-
Please note that there are a few updates and clarifications made in the Audiokarma Rules, mostly relating to advertising and the addition of the new "Paying it Forward" & "Giving back" forums in the AudioKarma Audio Marketplace section.
Anyone else getting more sensitive to high frequencies with age?
- Thread starter Brett a
- Start date
"Distortion" causes alot of people to cringe at high freqs but there is a nerve damage that causes that also.
did ya ever go into a bar/club and they were over driving the highs ... man that sounds terrible. I have tinnitus bad and high freq lose. Too many concerts of the 70's and 40 years of riding with straight pipes LOL!
Damn I'm gettin old ...
did ya ever go into a bar/club and they were over driving the highs ... man that sounds terrible. I have tinnitus bad and high freq lose. Too many concerts of the 70's and 40 years of riding with straight pipes LOL!
Damn I'm gettin old ...
michaelhigh
mind's eye music
I have to flat the treb just to get enough bass w/control up most/all the way and loud button on. I listen very quietly so I'm sure I have no discernable damage. Always plenty of headroom for me.
It is the truth. :sigh:
Today's consumers (read, my generation) likebright, compressed music, transcoded to 128k Mp3's with thte treble turned up all the way.
I was driving next to a Scion box yesterday and I had to roll up my windows because the treble from the other car was hurting my ears.
mcgarick
Super Member
In my experience, Having many systems, tube and SS.
I have come to recognize grain, it's a learned thing IMO, at least for me. Not an old thing. ( I can/could hear grain in the midrange too)
When I was younger, I was ignorant of grain to some degree, I didn't like grainy sound but couldn't articulate it.
I think as we learn to really listen, we recognize these things among other sound problems too, like bloated bass, my transmission line speakers taught me about good bass.
I think listening is a discipline and an art form to some extent. I can now pick out neutral transparent systems as opposed to tiz and boom stuff.
As I've gotten older, I can sort through the chaff. I believe this applies to many other things in life also.......
"Youth is wasted on the young" LOL! (as was in my case)
I have come to recognize grain, it's a learned thing IMO, at least for me. Not an old thing. ( I can/could hear grain in the midrange too)
When I was younger, I was ignorant of grain to some degree, I didn't like grainy sound but couldn't articulate it.
I think as we learn to really listen, we recognize these things among other sound problems too, like bloated bass, my transmission line speakers taught me about good bass.
I think listening is a discipline and an art form to some extent. I can now pick out neutral transparent systems as opposed to tiz and boom stuff.
As I've gotten older, I can sort through the chaff. I believe this applies to many other things in life also.......
"Youth is wasted on the young" LOL! (as was in my case)
I'm now 57. My sensitivity to treble has gone up in the LEFT ear, but not quite for the reasons noted.
First off, I have some tennitius in my LEFT ear since I was ~20 years old. This was caused by a single .22-caliber pistol shot. Other than the tennitius, and some very minor frequency loss around that frequency, my hearing is quite good.
In fact, I was at ZilchLabs listening to one of his systems and detected a "buzzing" that no one else had ever heard. When Zilch later took the speaker apart, he found that there was a bolt stuck to the woofer magnet that was vibrating at various frequencies. This was one of his favorite stories on the Lansing Forum and if my hearing ever came into question, he was right there with it. (Gotta love that guy!) But I digress.
So now, all these years later, I find that frequencies around the "ringing" create a "grainy distortion" and also aggrevates the ringing. Of course the ringing is probably in the 6-8kHz range, so excess treble sets it off.
But the worst is the use of power tools and I now have to plug my ears where I never did when I was younger.
First off, I have some tennitius in my LEFT ear since I was ~20 years old. This was caused by a single .22-caliber pistol shot. Other than the tennitius, and some very minor frequency loss around that frequency, my hearing is quite good.
In fact, I was at ZilchLabs listening to one of his systems and detected a "buzzing" that no one else had ever heard. When Zilch later took the speaker apart, he found that there was a bolt stuck to the woofer magnet that was vibrating at various frequencies. This was one of his favorite stories on the Lansing Forum and if my hearing ever came into question, he was right there with it. (Gotta love that guy!) But I digress.
So now, all these years later, I find that frequencies around the "ringing" create a "grainy distortion" and also aggrevates the ringing. Of course the ringing is probably in the 6-8kHz range, so excess treble sets it off.
But the worst is the use of power tools and I now have to plug my ears where I never did when I was younger.
Brett a
~◦●○o0o○●◦~
Hi guys. OP here. Sorry to go AWOL on this thread. I've been busy.
After reading your posts and considering why I started this thread, I think it is a bit of everything mentioned.
I think it dos have something to do with the attention I bring to listening as well as age and nerve sensitivity.
One important note is that I really only find myself cringing at high frequencies when listing to music. Specifically on cheap equipment like the boom box in my kitchen, the stereos in my last two cars, or heaven forbid, through the speaker on Droid phone.
My main system sounds clear and comfortable to me and does not have tone controls.
All that said, I do not find myself in areas of high frequency, high DB noise, so I don't really know what that would be like. I did work for 6 years in saw mills (always wore hearing protection) and several years in professional kitchen which, if I had to guess, were north of 80db. So it wouldn't surprise me if I've suffered some damage. I just wouldn't have expected it to result in wanting to turn the treble down.
I need to find a new PCP (primary case physician). Maybe when I get my next work-up I'll see about getting my hearing tested.
After reading your posts and considering why I started this thread, I think it is a bit of everything mentioned.
I think it dos have something to do with the attention I bring to listening as well as age and nerve sensitivity.
One important note is that I really only find myself cringing at high frequencies when listing to music. Specifically on cheap equipment like the boom box in my kitchen, the stereos in my last two cars, or heaven forbid, through the speaker on Droid phone.
My main system sounds clear and comfortable to me and does not have tone controls.
All that said, I do not find myself in areas of high frequency, high DB noise, so I don't really know what that would be like. I did work for 6 years in saw mills (always wore hearing protection) and several years in professional kitchen which, if I had to guess, were north of 80db. So it wouldn't surprise me if I've suffered some damage. I just wouldn't have expected it to result in wanting to turn the treble down.
I need to find a new PCP (primary case physician). Maybe when I get my next work-up I'll see about getting my hearing tested.
aidynphoenix
Super Member
Bottleflow
Active Member
My wife and I have always been sensitive to bright. Combine that with grain and we are running.
It sure can be hard to find detail with smoothness. Upper midrange hardness/brightness can be hard to take.
If I ever used a treble control it was always to reduce the level.
This is an area that I find takes a lot of $$$ to get right, separates mid-fi from high-end.
It sure can be hard to find detail with smoothness. Upper midrange hardness/brightness can be hard to take.
If I ever used a treble control it was always to reduce the level.
This is an area that I find takes a lot of $$$ to get right, separates mid-fi from high-end.
johnr66
Well-Known Member
I once played one of those audio test CDs on my parent's system. My dad could not hear the sounds over 5Khz. Both my mom and dad turn the treble down. I always figured it would make sense to add treble to compensate. My mom turns the treble down because she says it gives her a headache.
For me, I protect my hearing as much as possible. I could hear the 17Khz tone and even some of the 18Khz tone, but now in my mid 40s, I can hear up to the 14Khz tone now. Tinnitus is not a problem yet, but I do think I hear some ringing in a quite room. I tend to like a bit of treble and bass added.
For me, I protect my hearing as much as possible. I could hear the 17Khz tone and even some of the 18Khz tone, but now in my mid 40s, I can hear up to the 14Khz tone now. Tinnitus is not a problem yet, but I do think I hear some ringing in a quite room. I tend to like a bit of treble and bass added.
Maybe you are sick or have fluid in the ear. I recently was sick and could barely listen to my equipment. I could not hear the bass and the high mids were distorting in my ears, especially the left. I had to keep the volume very low or it was painful. I just now coming back to normal.
