Did I wreck my hearing in just one week?

[earwicker7]

Man, that ringing still won't go away. It's not bad, fairly low level, but it's persistant. Went to see the doctor and told him I got some new headphones; he said "Oh, what kind?" As soon as I said Sennheiser, he got this look on his face, and it wasn't good. "You get them out, turn them up a bit, hey they aren't distorting, let's turn them up, they sound so good, so up, and up, and up." Apparently these things are popular with his clientele... Hollywood types.

This would be just my luck... ten years standing in front of LOUD amps at gigs with the volume up so loud it shook the building. Years with the car radio so loud you could hear it down the street. One week with Sennheisers and the doc says I may have permanently damaged my hearing.

I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that this will go away. Anyone else have this horror story happen to them? To those who do have tinnitus, how does it affect your listening? Obviously, I've been scared enough to NEVER listen at the levels that got me here. But I'm not about to give up listening to them, they sound too damn good.

[justin]

If you're that concerned, spend $100 (just an estimate) on an SPL meter. Only 1% the cost of the rig you just bought. I think anything over 80dB for an extended period of time can cause permanent damage.

[earwicker7]

If you're that concerned, spend $100 (just an estimate) on an SPL meter. Only 1% the cost of the rig you just bought. I think anything over 80dB for an extended period of time can cause permanent damage.

Dude, I've been around music long enough to know I hit far over 80dB for two or three hours . This was primarily stupidity on my part. Damned invulnerability complex!!!

That being said, I can sometimes be a bit of a hypochondriac. Maybe it's not going to be as bad as I think and it will get better. However, I wish there were a "slip and fall" type warning on cans with this much power for people suffering from momentary stupidity like me.

[HiWire]

Sennheisers make my ears ring too, even at a low volume... I'm glad I crossed over to the other side.

[Dusty Chalk]

I wouldn't necessarily blame the Sennheisers -- there's no way on earth that all those earlier incidents aren't contributing.

That said, I have tinnitus, and in my case, it's largely allergy induced. I can't say you just get used to it, but let's put it this way -- life goes on. Life with music goes on. It's just annoying.

[earwicker7]

Sennheisers make my ears ring too, even at a low volume... I'm glad I crossed over to the other side.

How long did it last? It's been ringing for like 5 days now.

Again, though... sometimes I freak out about stuff like this. Once I went to the same doctor (who tends to be very dramatic) with a stomach ache. He looked at me and said "Could be hepatitis!" I went around for the next week or so (until i tested negative) convinced I was dying of hepatitis. Turned out it was a reaction to naproxin (Aleve, the over-the-counter stuff) and went away. I've probably had this ringing in my ears forever and just never noticed it.

[earwicker7]

I wouldn't necessarily blame the Sennheisers -- there's no way on earth that all those earlier incidents aren't contributing.

That said, I have tinnitus, and in my case, it's largely allergy induced. I can't say you just get used to it, but let's put it this way -- life goes on. Life with music goes on. It's just annoying.

Dude, serious allergy sufferer here; I'm on four different allergy meds

Honestly, if I can still listen to music I'll be fine. I've dealt with much worse stuff in my life. Just wondering, do you find that you turn down the music so as not to make it worse or do you turn the music up so you don't notice it? Obviously, I'm not talking hearing-damaging levels, I'm through with that.

[Dusty Chalk]

4, here, as well: allegra, nasonex, astelin, sudafed.

I turn it down. Louder doesn't help -- it seems to be registering on a completely different plane. I try to just mentally concentrate on listening to the music, lubricate and clear the nasal passages often (I'm really prone to sinus infections).

Funny story -- we have two bathrooms, one male, the other is supposed to be for handicapped, but it's unisex. When I go to...uh..."keep my nose clean", I usually use that one. Of the two times that I used the men's bathroom, both times my boss has walked in on me. He didn't say anything either time, and the first time he just shook his head.

[earwicker7]

Funny story -- we have two bathrooms, one male, the other is supposed to be for handicapped, but it's unisex. When I go to...uh..."keep my nose clean", I usually use that one. Of the two times that I used the men's bathroom, both times my boss has walked in on me. He didn't say anything either time, and the first time he just shook his head.

There's two types of people at my work... the ones who know I have allergies and the ones that think those sounds coming from the bathroom are me snorting coke. Granted, 10 years ago and they'd be right

[earwicker7]

Well, the ringing seems to be getting better. It's still there, but not nearly as loud. Maybe I'll make a full recovery

Anyways, does anyone out there agree with me that there should be a consumer warning on these things? I've listened to loud music all my life, but nothing ever effected my ears this much. From the research I've done after the fact, it seems that it is much easier to fool the ear into thinking levels are safe with headphones. Don't worry, I'm not one of those "Slipped on peepee at the Costco and woke up $50,000 richer" people, I won't sue. 10 points for anyone who gets that reference

[JBLoudG20]

I think there ARE warnings in the documentation.

[Augsburger]

DC. sorry for the momentary thread jack, is your MD aware that you are taking Allegra, Astelin and Sudafed at the same time? And they are OK with that?

4, here, as well: allegra, nasonex, astelin, sudafed.

I turn it down. Louder doesn't help -- it seems to be registering on a completely different plane. I try to just mentally concentrate on listening to the music, lubricate and clear the nasal passages often (I'm really prone to sinus infections).

Funny story -- we have two bathrooms, one male, the other is supposed to be for handicapped, but it's unisex. When I go to...uh..."keep my nose clean", I usually use that one. Of the two times that I used the men's bathroom, both times my boss has walked in on me. He didn't say anything either time, and the first time he just shook his head.

[earwicker7]

I think there ARE warnings in the documentation.

I should take a closer look, because I didn't notice it. Maybe there should be something a bit more upfront, like a big warning label instead of footnotes.

[earwicker7]

DC. sorry for the momentary thread jack, is your MD aware that you are taking Allegra, Astelin and Sudafed at the same time? And they are OK with that?

I'm taking Nasonex, Astelin, Claritan (sp?), and Singulair on a constant basis; this regimen was given to me by an allergy specialist, so yes, doctors do dope you up like that if your allergies are bad enough. I've found that, if I keep up with dusting the house, I can lay off of some of them on a good day.

[Dusty Chalk]

No, I don't think they should come with warnings -- people like you know they're listening too loud -- you knew when you were younger, you said it yourself, you suffered from "invincible syndrome".

DC. sorry for the momentary thread jack, is your MD aware that you are taking Allegra, Astelin and Sudafed at the same time? And they are OK with that?

Not only is she aware, she's the one that prescribed me to do so. She's basically maxing me out on them right up to the safe limit. I've actually told her that this is barely enough, and is there any way that she could push me a little farther (for example, by also prescribing me Singulair), and she said no.

I was taking Claritin when I was unemployed -- it doesn't work as well for me as Allegra.

Not sure what's wrong with combining Sudafed/Allegra -- one's an antihistamine, the other's a decongestant.

[n_maher]

I should take a closer look, because I didn't notice it. Maybe there should be something a bit more upfront, like a big warning label instead of footnotes.

Do you need a warning sign on the steering wheel of your car to let you know that driving fast can kill you? Jebus, let's cover the world in warning labels.

[deepak]

I should take a closer look, because I didn't notice it. Maybe there should be something a bit more upfront, like a big warning label instead of footnotes.

Most people really don't care about tinnitus. It's a S/E of a lot of meds. People usually care more about nausea, vomiting, and headaches. The pharmacist should mention it.

Some physicians will only mention serious S/E's or S/E that might cause the patient to discontinue use (like dry cough associated with ACE inhibitors).

[philodox]

I thought I had really bad seasonal allergies, but the doctor prescribed me some nasonex for two months and a decongestant for two weeks. Not taking the decongestant any more and am just on the nasonex... and feeling worlds better than when I used to cycle through over the counter medicines for allergies. I wish I had discovered nasonex sooner. I still have some pills that I keep on hand in case the allergies flare up again, but I haven't needed them so far.

[earwicker7]

Do you need a warning sign on the steering wheel of your car to let you know that driving fast can kill you? Jebus, let's cover the world in warning labels.

Fair point, I guess. It's just that there is proof that headphones don't "sound" like they're damaging your hearing in the same way that speakers do. There are physiological mechanisms at work that keep your ears from feeling pain that you would easily feel with speakers. All I'm saying is that this information is EVERYWHERE except on the headphones. Do a quick google search and you'll find that it is common knowledge among doctors that this happens too easily. Don't get me wrong, I did this to myself, I'm not blaming anyone; I just wish I had more knowledge at my disposal before this happened instead of finding it all afterwards.

So take the car example... imagine that there was a car invented that every engineer knew "felt" like it was doing 60mph when it was actually doing 180. All I'm saying is that the manufacturers would probably have some kind of warning lable. I'm not saying that people shouldn't be allowed to drive that car at 180 as long as they are aware of it.

Just philosophical musings, I'm not asking for legislation or anything.

[postjack]

My Sennheisers have this warning on them. Lots of headphone amp manufacturer manuals have this warning (I know Meier does for a fact).

[qazwsx]

I tried Nasonex and it didn't do shit. Allegra is alright.

[philodox]

Well isn't Nasonex more for sinus problems than allergies? I was extremely stuffed up to the point where it was starting to screw with the hearing in my right ear... I was blowing air out my eye when I blowed my nose. Nasonex has helped me out a lot.