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Losing hearing from prolonged headphone use, any tips?
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| weymouth |
For the last 5 years or so I've been using headphones for multiple hours a day. I hardly ever use speakers anymore because it bothers the neighbors. I would guess on average that I use headphones for 5 hrs a day. A lot of that time is listening to music while some of it is with gaming.
My questions to all you guys that know more about these things than me are:
What is the longest I should be wearing headphones at a time?
What type of volume should I be listening at to minimize hearing loss?
Is it true that ear buds cause more damage to the ears than normal over the ear headphones?
People that wear headphones a lot, do you have issues with ear aches/infections/excessive wax?
Any tips are welcomed because I can notice I am starting to lose some hearing but if I can minimize it with steps and still be able to listen for many hours that would be great. |
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| MrJiveBoJingles |
| quote: | Originally posted by weymouth
Is it true that ear buds cause more damage to the ears than normal over the ear headphones? |
As far as I know, people are more likely to damage their ears with buds because buds are not good at blocking out sound and are often worn with portable players in noisy environments, so people are more likely to turn them up to dangerous levels to compensate.
| quote: | | People that wear headphones a lot, do you have issues with ear aches/infections/excessive wax? |
I have no issues, and I wear headphones for hours most days.
Just to make sure what you are experiencing is actually hearing loss, I would stop using headphones altogether for several days, and if you listen to music, do so only at fairly low volumes on normal speakers. I have had times when I thought I was losing my hearing, but it turned out that my brain had just adapted to many hours of hearing music in headphones and had made normal sounds seem quieter and muffled temporarily. |
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| inconspicuous |
| tape bandages around your head, lock yourself in a pillowed room for a couple years, and coke it up until you make friends with an imaginary furry. |
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| woscar |
| It was a badger :o |
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| kadomony |
| Turn it up to 11. |
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| Cpt.Cocaine |
| Try to eliminate any ambient noise (open room door, fans, etc) and use noise-canceling headphones if you have to. The lower the ambient noise, the lower you'll have to set the actual volume to get the same impression of loudness. |
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| civicstyle2003 |
| Frankie! Frankie! Frankie! |
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| weymouth |
| thanks for the info guys. Ill try to go a few days without using them and see if I can adjust to a lower volume. |
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| WittyHandle |
I think you do produce more ear wax when exposed to higher volume. Next time you go to a doctor, ask them to look in your ears to see if there's any buildup. Once I had a problem in one ear (the ear I used to cue tracks with my headphones), went to the doctor, he flushed it out with warm water, and my whole world expanded with how much more I was able to hear.
Also, a muscle around the ear hole constricts when exposed to higher volume. Its a defensive mechanism to prevent hearing loss (the reason your hearing gets muffled after a loud concert / club night). It can take several days sometimes to relax. I notice it when I work out at the gym 'cause I crank my ipod so ridiculously loud (it gets me goin).
I've heard that taking magnesium supplements actually strengthens the cilia in your ears, helping to prevent hearing loss. |
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| SuspicionVandit |
| Don't let health go between you and your love. My ears will go out banging in a flurry. |
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