# Ear concerns



## Lisztian (Oct 10, 2011)

G'day all,

I'm 23 years old, and live with my brother; my brother whose Aspergers syndrome has always manifested itself in a way that he can't really stand the sound of music being played around him. Because of this I have always listened through headphones (usually quite cheap). 

Around a week ago my headphones stopped working, so I temporarily resorted to using the cheap ear-buds that come with an iPhone. A couple of days ago I listened to Shostakovitch's 8th symphony with these, and afterwards I found that my ears had a mild but very noticeable ache, accompanied by a high ringing in my ears. I stayed away from music for the next couple of days, but then today watched a program about the Baroque era. When the Baroque trumpet was being demonstrated the ache came back, despite the volume being quite low.

This is, as you'd expect, making me panic a bit as music is by far my favourite impersonal aspect of my life. Has anyone else had similar experiences? What did you do about it? How should I go about it? I want to make sure I go about it properly right from these first symptoms so that the music I love (including exceedingly dramatic music) can be experienced without any compromise.

Thanks.


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## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

Please give your ears a break. No earbuds and no loud listening volumes. Something to consider: the better the quality of earphones, especially the over the ear open back kind, such as the great Grado SR60s or something similar, the lower the volume is necessary to get a thrill. The worst earphones in the world? Cheap earbuds played loudly that can sometimes create a pressure within the ear and be damaging. Your hearing should last a lifetime, and with good quality phones (not earbuds IMO) where obscenely loud volume levels are not required, you have a better chance of doing that. I would also suggest that you have your ears checked as soon as possible to find out more about your symptoms. In the meantime, I would be reluctant to use the earphones you have and see if your symptoms subside. Good hearing, even great hearing, should last a lifetime, and there are ways of preserving it, if one doesn't take it for granted. I'm speaking from many years of personal experience and wishing you many happy hours in the years ahead of responsible and enjoyable listening. Best wishes.


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## Lisztian (Oct 10, 2011)

Larkenfield said:


> Please give your ears a break. No earbuds and no loud listening volumes. Something to consider: the better the quality of  earphones, especially the over the ear open back kind, such as the great Grado SR60s or something similar, the lower the volume is necessary to get a thrill. The worst earphones in the world? Cheap earbuds played loudly that can sometimes create a pressure within the ear and be damaging. Your hearing should last a lifetime, and with good quality phones (not earbuds IMO) where obscenely loud volume levels are not required, you have a better chance of doing that. I would also suggest that you have your ears checked as soon as possible to find out more about your symptoms. In the meantime, I would be reluctant to use the earphones you have and see if your symptoms subside. Good hearing, even great hearing, should last a lifetime, and there are ways of preserving it. Best wishes.


Thank-you for the sound advice: will be sure to act on it.


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## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

Edit: Didn't see the above response before posting. Good advice there also.

The ringing in the ears (aka tinnitus) is a warning sign and one that you have to take very seriously, especially at your age since you want to preserve your hearing for a lifetime. What is particularly at risk here is your high frequency hearing. The various frequencies of sound are detected by small hair cells in the inner ear. When subjected to overly loud sound, the tiny capillaries (blood vessels) serving the hair cells constrict thus reducing blood/oxygen to the cells. Over time, the hair cells wither and even die with repeated assaults. The tiniest hi-frequency hair cells are most susceptible.

The good news is that this episode will resolve over a few days if you avoid loud sounds/music. From now on you should avoid overly loud volumes and don't use small in-ear buds. Classical music has wide dynamic range so that it can go from very quiet to very loud very quickly and when the loud sound is projected directly into the ear thru a small bud, the potential for damage is greater. Best to use over-ear headphones and keep the volume at a reasonable level. If you have a return of the ringing even after being careful, you should visit a ENT physician to have your hearing checked.


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## Lisztian (Oct 10, 2011)

DaveM said:


> Edit: Didn't see the above response before posting. Good advice there also.
> 
> The ringing in the ears (aka tinnitus) is a warning sign and one that you have to take very seriously, especially at your age since you want to preserve your hearing for a lifetime. What is particularly at risk here is your high frequency hearing. The various frequencies of sound are detected by small hair cells in the inner ear. When subjected to overly loud sound, the tiny capillaries (blood vessels) serving the hair cells constrict thus reducing blood/oxygen to the cells. The tiniest hi-frequency hair cells are most susceptible.
> 
> The good news is that this episode will resolve over a few days if you avoid loud sounds/music. From now on you should avoid overly loud volumes and don't use small in-ear buds. Classical music has wide dynamic range so that it can go from very very quiet to very loud very quickly and when the loud sound is projected directly into the ear thru a small bud, the potential for damage is greater. Best to use over-ear headphones and keep the volume at a reasonable level. If you have a return of the ringing even after being careful, you might want to visit a ENT physician to have your hearing checked.


Thank-you very much for the advice/knowledge. Much appreciated, both of you :tiphat:


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## scratchgolf (Nov 15, 2013)

I offer this advice, and it is free. Stop eating meat. Stop drinking poison. Stop craving flesh and crave spirit. Laugh, listen, or learn.


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## Myriadi (Mar 6, 2016)

I don't want to alarm you, and it's probably like DaveM said, something that will resolve on its own. But I have to say that if I were you, I'd visit a specialist doctor, just to be safe. There is a wide variety of hearing issues, and while some of them are relatively harmless, others can become very severe if unchecked, e.g. hyperacusis. There was a heartbreaking story about a guitarist with extreme hyperacusis, some years ago - see https://www.buzzfeed.com/joycecohen/noise-kills-when-everyday-sound-becomes-torture


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Did you recently have a severe cold? This sometimes happens in its aftermath (happened to me a few months ago, lasted on and off a few weeks, and has been gone for about a month now).


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Simple thing to try: My wife had hearing symptoms and it turned out to be a slight infection affecting the Eustachian tubes. Quickly cured with a Neti pot, most drug stores have them. Here's the one she got.

https://www.amazon.com/NeilMed-Nasa..._1_5_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1503168498&sr=1-5


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

scratchgolf said:


> I offer this advice, and it is free. Stop eating meat. Stop drinking poison. Stop craving flesh and crave spirit. Laugh, listen, or learn.


Advice like that should be free.


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## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

Myriadi said:


> I don't want to alarm you, and it's probably like DaveM said, something that will resolve on its own. But I have to say that if I were you, I'd visit a specialist doctor, just to be safe. There is a wide variety of hearing issues, and while some of them are relatively harmless, others can become very severe if unchecked, e.g. hyperacusis. There was a heartbreaking story about a guitarist with extreme hyperacusis, some years ago - see https://www.buzzfeed.com/joycecohen/noise-kills-when-everyday-sound-becomes-torture


Yes, it wouldn't hurt to have it checked out now.

Since this subject has been raised, people of all ages should be doing more to safeguard their hearing. Sustained sound levels over 85-90db can do harm and short-lived episodes at 110-120 and above can cause tinnitus and temporary hearing loss. There are some good smartphone apps for measuring sound levels.

One of the worst sound environments are during movie previews where the sounds are jacked up even beyond normal movie levels. I routinely wear ear plugs to movies and only remove them if the movie itself has safe sound levels. We are constantly subjecting ourselves to hazardous sound levels around the home. Ear plugs or protective ear covers are necessary when operating lawn mowers, buzz saws and the like. I even wear ear plugs when operating my smoothie food blender.

I didn't follow these rules when I was younger and I listened to rock music at far too high levels. My high frequency hearing is very limited now and I have frequent tinnitus from damage to the hair cells. Be warned!


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## Tallisman (May 7, 2017)

Hang in there! I'd say check it out with a doc if it doesn't improve, though.


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

Advice:

Don't wear ear buds.

Don't attend clubs, fraternity parties, or live pop concerts.

Don't accept a ride from someone whose car stereo you can hear from three blocks away.

Listen to The Ring cycle very carefully.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

I've found the ache from earbud type earphones is much the same ache you can get from foam earplugs, they press on the opening of the ear-canal in the same way. I stopped using them and went back to the older style that sit in the outer ear against the canal opening and the ache has disappeared.

Only a specialist can tell you whether there is a real problem, but everyone ought to be aware that from age 18 onwards everyone's hearing begins a slow rate of degradation. By age 30 there are many frequencies no longer detectable which you would have heard 15 years earlier. This phenomenon is the basis behind the so-called 'Mosquito' used to deter youths gathering outside public areas.


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## Brahmsian Colors (Sep 16, 2016)

Check with a hearing specialist regarding tinnitus and the possibility of some degree of hyperacusis.


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