Kush on hearing loss [UPDATE 1-5-22].

[Shane_B.]

This is an excellent vid on the topic of hearing loss and how he mixes. He and I have almost identical problems caused by the same thing. I think mine is worse than his though. Overall I've lost 35% in my left and 40% in my right. He mentioned a supplement he takes and it brought back a significant amount of hearing in one ear. He didn't mention it by brand so I know he's not just trying to sell it and get a cut. I found some online and ordered it.  

Lots of good info and well worth a watch.

He has a lot of great videos. His video about using compression completely changed how I approach it and made an enormous improvement in my mixes.

[Old Joad]

I love this guy, he reminds me of the ladies man.

you are right about worth watching?

 

[bitflipper]

I was once fortunate to sit next to a hearing expert on a flight, who I'd noticed was using an SPL meter to measure noise levels on the plane. A professor and researcher from the University of Washington, he was very happy to talk about his specialty.

One cruel factoid I learned that day was that audio professionals lose their hearing faster than the general population. Another discouraging observation was that teenagers in the US today have the ears of 50-year-olds 60 years ago. It's projected that hearing impairment will become a global epidemic when those teens are over 50.

A more encouraging lesson was that "age-related" hearing loss is not age-related at all. Hearing tests were given to some remote Amazonian tribes, people never subjected to the everyday noise of urban life. There, 80-year-olds had the hearing acuity of a 10-year-old. It's too late for me, but those of you still young enough to do something about it - protect your ears!

[craigb]

[Shane_B.]

11 hours ago, Old Joad said:

you are right about worth watching

I use that Ozone 9 Advanced plugin he showed and it does help a lot. The curve he shows is adjustable for different styles of music and iirc you can scan the EQ curve of any recording and use it. I grabbed O9A on sale one time and it is truly an amazing set of plugins. It's a huge resource hog though.

[RobertWS]

Eh? What?

[Shane_B.]

Here's his video on compression.

 

[michaelhanson]

Interesting.   Anyone tried the NAD+ ?

[Shane_B.]

14 minutes ago, michaelhanson said:

Interesting.   Anyone tried the NAD+ ?

I ordered a 3 month supply and just started taking it yesterday. Everything I read said it takes about 8 weeks to see any real results. I'll keep reporting back here every week.

I'm not big on supplements and have my doubts about all of them but I figured I'd give this a try. I know what he goes through and it's horrible.

I also have bone sound transfer or something like that. Can't remember the proper name. Basically the tiny bones fuse together and you hear certain sounds in both ears when they do their tests and in real life. Another result of inner ear infections. Eats away some and fuses others.

[michaelhanson]

4 hours ago, Shane_B. said:

I ordered a 3 month supply and just started taking it yesterday. Everything I read said it takes about 8 weeks to see any real results. I'll keep reporting back here every week.

I'm not big on supplements and have my doubts about all of them but I figured I'd give this a try. I know what he goes through and it's horrible.

I also have bone sound transfer or something like that. Can't remember the proper name. Basically the tiny bones fuse together and you hear certain sounds in both ears when they do their tests and in real life. Another result of inner ear infections. Eats away some and fuses others.

Yep, I’ve got hearing issues as well.  I have a dip in the mids.  I hear low frequencies well and fairly well on high frequencies.  At least the audiologist said good for my age.  The dip in the mids is enough that hearing aids truly help me.  I don’t hear women’s voices well and people who speak softly.    
 

I always thought mine was caused be a lot of shooting in my teens and twenties.  My brother recently  said he noticed that when I was in my teens that I didn’t hear certain things he heard.  Might have been infections then.

 

[paulo]

He should probably be more concerned with his memory loss.....2 minutes in and he's already saying things that he already said.

[msmcleod]

For a few years I had terrible tinnitus, to the extent where I went a whole year getting no more than 3 hours sleep a night.

I gave one of these a try, and it's totally cured it for me:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09G5VYBKL
 

[craigb]

3 hours ago, msmcleod said:

For a few years I had terrible tinnitus, to the extent where I went a whole year getting no more than 3 hours sleep a night.

I gave one of these a try, and it's totally cured it for me:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09G5VYBKL
 

Pro Tools version: ?

[Notes_Norton]

I always have protected my ears. I use either Westone or Etymotic ear musician's ear plugs. They go into a mold the audiologist makes, and you can plug in 15db or 25db inserts. The attenuation is almost flat, with only a slight roll-off at high frequencies on the 25 db.

I bring an SPL meter on stage. Monitor volumes are usually no louder than 95dba (A weighted, Slow response) and during sound test we make sure the volume at the closest table is no more than 85dba.

Why? We are the pros, and have the responsibility not to permanently harm the hearing of our guests.

Insights and incites by Notes

[Shane_B.]

5 hours ago, msmcleod said:

For a few years I had terrible tinnitus

Ear wax is one of the causes of Tinnitus. Debris left over from inner ear infections can cause it too but it is an extremely invasive surgery to have it corrected and there's no guarantee it will help.

I've actually cured some of mine. I had 5 distinct frequencies. Down to 3. ENT's do this but you can do it at home. Use a frequency generator and find the frequency your Tinnitus is at. Then do 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off for 5 minute intervals and repeat regularly at a volume level that is just above your Tinnitus. Make sure you isolate it to the ear you hear it in. You don't want to blast your good side.

2 hours ago, craigb said:

Pro Tools version: ?

??

[bitflipper]

I laughed when I saw Mark's post. Thought it was a gag. Like, "after reaming out a hole in my eardrum my tinnitus - and every other annoying sound - went away."

But it's real. Damn.

A few years ago I came back from the beach with water in one ear. Tried to soften it by running hot water into the ear in the shower, which only made it worse. Then I tried a Q-Tip (I know, I know) and went completely deaf. This happened 8,000 miles from home, which meant enduring an agonizing 15-hour flight without a functioning Eustachian tube.

Had I known then that a battery-powered ear reamer existed, I probably would have given it a try. It was more than a month before I got my hearing back, and I was starting to worry. Not desperate enough to seek medical help, though - self-employed people in America don't go to the doctor until it's life-threatening.

[msmcleod]

18 minutes ago, bitflipper said:

I laughed when I saw Mark's post. Thought it was a gag. Like, "after reaming out a hole in my eardrum my tinnitus - and every other annoying sound - went away."

But it's real. Damn.

A few years ago I came back from the beach with water in one ear. Tried to soften it by running hot water into the ear in the shower, which only made it worse. Then I tried a Q-Tip (I know, I know) and went completely deaf. This happened 8,000 miles from home, which meant enduring an agonizing 15-hour flight without a functioning Eustachian tube.

Had I known then that a battery-powered ear reamer existed, I probably would have given it a try. It was more than a month before I got my hearing back, and I was starting to worry. Not desperate enough to seek medical help, though - self-employed people in America don't go to the doctor until it's life-threatening.

This one isn't even battery powered.  You just twist it in your ear, pull it out and clean it.

I use it 2 - 3 times day, especially after using headphones for a while.  The silence and clarity in my hearing afterwards is surprising.

[craigb]

?

[Shane_B.]

7 minutes ago, craigb said:

?

It doesn't work. Mythbuster's debunked it.

[Shane_B.]

29 minutes ago, msmcleod said:

This one isn't even battery powered.  You just twist it in your ear, pull it out and clean it.

I use it 2 - 3 times day, especially after using headphones for a while.  The silence and clarity in my hearing afterwards is surprising.

More than likely your eardrums are collapsed. It happens when you have problems with your Eustachian tubes and your inner ear pressure isn't working properly. Putting that thing in your ear basically sucks your eardrums back out to a normal position and allows you to hear properly for a while. 

I mow 4.3 acres at least once a week on a diesel powered tractor. It takes about 4 hours. I buy earplugs in bulk and have a big bottle of hand sanitizer sitting next to it. The proper way to us them is pinch them to a golf tee shape then gently insert them in your ears and hold them there till they expand, then let go. It causes a reverse pressure on your eardrums so they don't vibrate as much and protects your ears. But as Kush said, low frequency vibration through your body will still cause damage. If you cna feel it, it can harm you. When I take them out the same thing happens. I can hear crystal clear, ringing and all, for about 20 minutes. Then the inner ear pressure goes back to it's improper state and the cotton magically reappears. It's horrible.

Be careful doing that. You could really screw your ears up.

You can get a camera on Amazon to put in your ear and it comes with a small soft tool for you to go in your ear canal and pull out wax. 

https://smile.amazon.com/Otoscope-Scopearound-Diameter-Ultra-Slim-Adjustable/dp/B07PHWBNJT/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=ear+canal+camera&qid=1632938332&sr=8-4