# Ear/Auditory fatigue, headphones - how to deal with it ?



## ManicMiner (Jan 13, 2019)

I often have my headphones on, not just for music creation, but for listening to news, other videos online etc. My living situation means that I can't use external speakers as often as I would like. 

I find that my ears/brain gets fatigued. Is this normal?

And apart from simply taking a break, is there anything I can do to refresh my ears/brain ?


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## Kony (Jan 13, 2019)

If using headphones for long periods, keeping the volume low is probably a good solution.


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## jneebz (Jan 13, 2019)

Definitely normal, even at lower volumes. Best thing (and really only solution) is to take a break and let your auditory system reset.


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## karelpsota (Jan 13, 2019)

I'll give you my secret but crappy trick:

Mix with only the right (or left) channel on. The stereo imbalance will force your brain to dislike loud volume. 

Also, my mixes tend to sound better reverb and balance wise since I'm not fooled by stereo width.


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## artomatic (Jan 13, 2019)

Take the 20-minute mandatory union break!


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## ironbut (Jan 13, 2019)

I listened to headphones for a lot for years.
A lot of that time, I was using high end electrostatics and to get the impact of dynamic cans, I listened pretty loudly.
These days, I can only listen to headphones for short times without loosing some hearing (temporarily).
I can't say that one thing led to the other, but the result is still the same.
I still listen to my favorite headphones to do reference comparisons but I have to be careful.
BTW I'm over 60 and that is a certainly a factor.


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## Bear Market (Jan 13, 2019)

I also listen a lot on headphones. Yes, I keep the volume at a fairly low level, however ear fatigue became a smaller problem after I got a headphone amp with crossfeed functionality. I'm not sure why my ears don't fatigue as easily to be honest, but if it is some kind of pseudo placebo effect, I'll continue to live in blissful ignorance!


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## ManicMiner (Jan 13, 2019)

Bear Market said:


> ear fatigue became a smaller problem after I got a headphone amp with crossfeed functionality.


Whats the idea behind a headphone amp with crossfeed - what is it supposed to do for you?


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## Bear Market (Jan 13, 2019)

ManicMiner said:


> Whats the idea behind a headphone amp with crossfeed - what is it supposed to do for you?



When you're listening on headphones you get complete stereo separation of the L and R channels. Your right ear hears only the right channel and your left ear hears only the left channel. This is different from when listening on speakers when both ears hear both the left and right channel (however with tiny delay for each side). This is what the crossfeed function on a headphone amp looks to emulate. A part of the R channel is fed into the left ear and part of the L channel is fed into the right ear.

I find this is more natural listening experience that alleviates ear fatigue.


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## Henu (Jan 14, 2019)

You can also use a cheap trick and position the headphones a bit "too high"/ "too loosely" to let your ears breathe a bit when listening to something where the sound quality is not crucial.


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## Divico (Jan 18, 2019)

Frequency response might be important too. A lot of high end makes me feel more fatigue faster. Some headphones are very top heavy by default. Stuff like sonatworks Reference can help with this. Or just pull a high shelf


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## Vardaro (Jan 19, 2019)

Headphones still sound clean at high levels, unlike monitors, which set off room resonances. And unconsciously we may be seeking the physical depth of vibration that is missing in 'phones. Dangerous.


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