakers as much as possible. They don't do as much damage when they're not strapped to your head.

Best advice.

I have a very high pitched ringing in my ears *all the time* from being subjugated to way too many bursts of white noise in a breakdown or buildup sequence.

With that said... BEETHOVEN WAS COMPLETELY DEAF.

quote:

Originally posted by chillsonic if you are listening to music for 4-5 hours, try to keep it below 90 or so decibels. here is a good read. http://hifivi.greatnow.com/hearing.html.

Good read.

It made me concerned though... like, how can we protect ourselves? I'm not gonna stop going to clubs and gigs and stuff that will damage my ears, so I'd rather be safe about it...

Slightly off topic I know.