Help me, I'm afraid to go deaf.

Post Reply New Topic

Hi, guys.

Well, if any of you know anything about hearing or sound ( the human ear), then I need some help.

Well, starting back to maybe early '07, I listened to my brother's ipod when I was bored, and I really didn't measure how long I did it for, I used to put it kind of loud, but not loud enough to kill my ears.

By mid-07, I got my own ipod, and it was stolen. So, I went for about a month or two without listening to one. Then, I got a new one, and by late-07, I found a lot of new bands and I listened to my ipod a lot of the time. And finally, by 2008, I was exercising a lot, listening to my ipod very loudly, mainly while running on treadmills. Yes, I was literally blasting it, and yet, I didn't feel any ringing in my ears or hearing loss.

However, as time went by, I started to feel nervous on my own. I began to feel like maybe I was damaging my hearing. Not because I was, but because I just did. My hearing was perfectly fine. And not often, but sometimes, out of nowhere, I'd hear a ringing in my ear, mainly the right, but it would happen to my left too. I know sometimes it's natural, but still.
Again, I say, not frequently, like once in a while.

And then, by early 09, I researched what an ipod can do to one's hearing, and I got freaked out. You can damage your hearing so easily with those things, and I've read that you can so much damage to your ears with ipod with just five minutes. And compared to how much I've been listening to it, I panicked, and I threw my ipod away. A tad extreme yes, but I love my ability to hear much more than something as stupid as an ipod.

I haven't listened to an ipod in months, and lately, I've been turning much of the noise down, like television sets and my computer's speakers. I have a quiet neighborhood, so there's not much to worry about outside.

The last time my ear rang was in early April, and it happened in complete silence, so it may just been a spontaneous ringing, and it was raining outside, so that could have been the air in the atmosphere. Recently, my ears have not rung once.

As for music, I listen to it much less now, and I turn it down much more.

But, I can't shake the feeling in my gut that, although I'm treating my ears much better, some damage may have been done. But' it's also weird, because I can still hear fine. I can hear every tone and tiny sound there is. Doe it takes years and years of abuse to make the damage kick in? Or did I not do enough to officially damage it? Or maybe I did just a speck of damage? Or perhaps I'm just being paranoid?

Either way, this is a valuable lesson. Never again will I blast an mp3 player. I promise to take care of my body. My health, hearing, vision, etc. is the greatest posession I have.

True, it's easy to damage your hearing by blasting a speaker that's placed directly in your ear.

Are you having trouble hearing things? You say you turn the volume down a lot -- most people with hearing loss blast the sound just so they can hear it.

Don't just sit there freaking yourself out -- go to a doctor and get a hearing test. Then you'll know for sure.

Mmm, thanks for the reply, CelticRose.

I feel confident that my hearing is fine, but even then, I'm still a little sad.


Does this mean I can't listen to music anymore? What seems to be a good level to listen to it on computer speakers? I don't wanna give up listening to it.

Well if you want to play it super safe, a volume where you can still carry on a conversation without raising your voice is fine, like the volume of speech.
By the way, I'm half deaf from birth, it's not as horrible as you think. Yes, do protect your ears, but try not to worry too much.

I second that if you are really concerned about it, go get a hearing test, a lot of walk-in centers will do them relatively cheap. I found out a few years ago that I have slight hearing loss on the high end in my left ear, this came from working in a granite quarry and spending so much time running a jackhammer with ear plugs that just barely made MSHA and OSHA requirements. I do get the ringing often, but I think we can agree that a pneumatic jack hammer is a lot louder than an ipod.

Um, I've read that some certain ipods can have over 115 decibels, which is equivalent to a jet taking off, which is pretty loud if you ask me.

If you're afraid about turning the volume up too much, get noise canceling headphones.
They'll drown out any type of noise around you so you won't have to turn up the volume as much.

When I got my pair of noise canceling headphones I was shocked at how much I could turn the sound down! Instead of having it up to 8 (out of 10), I was able to turn it down all the way to 2-4. And it's much more pleasant for the people around you too.

I broke mine some time ago, so I really need to look for some new ones:\

The worst you can get is those ear plug and ear bud things, stay away from those.

It really all depends on what kind of headphones you're using. I use big over-the-ear headphones because they provide a higher audio quality, but those little in-the-ear "earbuds" seal off any air entering or exiting your ear, and thus all the sound pressure is being contained between the diaphragm, your inner ear, and your ear drum.

To the person who mentioned iPods getting as loud as a jet taking off, is that as if you were inside the jet, or on the ground next to the engine?

That person would be me, the creator of this thread, and I'm assuming it meant on the ground, standing next to the engine.

I've got a better idea with the headphones we're all mentioning...

Don't use 'em at all. I used to use those little earbud ones, and every time I was running on my treadmill, they'd slip off, and I'd shove it into my ear deeper so it wouldn't fall out again. Yeesh. I almost cringe at how loud I listened to that stupid little machine.

I've also read that using headphones or an ipod while running isn't actually good for you. You want to focus your strength on your legs, not your ears.

I have tinnitus - a constant ringing in the ears. Thankfully it is bearable in volume, but it isn't good to have. I damaged my hearing when I was young (around 19 years old) due to exposure to loud noises. Once the damage is done it's too late - you have to live with it for the rest of your life.

I advise you to get a hearing test now to put your mind at rest, then learn to listen to music at a sensible level. You may prefer to have the music up loud enough to "really enjoy it" but you will not enjoy the next 50 years of partial deafness or tinnitus!

I've never really thought much of it really. I've had an iPod since December 2005 or so, and the only problem I've had as far as turning it up goes is the ear phones breaking. (Really, I'm quite glad I finally found a good pair, having gone through about seven or eight in the past) I've also been to concerts and other loud events, and when no ones home I turn up my speakers relatively high but from what I can tell I've lost no hearing from it.

Then again I've never gotten a hearing test or anything, so I'm not really aware if it has caused any damage but if it has it really doesn't matter to me.

You don't suddenly wake up one day and notice that you are hard of hearing. The drop off in your hearing is likely to be gradual, so gradual in fact that you will not notice it until maybe you are amongst a group of people talking around a desk or table and you are having difficulty following the conversation - it will seem to you as though some people are speaking too softly, rather than the problem being that your hearing is impaired.

If the above happens it is too late to reverse the damage.

Thanks for the advice. I'm listening at lower levels now. And hey, it's not so bad. You really should decide what you love more, loud music or your sense of hearing.

I prefer hearing, without an annoying ringing in my ear.

Sorry about your tinnititus.

Another tip is if you want to go to concerts and the like,

get a pair of musician's ear plugs.

They won't block out all sound like regular earplugs, but they actually work like a remote control..I suppose... as in... the volume of the sound will go down, but the quality will not.
And you can get plugs that block out a lot of sound (for the really noisy concerts) without quality loss or plugs that block out the sound a bit less (for quieter concerts).

I went by a couple of years of just going to concerts and subjecting my ears to the noise, but I too got a slight ringing sound after each concert...
So I made the sound decision to get some musician's earplugs and it works great. No more ringing ears, no more pain or anything:)

Though like what's said already, what damage is done, can't be reversed. But preventing any further damage is the next best thing you can do:)

I just got a hearing test, and it turns out, my hearing is fine. I never thought I could be more happier when I heard that news.

From now on, I will never blast an mp3, ipod, or stereo loudly never again at least, once in a VERY long while.

I don't know the amount of damage I had done with that stupid ipod I owned, but I promise God, my hearing, and my body, that I will never do it again. My poor ears were withstanding that loud, annoying rock music without mercy. They, literally, have EARNED a break.

Thank you God. You made me learn without consequences.

I love sound, I love music, but you've got to love your body more. I've learned a lesson for life:

"Love your body, and it will love you back."

I second the "musician earplug" recommendation. I've worn hearing aids since my youth and I still worry about nerve damage increasing. When I go to rock concerts and so forth, I always turn them way down, probally duplicating the effect of the earplugs musicians wear.