craigb Posted March 3, 2023 Share Posted March 3, 2023 Love this stuff! 😊 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitflipper Posted March 4, 2023 Share Posted March 4, 2023 I've always wondered if "age-related" hearing loss isn't just nature's defense against our noisy world. We now know that it isn't really age-related at all, e.g. the hearing acuity of an 80-year-old from a remote tribe in the Amazon is as sensitive as that of a young child in urban America. In a 2008 talk by a hearing specialist at NAMM, they said that current teens have the hearing sensitivity of a 50-year-old fifty years ago. They chalked it up to in-ears at high volume for long hours. And predicted that by the time today's teenagers are in their 50's, hearing impairment will have become epidemic and a major health crisis. They also noted that one of the worst occupations for hearing loss, those who lose their hearing faster than average, was mix engineers. That hit hard for the audience, who were mostly mix and mastering engineers. They didn't have to include performing musicians. We already know we're screwed. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rain Posted March 5, 2023 Share Posted March 5, 2023 (edited) This morning as I was reading I was suddenly bothered by a very faint noise. I had to go outside to verify what it was as I couldn't identify the sound from inside the house but that one particular harmonic just resonated its way in. Upon investigation, turned out someone was operating a edge trimmer in the neighborhood, most likely on the next street over. Even outside, it was quite faint. And this happens all the time - I hear those faint noises nobody else in the house hears - and ventually manag to find the cause. For a second this morning I thought that that was one thing to look forward to as I get older - someday I won't be bothered by all the noises that are in truth barely perceptible. But I quickly changed my mind. It's a little "miracle" that my hearing is that good at 50 after all the abuse in my early years, so I'm actually quit grateful. And nowadays, I take good care of myself and I've long said my farewells to loud music. Wish my eyes were doing a good. Edited March 5, 2023 by Rain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmcleod Posted March 5, 2023 Share Posted March 5, 2023 It does make me wonder how permanent a lot of this actually is. Obviously subjecting yourself to really loud sounds/music could do physical damage, but there are environmental things that can temporarily "damage" your hearing. About 10 years ago, I was driving for 3 hours a day for around 2 years for my daily commute. The road noise in the car was sufficient for my brain to essentially do a fairly wide band cut around the road-noise frequency. Any mixes I did during those 2 years were awful, and I also found myself struggling to hear the dialog in TV shows. After I stopped the commuting, my ears did start to recover, but it did take maybe up to six months for my ears to readjust. If I'd have known at the time how much it affected my hearing, I'd have driven with ear plugs in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitflipper Posted March 5, 2023 Share Posted March 5, 2023 I am dismayed by how loud live music has become over the last 20 years or so. It diminishes the experience, imo. Sure, the audience will recover their hearing after an hour or so, but the degradation of the musicians' most precious asset will be cumulative and lifelong. Gotta be even worse for the FoH guys. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byron Dickens Posted March 5, 2023 Share Posted March 5, 2023 (edited) 7 hours ago, bitflipper said: I am dismayed by how loud live music has become over the last 20 years or so. It diminishes the experience, imo. Sure, the audience will recover their hearing after an hour or so, but the degradation of the musicians' most precious asset will be cumulative and lifelong. Gotta be even worse for the FoH guys. Especially with the popularity these days of low-watt tube amps and power attenuators. Lately, I have been really enjoying my real amps. Particularly now that after many years I finally bit the bullet, got my 1979 50 watt Marshall JMP Mark II Master Lead fixed and got a nice 1x12 cab and an attenuator. I can crank that sucker right up to the glorious tone heavens and be able to talk over it. I even have to turn it up via the attenuator if I want to record it. Edited March 5, 2023 by Byron Dickens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rain Posted March 6, 2023 Share Posted March 6, 2023 (edited) I remember seeing Them Crooked Vultures in 2010. Past the 3rd songs, it could practically have been anyone on stage playing anything. I get that people want the energy, but what about the actual music? Nine Inch Nails is the one band I saw that was both really loud and extraordinarily clean. In an arena famous for its awful sound, of all things. I remember that first kick drum hit feeling like a train passing through your chest, but the sound being perfectly balanced and clear. Incredible definition. It was shocking, really. I'm not sure how that's even possible. It would seem that such an assault on the human ear could not possibly be intelligible, that it would be physically impossible. And yet, it sounded great. My only complaint would have been that it was a little too perfect and controled at that point - no matter what they did onstage, they couldn't seem to sound bad. Great show though. Edited March 6, 2023 by Rain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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