Pain + ears

DanJamesAUS · 2020-12-30T14:24:40.660Z

It’s only a small room,
I wouldn’t recommend 8s unless very large room, or ever really
you get reflections off the walls, ear fatigue and end up with tinnitus…

Airyck · 2020-12-30T16:37:16.583Z

How loud are you monitoring? 80-85dB should be your target listening level, which is relatively quiet. Anything above that for extended periods will cause temporary (and possibly permanent) hearing loss.

Try a free or cheap APP for your phone to get a ball park idea of how loud you’re listening.

They also sell cheap decibel meters for car stereo enthusiasts who “need” it. Even though the bass has made the doors fall off the car.

You can turn it up once in a while but always bring it back down after a bit.

+1 to smallish Genelecs (a little pricy for some though).

PekeDorty · 2020-12-30T17:58:00.879Z

Funny - I own those speakers as well and I will be switching to Genelcs as well with my next pay check and or good offer 2nd hand.

I totally know what you mean - I had pain in my ears as well with the HS7.

I never got warm with the Yamaha monitors anyways. Also they are not shielded and the 4G antenna in front of my house is resonating pretty well into the speakers producing HF noise… annoying af on top of the harsh sound they already have. Switch to something else! Or maybe use something like Sonarworks?

blakelacey · 2020-12-31T13:27:19.030Z

its been 50 hours since last use and the preassure, throbbing ball like pain is still there, looks like im looking at a couple months break at this rate permenant ear damage would send me off a bridge, thanks all for suggestions, will definitely look at selling them, theyre f*&ing massive, been nothing but a waiste of time, space, money and ear cells, im glad though i have learnt from this , i was allways cocky about my ear health in the studio before this, allways blasting tunes with no consequences, but have the hs8s have humbled me to be extra caytios of potential ear damage.

blakelacey · 2020-12-31T13:33:00.857Z

mate it seriosuly wasnt loud at all, i had 70$ logitech speakers with sub bass, (great value) and cld blast them all day every day for a whole year , didnt have a worry in me, but i have these f ing 8’s on for what seems like normal volume and bang ear fatigue in mins, i guess they are a more precise soundwave?
it makes me sad when some of my favorite artists use them and i have to search cracks into the internet to find similair people with the same problem.

christianlukegates · 2020-12-31T13:37:26.366Z

i wouldnt necessarily attribute this just to the monitors that youve been using (tho obvs i dont know much about how you use them, at what levels, proximity etc)- there could be other causes here that would be best looked at by an ENT specialist. i asked before if you smoke/vape- this is because i had/have issues with one ear that sound very similar to the ones you describe, and the conclusion i came to in my circs was that it was possibly a reaction to a particular principle ingredient in e-liquid. so that for example is one avenue worth considering if its applicable, and there may be many more

DanJamesAUS · 2020-12-31T13:43:20.737Z

I did some damage cranking my 8s too loud definitely have a bit of hearing loss in left ear,
Ditch the 8s ASAP in my opinion and have a solid break and it should hopefully slowly get better.

blakelacey · 2020-12-31T13:46:04.963Z

christianlukegates:

looked at by an ENT specialist.

sorry i thought you were talking to someone else, no i never smoke or vape. Sometimes when drunk. But the issue is certainly felt as soon as hs8’s are in use

blakelacey · 2020-12-31T13:46:53.348Z

Man that sucks, whos gonna tell you when you go and buy it huh

DanJamesAUS · 2020-12-31T13:52:59.314Z

Yeah you think when buying them that bigger is better
It’s only slight hearing loss in left ear not noticeable most the time.
Not had any problems since downsizing my speakers

christianlukegates · 2020-12-31T13:54:47.298Z

ah ok cool, then i guess check that one off the list. but i’d still advise looking into any other causes and not just the monitors- the fact that its felt when the monitors are in use could be indicative that loud sound in general is provoking/exacerbating something thats already there, but caused by something else, if that makes sense? idk, i only chimed in as it sounds similar to my experience- you describe a throbbing pressure like sensation, which i get (its similar to the pressure on ascent/descent when flying, and really frikking annoying), and that would likely be a eustachian tube/inner ear thing, rather than being caused by a reaction to loud sound (which would be more hearing loss/tinnitus type stuff). im by no means a doctor, but i urge you to see one- i kow from experience that this type of stuff is no laughing matter. hope you find a solution, keep us posted

vasidudu · 2020-12-31T14:27:10.428Z

TrabanT:

doctor, couldnt find shit (exept sand from surfing few month back)

Hey, hope you are better.
Had a scuba diving accident in 2014. I had 2 clients scuba divers who happened the f*** it up at the same time. To avoid the fatal accident that was going to happen to both of them, I ended up ascending VERY (too) fast. Twice in a row from 30+ meters.
Ended up with a baro trauma (acufen) which resulted in a permanent whistle kind of noise in my right ear.
My osteo tried to recuperate it but it was too late.
I had to learn how to live with it by “forgetting” it.
Still I have lost a lot of HF from that ear.
It is actually very noticeable when facing my nearfield monitors: turning my head from left to right and vice versa results in me finding some new frequencies in my mixes
We don’t generally realize how a loss of one of your sense can have such consequences on every day’s life.
Rather we take it for granted
Hope you get better and a good osteopath may be able to help if the damage does not relate to the small bones inside your mid ear (osselets).

Airyck · 2020-12-31T14:49:10.763Z

That sucks dude. I have some HS7’s that I keep in another room for a DJ setup.

Looking at the back of mine now…
I always had my high trim set to -2db
So I guess I felt they were a bit harsh too at one point.

image1486×1228 581 KB

HS8’s should have the same thing I believe.
Not sure if you have that turned down?

If they still feel harsh you could add a permanent EQ in the chain that you keep the same forever so you get used to them being like that.

Get rid of the harshness however you need. The main thing is being consistent and getting used to them (once the harshness is gone).

blakelacey · 2021-01-01T11:12:18.910Z

I tries a couple of the setting but couldnt notice a difference at all

TrabanT · 2021-01-28T23:17:13.309Z

sorry to hear that.

saw few more docs. was recommended to pinch my nostrils and blow air out of nose to pressurize and air my left ear.

gotten better.

hope you are dong well brother

Altro · 2021-01-28T23:31:05.327Z

I went from HS80’s to Adam A7’s, much better for longer sessions and also better for the size of my room.

vasidudu · 2021-01-29T10:23:19.935Z

TrabanT:

hope you are dong well brother

Actually my hearing loss (right ear) is nearly 75% on high frequencies. Nothing can be done + a permanent acufen. Getting used to it.

darenager · 2021-01-29T10:58:12.206Z

I had HS80’s when my setup was in a larger room, I think the problem with large drivers (over 5”) is that you do need to monitor a bit louder to get an accurate representation of bass.

When I moved my setup to a smaller room I went with 5” monitors, and I always limit to around 75db, I have a mark set on my monitor controller level knob and never go above for any extended period of time.

As @Airyck recommends a db meter is a great idea, a app or £$€20 handheld meter will do.

The temptation to blast out and listen at daft levels should be avoided if you care about your hearing, be especially careful with headphones too.

Here is a chart showing optimum monitoring levels, you definitely want to stay in the green area when mixing, and probably in the blue area when just working, red area is really only for very short periods IMHO.

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Source: The Perfect Monitoring Levels For Your Home Studio – Mastering The Mix

You will probably be surprised at how low the green area sounds, but it is the industry standard for good reason.

jasl · 2021-01-29T11:14:24.054Z

thanks for this - it’s actually very useful for me. I have a small space with 5" monitors and under a slanting roof so it’s not always optimal for listening on monitors and therefore I use headphones a lot. I often listen to things way too loud for extended periods of time and I notice it has a detrimental affect in terms of production. My ears also suffer of course so more recently I’ve been lowering the volume but this info persuades me to be more disciplined in how I listen.
No idea why I’ve never bothered to look this up…

reeloy · 2021-01-29T14:36:38.192Z

…always avoid 8" membranes on nearfield monitoring…never translates well…
and avoid hs8’s at all…

most basic rule for sweet spots…the distance between the speakers matches the distance to ur ear position…