7 ms·

Crazy thought: Hearing loss starts at higher frequencies- so is it possible that we have a large portion of population with hearing issues due to years of abusi

by readhn 8y ago

Crazy thought: Hearing loss starts at higher frequencies- so is it possible that we have a large portion of population with hearing issues due to years of abusing technology? (I.e. Loud music in headphones, cars, homes?)

nniroclax 8y ago
Perhaps! I can't imagine living in a city, wearing headphones everyday, and hearing trains go by my apartment everyday is helping me hear "yanny" any better. I've had documented hearing loss since I was a toddler and for the life of me, no matter _how_ hard I try, I just cannot hear yanny. I really wish I could hear it.
- Double_a_92 8y ago
  The effect is still mostly in your brain. It's not that people are completely death to such frequencies, just slightly less sensible. A small imbalance causes your perception to change 100%.
- Applejinx 8y ago
  I'm a sound engineer and lifelong 'digital audio hater' who's objected to the unpleasant highs off CDs etc, relative to analog recording, for years. Also sleep in, and frequently use, earplugs, and live in mostly silence, also for years. Almost impossible for me to hear 'Laurel'. It's Yanny all day, over here.
komali2 8y ago
The BART is damaging thousands of people's hearing every day and nobody seems to care. >long or repeated exposure to sounds at or above 85 decibels can cause hearing loss. The louder the sound, the shorter the amount of time it takes for NIHL to happen. https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/noise-induced-hearing-loss https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/noise-induced-hearing-loss We were convinced for months before my friends and I got our hands on a decent decibel reader (didn't trust the phone apps) and it strays well past 85 up to 95 even, for up to 20-30 seconds between stops. If you ever see a group of nerds with earplugs in our ears shouting at each other on BART, that's my friends and I, we carry extra individually packed earplugs, feel free to ask us for a pair.
- __david__ 8y ago
  30 seconds isn't nearly long enough for 95 a decibel noise to permanently hurt your ears. Even at 100dB permanent damage take on the order of minutes, not seconds. At 90 dB it's measured in hours. Your BART ride isn't hurting you.
  - komali2 8y ago
    Twice a day, every day, for years? Do you have evidence to support this claim because it goes against my own research.
    - __david__ 8y ago
      The OSHA standards are a good starting point. Factory workers aren't even required to wear ear protection if the average noise over their 8 hour shift is under 85 dB. For 95 dB it's something like 15 minutes. From what I understand (and from what I've experienced), the every day repetition isn't the issue, it's the sustained noise for long periods of time. 2 little noisy bursts a day that are hours apart just aren't going to affect anything.
- DavidSJ 8y ago
  The new BART fleet is quieter: https://www.bart.gov/about/projects/cars/faq https://www.bart.gov/about/projects/cars/faq
p0larboy 8y ago
Hearing loss due to loud music in headphones is severely under-rated https://www.headphonesty.com/2017/03/5-ways-to-know-that-your-headphones-are-too-loud/ https://www.headphonesty.com/2017/03/5-ways-to-know-that-you...
KozmoNau7 8y ago
When people are playing music in their earphones, loud enough that you can hear it, while sitting next to them on the bus, they are absolutely damaging their hearing. And I'm not even talking about big headphones, which do tend to leak a lot of sound, I'm talking about the little earbuds. The sound level in their ears must be off the charts.

by readhn 8y ago

nniroclax 8y ago

Perhaps! I can't imagine living in a city, wearing headphones everyday, and hearing trains go by my apartment everyday is helping me hear "yanny" any better. I've had documented hearing loss since I was a toddler and for the life of me, no matter _how_ hard I try, I just cannot hear yanny. I really wish I could hear it.

Double_a_92 8y ago
The effect is still mostly in your brain. It's not that people are completely death to such frequencies, just slightly less sensible. A small imbalance causes your perception to change 100%.
Applejinx 8y ago
I'm a sound engineer and lifelong 'digital audio hater' who's objected to the unpleasant highs off CDs etc, relative to analog recording, for years. Also sleep in, and frequently use, earplugs, and live in mostly silence, also for years. Almost impossible for me to hear 'Laurel'. It's Yanny all day, over here.

komali2 8y ago

The BART is damaging thousands of people's hearing every day and nobody seems to care. >long or repeated exposure to sounds at or above 85 decibels can cause hearing loss. The louder the sound, the shorter the amount of time it takes for NIHL to happen. https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/noise-induced-hearing-loss https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/noise-induced-hearing-loss We were convinced for months before my friends and I got our hands on a decent decibel reader (didn't trust the phone apps) and it strays well past 85 up to 95 even, for up to 20-30 seconds between stops. If you ever see a group of nerds with earplugs in our ears shouting at each other on BART, that's my friends and I, we carry extra individually packed earplugs, feel free to ask us for a pair.

__david__ 8y ago
30 seconds isn't nearly long enough for 95 a decibel noise to permanently hurt your ears. Even at 100dB permanent damage take on the order of minutes, not seconds. At 90 dB it's measured in hours. Your BART ride isn't hurting you.
- komali2 8y ago
  Twice a day, every day, for years? Do you have evidence to support this claim because it goes against my own research.
  - __david__ 8y ago
    The OSHA standards are a good starting point. Factory workers aren't even required to wear ear protection if the average noise over their 8 hour shift is under 85 dB. For 95 dB it's something like 15 minutes. From what I understand (and from what I've experienced), the every day repetition isn't the issue, it's the sustained noise for long periods of time. 2 little noisy bursts a day that are hours apart just aren't going to affect anything.
DavidSJ 8y ago
The new BART fleet is quieter: https://www.bart.gov/about/projects/cars/faq https://www.bart.gov/about/projects/cars/faq

p0larboy 8y ago

Hearing loss due to loud music in headphones is severely under-rated https://www.headphonesty.com/2017/03/5-ways-to-know-that-your-headphones-are-too-loud/ https://www.headphonesty.com/2017/03/5-ways-to-know-that-you...

KozmoNau7 8y ago

When people are playing music in their earphones, loud enough that you can hear it, while sitting next to them on the bus, they are absolutely damaging their hearing. And I'm not even talking about big headphones, which do tend to leak a lot of sound, I'm talking about the little earbuds. The sound level in their ears must be off the charts.