Temporary Hearling Loss (Concerts)

[Zarkon]

So I went to my first concert in years, and had a freaking blast.

Of course, afterwards, I can't hear for shit.  Probably have temporary tinnitus.  I can hear, but everything sounds muffled.  Anyway, I know it's temporary (or presume it is), and won't be going to another concert for a good while.  My question is this:  How long can I expect this to last?

[joeyjazz]

Anywhere from 1-5 days to the rest of your life.  If it's just muffled hearing it'll probably come back within a day or so, if you have an audible ringing in your ear (tinnitus) you've done permanent damage that can never be reversed and it may or may not go away.  Invest in some decent hearing protection, there are much more expensive options that sound even better but those won't have as much of the muffled and muddy sound that is usually associated with earplugs.

[TiLT]

Never go to a concert without earplugs. I'm amazed they're allowed to pump up the volume as much as they do considering how many people get permanent hearing damage from concerts every year.

[rickfc]

Never go to a concert without earplugs. I'm amazed they're allowed to pump up the volume as much as they do considering how many people get permanent hearing damage from concerts every year.

WHAT DID YOU SAY?????!!???   

[Isgrimnur]

Somewhere along the way, I picked up tinnitus as a teenager.  When I went to have my hearing checked, my hearing in the ear with ringing tested better than the one without.  I can even bear that out by testing with my iPod headphones.  Moving the same earpiece from one side to the other sounds louder in the ear with ringing.

Thanks for reminding me.  Now I'm going to spend the whole damn day hearing it.  

[Ironrod]

I got permanent tinnitus at a Clash concert. Your brain eventually learns to ignore the ringing sound.

If your concert was just average loud you'll probably recover. My Clash show was painfully loud. The sound was so bad that after the show we couldn't agree what songs they had played.

[CeeKay]

Never go to a concert without earplugs. I'm amazed they're allowed to pump up the volume as much as they do considering how many people get permanent hearing damage from concerts every year.

WHAT DID YOU SAY?????!!???   

however, vision loss is caused by something completely different 

[Rumpy]

Yeah, I think I have a mild case of tinnitus, which comes and goes,  and have no clue where I got it. The thing with concerts is that they're often too loud to the point of the sound being distorted or not clear enough to hear the individual instruments.

[CeeKay]

Yeah, I think I have a mild case of tinnitus, which comes and goes,  and have no clue where I got it.

take your pick.

[Caine]

I forget which abomination of music band it was that played their music so loud you couldn't even make out which song, instruments, or words and everything blended together but I do remember having ringing for several days afterwards.

[metallicorphan]

i have always had bad hearing,and also get Tinnitus at times,even by turning my head sharply my hearing can 'go off'..and then feel as though they have cotton wool in them

after i went to an Aerosmith Concert in 1995,my hearing was screwed even more for about a week

[Bullwinkle]

I think you might have gotten a temporary typling loss, too.

[Jag]

I'm pretty sure my constant rock concert attendance in past years contributed to my poor hearing. On the plus side, I have an excuse why I can't hear the wife. 

[Gratch]

I've never used earplugs at concerts, and don't have any noticeable hearing loss.  Guess I'm just lucky.  :shrug:

That said, I'm seriously considering using them for the upcoming Slayer/Megadeth/Anthrax show, as I imagine that one might be over the top in terms of sheer volume.

[Knightshade Dragon]

I have blast damage tinnitus - it's like the day after a concert all the time.  Do yourself a favor - protect your hearing.  More arguments between my wife and I have begun because I didn't hear something correctly...

[LoneStarSpur]

Please protect your hearing. It's not fun being 56 and saying "Huh?" all the time. It's damned frustrating, to be honest.

Stupid headphones.

[Scuzz]

My hearing is on the decline probably because of concert abuse back in the day. After the last show I saw (Blue Oyster Cult in a bar) my ears and head actually hurt for a couple days..........I have actually not gone to shows because of that memory.

[joeyjazz]

Yeah, my ears rang for a full week after a Metallica show back in highschool and it scared the hell out of me.  I've worn ear protection ever since and eventually got custom molded earplugs made which were probably one of the best investments I ever made.

[MaxSteele]

The great thing about wearing ear plugs at concerts is you can actually hear the music better when you are wearing them.

Normally for me at a concert without earplugs, I can make out the guitar and drums, but the guitar and vocals turn into a high-pitch screech.  As soon as I put in the ear plugs, every instrument is heard clearly and I can understand the vocals.

[disarm]

I've never used earplugs at concerts, and don't have any noticeable hearing loss.  Guess I'm just lucky.  :shrug:

That said, I'm seriously considering using them for the upcoming Slayer/Megadeth/Anthrax show, as I imagine that one might be over the top in terms of sheer volume.

same here...just haven't bothered with earplugs so far, and i guess i've been lucky enough to avoid any serious damage.  the problem is that the damage is cumulative though...every little bit adds up over your life.

as for the Slayer/Megadeth/Anthrax concert...i just saw that show with Testament instead of Anthrax, and while it was loud, it wasn't anywhere near the loudest that i've seen.  that honor goes to a Motley Crue show in '97.  they were actually measuring the volume at every show and posting the results on their website to find the loudest city...Indianapolis was 2nd place for the tour at alleged volume of 127dB.  as for your upcoming concert, i thought Megadeth sounded great, but Slayer was just overly loud to the point that it sounded like a muddled mess most of the time.  to be honest, some of the best concerts i've experienced were those that recognized the benefit of sacrificing volume for sound quality.

[Gratch]

as for your upcoming concert, i thought Megadeth sounded great, but Slayer was just overly loud to the point that it sounded like a muddled mess most of the time.  to be honest, some of the best concerts i've experienced were those that recognized the benefit of sacrificing volume for sound quality.

Must vary by venue then, as someone over on OO who saw the show recently said exactly the opposite (Megadeth=bad, Slayer=Great). 

I''ll certainly agree that loud concerts aren't necessarily the best.  Loudest show I ever saw was White Zombie, and it was nothing more than a giant wall of noise for 90 minutes straight.  Most of the time, you couldn't even tell what song they were playing, it was just...loud.

[Xmann]

lol, that was me Gratch.   Testament and Megadeth was muffled and sounded like crap.   on the other hand, Slayer was ridiculously loud....but sounded awesome!

if i were to go to another one of these shows, i'd carry some earplugs with me or just buy the ones at the show for a couple bucks....just in case.

as for that show, my hearing was muffled afterwards for a couple hours but then it went back to normal.

[Rowdy]

I think it's bizarre that everyone at a concert generally accepts that they need to wear earplugs to reduce the volume.  If the band is wearing earplugs, and the fans are wearing earplugs... why not just turn the music down so you can all hear it without them? 

[Thin_J]

I think it's bizarre that everyone at a concert generally accepts that they need to wear earplugs to reduce the volume.  If the band is wearing earplugs, and the fans are wearing earplugs... why not just turn the music down so you can all hear it without them?  

You can't apply logic or reason to things like this. Nobody involved ever does and talking to them about it draws empty, blank stares.

[Rumpy]

Yeah, exactly. I went to a concert years ago, and I could swear the volume was perfect. Everything was clear and just loud enough and you could hear everything from the breaths they took, to the instruments. In some cases, loud is good, but I feel like the art of good volume is lost. I see different volume levels go with the type of music you're playing, or maybe I'm just crazy in thinking that? Well, with folk music, I expect the instruments and the voices to be tune to the point that it doesn't need to be loud in order to hear everything. Case in point, we have a pretty big music festival every year, and about 2 years ago, I had an opportunity for an amazing experience. I saw some really good music, and the guy (a Quebec musician) was exceptionally good and the way had his volume set up was chilling, in that you could hear the power in his voice, being able to project it without the volume being so high. Same was the case with another musician the same night. In short, the volume level was perfect. Then the headliner that night, the one and only Don McLean, while good, had his sound engineers redo the setup. It was accomodated for a bigger crowd, but what disappointed me was that the sound was way too loud for a folk-rock musician. There has to be a compromise, right? It just seems like they all want it super loud these days no matter what and compromising sound fidelity in the process.

[Biyobi]

The great thing about wearing ear plugs at concerts is you can actually hear the music better when you are wearing them.

That's because the sound engineers mixing the concert are wearing earplugs (well, in-ear monitors), too.

[Gratch]

Went to the Slayer/Megadeth show last night.  This was the first show I've ever brought earplugs to, mainly because other people had said it was so loud.  I actually ended up taking them out because everything sounded very muffled, and I have no ringing in the ears this morning.  I was actually a little surprised at how quiet it was (for a metal concert, anyways).  The last Nine Inch Nails show I saw was much, much louder.

[Bullwinkle]

Went to the Slayer/Megadeth show last night.  This was the first show I've ever brought earplugs to, mainly because other people had said it was so loud.  I actually ended up taking them out because everything sounded very muffled, and I have no ringing in the ears this morning.  I was actually a little surprised at how quiet it was (for a metal concert, anyways).  The last Nine Inch Nails show I saw was much, much louder.

You may have developed natural earplugs.

[Gratch]

Went to the Slayer/Megadeth show last night.  This was the first show I've ever brought earplugs to, mainly because other people had said it was so loud.  I actually ended up taking them out because everything sounded very muffled, and I have no ringing in the ears this morning.  I was actually a little surprised at how quiet it was (for a metal concert, anyways).  The last Nine Inch Nails show I saw was much, much louder.

You may have developed natural earplugs.

What?  Speak up, will ya? 

[kathode]

If it's a big concert in a major venue and you're not directly in line of the speakers, you're probably fine without earplugs.  For smaller venues, I always use them.  Just a plain fact that repeated exposure to intense noise like that is going to deteriorate your hearing over the long term.