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In general, wouldn't listening to any headphone/earphone at a very high volume (which happens very often when you're listening in a loud environment like in the

In general, wouldn't listening to any headphone/earphone at a very high volume (which happens very often when you're listening in a loud environment like in the subway) eventually cause tinnitus? I know on android there's actually a specific warning about this if you go above a certain volume. What specifically about AirPods would cause this that other earbuds wouldn't?

codazoda 6y ago
And to flip that again, wouldn't having anything in ear ear dampen the noise of trains and such to actually help your ears? I rode a diesel electric locomotive commuting daily for about 8 years. These machines are very, very loud.
- cellularmitosis 6y ago
  Only if it creates a seal.
  - bluescrn 6y ago
    The lack of any real seal/isolation with the hard plastic of the non-Pro AirPods may lead to people turning the volume up even further. I’ve certainly found myself turning mine up quite high when listening to audiobooks while walking (with background traffic noise)
  - Applejinx 6y ago
    It takes a lot more than just that to really isolate. I use Remote Audio HN-7506: physical mass plays a part. Those are heavy, have gel earcups that are physically solid and bulky, and clamp really hard on your head. Earbuds aren't physically big enough and can't produce a rigid enough seal to compare… at least not AirPod style ones. I've not worked with rigid, custom-molded in-ears. Something like that might be enough of a barrier, but remember if sound waves can physically move the earphone against the seal, that's going to be sound leakage. The Remote Audio cans aren't designed for comfort, they're designed to control sound pressures that'd instantly wreck your eardrums, like high-caliber nearby gunfire for extended periods. The headphone drivers are literally an afterthought, added by a separate company if I remember correctly.
- ehsankia 6y ago
  It dampens the sound of the train, but people generally end up boosting the volume of the music to the highest level it goes on the phone, and that can cause issues long term. Blocking one sound doesn't help anything if you're replacing it with an equally (if not more) loud sound.
  - RealStickman_ 6y ago
    How do people stand listening to music on the highest volume settings? I'm in the lower third for music and lower half for youtube max.
- Delk 6y ago
  Maybe, if the noise from outside the earbuds is loud enough, and the earbuds are blocking at least some of that. But even if the earbuds block some of the outside noise, some of it is still going to get through, and that makes hearing the music harder and makes people want to crank up the music volume.
Applejinx 6y ago
Absolutely. Pete Townshend's deaf in one ear and has severe tinnitus, and he doesn't blame Marshall stacks (or even the still louder Hiwatt amps he actually used), he blames headphones in the studio. It's a very serious thing and it's dead simple to produce dangerous loudnesses, that close to the eardrum. What I ended up doing for tracking drums and loud things, is investing in some heavy isolation headphones, Sony drivers in the same kind of heavy tight enclosures used for ear protection at gun ranges. They're pricey, but they work. Otherwise, you're still getting close to the sound pressure levels of whatever drums or amps you're playing, and then you're trying to turn up the backing tracks in your headphones to be enough louder than that, so you can hear what you're working on. And that's super dangerous. Same thing with music to drown out noisy subway rides or what have you. You'll go deaf. Extra fast.
- michaelcampbell 6y ago
  > Absolutely. Pete Townshend's deaf in one ear and has severe tinnitus, and he doesn't blame Marshall stacks (or even the still louder Hiwatt amps he actually used), he blames headphones in the studio. Eddie Van Halen attributed his cancer to biting on metal guitar picks, and not his legendarily heavy smoking habit. Not sure we can put much stock in either.

codazoda 6y ago

And to flip that again, wouldn't having anything in ear ear dampen the noise of trains and such to actually help your ears? I rode a diesel electric locomotive commuting daily for about 8 years. These machines are very, very loud.

cellularmitosis 6y ago
Only if it creates a seal.
- bluescrn 6y ago
  The lack of any real seal/isolation with the hard plastic of the non-Pro AirPods may lead to people turning the volume up even further. I’ve certainly found myself turning mine up quite high when listening to audiobooks while walking (with background traffic noise)
- Applejinx 6y ago
  It takes a lot more than just that to really isolate. I use Remote Audio HN-7506: physical mass plays a part. Those are heavy, have gel earcups that are physically solid and bulky, and clamp really hard on your head. Earbuds aren't physically big enough and can't produce a rigid enough seal to compare… at least not AirPod style ones. I've not worked with rigid, custom-molded in-ears. Something like that might be enough of a barrier, but remember if sound waves can physically move the earphone against the seal, that's going to be sound leakage. The Remote Audio cans aren't designed for comfort, they're designed to control sound pressures that'd instantly wreck your eardrums, like high-caliber nearby gunfire for extended periods. The headphone drivers are literally an afterthought, added by a separate company if I remember correctly.
ehsankia 6y ago
It dampens the sound of the train, but people generally end up boosting the volume of the music to the highest level it goes on the phone, and that can cause issues long term. Blocking one sound doesn't help anything if you're replacing it with an equally (if not more) loud sound.
- RealStickman_ 6y ago
  How do people stand listening to music on the highest volume settings? I'm in the lower third for music and lower half for youtube max.
Delk 6y ago
Maybe, if the noise from outside the earbuds is loud enough, and the earbuds are blocking at least some of that. But even if the earbuds block some of the outside noise, some of it is still going to get through, and that makes hearing the music harder and makes people want to crank up the music volume.

Applejinx 6y ago

Absolutely. Pete Townshend's deaf in one ear and has severe tinnitus, and he doesn't blame Marshall stacks (or even the still louder Hiwatt amps he actually used), he blames headphones in the studio. It's a very serious thing and it's dead simple to produce dangerous loudnesses, that close to the eardrum. What I ended up doing for tracking drums and loud things, is investing in some heavy isolation headphones, Sony drivers in the same kind of heavy tight enclosures used for ear protection at gun ranges. They're pricey, but they work. Otherwise, you're still getting close to the sound pressure levels of whatever drums or amps you're playing, and then you're trying to turn up the backing tracks in your headphones to be enough louder than that, so you can hear what you're working on. And that's super dangerous. Same thing with music to drown out noisy subway rides or what have you. You'll go deaf. Extra fast.

michaelcampbell 6y ago
> Absolutely. Pete Townshend's deaf in one ear and has severe tinnitus, and he doesn't blame Marshall stacks (or even the still louder Hiwatt amps he actually used), he blames headphones in the studio. Eddie Van Halen attributed his cancer to biting on metal guitar picks, and not his legendarily heavy smoking habit. Not sure we can put much stock in either.