Ear Protection

[Daniel Petras]

I think in the past month my ears have started to noticeably ring. I've been working with a lot of synth stuff which sometimes has a lot of high frequency noise.

Any suggestions for ear protection? I put a low-pass filter on the master bus today which is easier on the ears, but then it always prevents from hearing things properly.

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[Gerhard Westphalen]

High frequencies themselves won't damage your hearing any more than other frequencies. If your work is, then it's because it's too loud. The only option is to turn it down. You could get ear plugs but that's the same as turning it down (unless you're working with other people who want the level higher). I know a mixing engineer who's worn ear plugs while tracking because the band wanted it loud in there.

Interestingly, I've heard that the bass drum does the most damage to a drummer's hearing. Since we're not very sensitive down there, we just don't notice how loud it actually is.

If your ears are ringing then you need to stop doing whatever it is you're doing asap!!! They shouldn't be ringing at all and at a certain point will never stop ringing. It could be some sort of chronic thing which isn't really treatable or preventable (as I've been unfortunate enough to have) but it sounds like it's from your monitoring levels.

 

[JeffvR]

High frequencies themselves won't damage your hearing. If your work is, then it's because it's too loud. The only option is to turn it down. You could get ear plugs but that's the same as turning it down (unless you're working with other people who want the level higher). I know a mixing engineer who's worn ear plugs while tracking because the band wanted it loud in there.

Interestingly, I've heard that the bass drum does the most damage to a drummer's hearing. Since we're not very sensitive down there, we just don't notice how loud it actually is.

That's not really true. First of all you won't hear the kick really loud when you're behind your drums. If you have noise induced hearing loss it's between 2k - 8k hertz.

 

[Gerhard Westphalen]

That's not really true. First of all you won't hear the kick really loud when you're behind your drums. If you have noise induced hearing loss it's between 2k - 8k hertz.

That's just what I've heard from drummers with varying amounts of hearing loss and tinnitus (and I'm a percussionist myself). I'm not sure how true it is but it was also told to me by a drummer friend who's pretty much completely lost her hearing in one ear from gigging. Maybe it has to do with wearing hearing protection that only rolls of the highs? I also know that many drummers crank the bass in their IEM because they can't hear it over all of the noise on stage.

 

[agarner32]

Trust me, high frequencies will cause damage. As a jazz pianist for decades, I've played next to drummers for years and I have also had tinnitus for years. I travel around with a white noise machine to mask out the ring. Do whatever you can to protect your ears.

 

[JeffvR]

That's just what I've heard from drummers with varying amounts of hearing loss and tinnitus (and I'm a percussionist myself). I'm not sure how true it is but it was also told to me by a drummer friend who's pretty much completely lost her hearing in one ear from gigging. Maybe it has to do with wearing hearing protection that only rolls of the highs? I also know that many drummers crank the bass in their IEM because they can't hear it over all of the noise on stage.

Well, read this https://www.aafp.org/afp/2000/0501/p2749.html and see the audiograms. Drummers usually don't "feel" the kick. Even with IEM you don't hear the sub bass. That's why some drummers use a butt kicker https://www.thebuttkicker.com/pro-audio

 

[Daniel Petras]

I started to notice it a couple weeks ago after I was working with headphones. I was trying to make high-pitch scraping sounds and definitely had a headache after that. I think it as a couple days after that when I went to sleep the ringing in my ears was more noticeable. Yesterday I was working on trailer music with huge walls of sound including very high and harsh energy. The high stuff definitely hurts and I noticed a little more ringing than normal. I'm going to have to get used to working on lower volumes. I just wish a had a place to work that didn't have so much background noise.

 

[synthpunk]

Please consult a professional ENT ears nose and throat doctor regarding the ringing in your ears which certainly sounds like Tinnitus. At the same time the doctor can check for any wax buildup or damage in your ear and clean them. This is something you must take seriously!

In the meantime give your ears a break and you can put cotton in your ears as well for a little relief. If you are around any loud environments such as concerts wear ear protection. You can get by with the cheap ear plugs from a store and then have custom-made ones made for your use as soon as you can.

I would also recommend to stop using any headphones, ear buds, or in-ear monitors and to turn your studio sound down and not listen above 88 d.b. (you can get a free DB monitor app for your phone). If you have bright sounding monitors it would also be wise to turn the HF control down if possible and check your speaker placement.

 

[fiestared]

Please consult a professional ENT ears nose and throat doctor regarding the ringing in your ears which certainly sounds like tinnitus. At the same time the doctor can check for any wax buildup or damage in your ear. This is something you must take seriously.

In the meantime give your ears a break and you can put cotton in your ears as well. If you are around any loud environments such as concerts wear ear protection. You can get by with the cheap ear plugs from a store and then have custom-made ones made for your use as soon as you can.

I would also recommend to stop using any headphones, ear buds, or in-ear monitors and to turn your studio sound down and not listen above 88 d.b. (you can get a free DB monitor app for your phone). If you have bright sounding monitors it would also be wise to turn the HF control down if possible.

Tanks for your detailled answer, every one should consider it, when working, I use some coton that I "customize" myself, it doesn't change the sound but protect my ears from the energy of the Music. And now I always put down the level, even with the tv.