Your ears. How good are they?

[monkey man]

Agreed on all points, Gary; you're lucky to have that doc handy.

I can't hear much above 12k, from memory, but I'm still not concerned.
From my perspective, the highs I can't hear in isolation don't matter as they're never discreet sounds or instruments; they're always embedded within other sounds.
I believe the character of sounds reveals their HF content.
So for mine, I'm happy to deal with those instruments in the context of how good they sound to me, always bearing in mind that radical boosts such as the one you referred to will likely bring me undone.
Further, I hardly ever boost anything; we're talking a couple o' boosts in 20 years of mixing. Seriously. I'm a cut man all the way.

Just thought I'd share for the heck of it.

[Timeline]

Good for you man.

TIPS TO KEEP EM WORKING, in order of importance:

1. If you have a sinus condition or cold, take antihistamines one hour before flight and don't drink on flight as it can make it worse.

2. Beware of loud audio monitoring during extended sessions or even headphones. If working around loud environments use ear plugs.

3. keep car windows on left side up during freeway speeds or above 30MPH.

Add in if you like...

[monkey man]

Good advice to be sure, Gary.
I have one to add:

4. Ignore the whooshing, roaring, humming, ringing and whining that's goin' on inside your head.
The best cure for tinnitis is to "externalise" your awareness, to listen in to sound sources rather than crank the volume for convenience.
In other words, try to go to the sound as opposed to bringing it to you.

The principle is old school and logical - use it or lose it.
Crankin' earbuds ain't usin' it, as far as I'm concerned.
Straining to hear an AM radio or a wild animal in the distance would be.

[Tritonemusic]

The best cure for tinnitis is to "externalise" your awareness, to listen in to sound sources rather than crank the volume for convenience.

Excellent advice, Monkey. Unfortunately, I speak from experience.

[Mr. Quimper]

4. Ignore the whooshing, roaring, humming, ringing and whining that's goin' on inside your head.
The best cure for tinnitis is to "externalise" your awareness, to listen in to sound sources rather than crank the volume for convenience.
In other words, try to go to the sound as opposed to bringing it to you.

Great advice monkey. I hadn't ever really thought of it that way...exercising the ears, as it were.

Interestingly, for my ringing tinnitus, I've found that if I whistle loudly at the same frequency, it tends to cancel out the ringing for a while. It tends to annoy those around me , but hey, I'll take a few weird looks over that damn ringing anyday.

[Timeline]

For me ringing is lower in frequency when there has been louder exposure.

As time progresses the tone goes up in frequency. Even though I can't hear 19khz I swear it eventually gets there then dissipates almost completely.

But I will always have some of this. Good tips MM.

[daniel.sneed]

Hey Monkeyman,

that is exactly what I tell musicians I'm playing with.
Don't ask for more and more foldback level !
You don't need to hear musical things, but to listen to them ...

[sdfalk]

Fine tips sir monkey

[monkey man]

As time progresses the tone goes up in frequency. Even though I can't hear 19khz I swear it eventually gets there then dissipates almost completely.

Fascinating, Gary.

I often get what I call a capacitance build up (for want of a better description) that starts below 500Hz and sweeps well past my hearing range to perhaps 16 or 18kHz, then abruptly cuts out.
The entire sweep is only 3 or 4 seconds in length.
I figured it must be nerve related, as I have many issues caused by nerve damage.

I'm really happy you guys found the approach interesting; it goes to the core of my philosophy on everything - act according to design, lest you pay the price.
Any deviation from said behaviour has penalties, whether you're talking diet, posture, demeanour, relationships, environmental compromises... any potential area of stress.
In this case, the ear is designed to work, not to have the world conveniently crammed into it.

[soundeziner]

Perhaps the title of this topic should've been be 'Your ears. How good WERE they?'

[ester]

this is the sort of thing that i really wish i could have had years ago. i used to work in extremely loud industrial environments and play my drums daily. as i've gotten older i've switched to a quieter profession and play my drums less as well as lowered the volume of the tunes i listen to. still i feel my ears are better than my bandmates. but this test proves my suspicions. my left ear is worse off than my right(i've heard drummers blame it on the high hat). i'd just like to know how much i've deteriorated and what the life-changes were that affected it.

it also occurred to me that the last time i had any kind of hearing test was back in kindergarten. seems to me that todays youth should be tested every few years to see the deterioration. instead of the blanket statements like "kids are destroying their ears with loud earbuds and car stereos."

yup.... thoughts after working an 11 hour shift. sorry!

[guyreilly]

To all of you old pros lamenting your hearing loss...

I am so jealous. I could hear everything perfectly fine up to 20khz. But I would take a lifetime of making music any day over the ability to hear C12 or whatever that pitch is...

Count yourselves lucky if you've got a good resume and happy clients. All I want more than anything is to feed my family with my music work and it looks like the prospects of doing so are pretty bleak in the days of garage band and mp3's and the general cheapening of music.

Doesn't mean I won't keep trying tho. At least I have my hearing.