Ear health

[audio amateur]

This has surely been discussed in the past but I thought it'd be interesting to know what everyone does, i.e regular treatments/ear doctor visits etc, and also measures of precaution to preserve as much as possible this vital organ in our hobby.

Personally over this past year I have been ever so careful to not expose myself to loud volumes, which has seen my clubbing drastically reduced. I try as much as possible to find myself in a noise-free environment. This even means listening at relatively low volumes most of the time (which means very low background noise). I haven't really had my ears checked in years, and I should probably get it done one of these days.
Actually I don't pick my ears as often as I did

So, who has any 'ear-rituals' or things they may do on a regular basis that the average person does not do or wouldn't think of doing?
Also, if anyone has a good link to a good page or web-site on this stuff thanks.

[basite]

I have always been fairly careful to preserve my ears...

yet, I had a little ear infection, and now have a noticeable hearing loss in my left ear, and a light form of tinnitus...

I'm still careful though, I don't listen to loud music for long times, and try to protect my ears when the music is too loud, and for too long (at parties & clubs).

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

[audio amateur]

Wow! look who's back! hehe
Sorry to hear the damage the infection caused, I remember reading about it. Make sure it doesn't happen again!

[RoadRunner6]

which has seen my clubbing drastically reduced.

Since my first wife and I split, my clubbing completely stopped (the yelling also). Over the years my hearing recovered. Thank goodness she mainly clubbed me on the top of my head. My current wife (2nd) is very sweet.

RR6

[Auricauricle]

Noxious noise levels are certainly detrimental to hearing, but there are other things that certainly affect our ears and their ability to detect sound. Since Roadrunner brings it up, trauma can certainly impact (!) upon these organs. With injury to the head, blood can fill the canals causing partial or complete hearing loss. Complete hearing loss can occur if the petrous temporal bone at the back of the head is injured. Of course, if you are so injured, you're more than likely will be in the hands of a practitioner who will peer into your ears, anyway.

Trauma to the ear can also be induced by perforation of the eardrum, especially via the revered Q-tip or other objects that are inserted to remove wax or to scratch the canal. Some folks have a dark, scaly form of earwax, AKA cerumen, which can accumulate causing not only hearing loss but vertigo, tinnitus and unpleasant sensations of fullness. Even administration of chemical wax softeners can cause chemical irritation to the tissues. Naturally, other objects can get into the ear, including insects including cockroaches which not uncommonly crawl in. If you have a strong urge to listen to music that you usually avoid, suspect the presence of a roach who may be whispering suggestions without your conscious awareness.

Bacterial infection can induce the accumulation of pus. These infections may come directly from the inner ear but may accompany upper respiratory infections (URI) or may be induced by herpes zoster of the trigeminal nerve. Itching usually heralds this occurrence.

Barotrauma is another culprit that has been implicated in ear-related problems. Frequent fliers who experience many hours of rapid ascents and descents can be placed at risk, especially operators of military aircraft whose vehicles are not as accomodating as their commercial counterparts. Swimmers should also be cautioned for similar reasons and the development of otitis externa (swimmer's ear).

Lastly, it is known that secondhand cigarette exposure has been linked with an increased risk of otitis media by decreasing the effectiveness of protective cilia that are located within the eustachian tube. Putting cigars and cigarettes into the ear as a way of enjoying the benefit of smoking while reducing the risk of throat, lung and other smoking-related carcinogenesis may be, in fact quite detrimental.

The Centers for Diesease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a vast number of resources regarding just about any matter pertaining to health. Here is a link to some of the information they have related to occupational exposure to hazards that may affect hearing. There are many other resources that can be accessed by going to their home page and starting a search under the rubric "hearing loss" or whatever....

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/nois.../abouthlp.html

Hope this helps...

[RoadRunner6]

Oh sure Aa, that helps a lot except for the PTSD from the severe clubbings from my ex. Glad we have a resident nurse to explain all this in MVD (medical vernacular detail).

Don't worry about the cockroaches, with me it's in one ear and out the other for the little bastards. Little? In Nam we had ones that were bigger than the water buffalo.

[Auricauricle]

I suggest a good pair o' roachclips fer those....

[RoadRunner6]

OK, someone post 100 points for Auricauricle.
That was the comeback of the week!

[PDN]

Audio Amateur:

A very good topic and one that should be repeated from time to time. This is an area I am quite concerned about. Here's what I do to protect.

1. I don't use any type of IPODs or MP3 players blasting music directly into my ears. Audiologists believe that listening to these over a long period of time can be detemental to your hearing. When I fly on business which is monthly, I watch movies on my lap top PC using ear buds but the volume is low and it's not loud music but mostly dialog.

2. I have an SPL meter in my listening room and I check the dB's on a regular basis. Now I do listen to music loudly in the low 90's but it's low distortion and I keep the low frequencies up which are not as damaging then that high's can be. The less distortion your speakers produce, the better. I have all B&W loudspeakers in a 5.1 arrangement. Fabulous.

3. I use ear protection whenever I mow the lawn, blow leaves, etc and have been for years. The ear plugs I use reduce the dB's by about 30. These are those disposable foam ear plugs you can purchase at the Home Depot or Lowes.

4. From what I've read, it's higher pitched distortion in sound waves that can be damaging to ear drums. When I use a blender in the kitchen to make fruit shakes, etc, I cover my ears every time. The sound of an inexpensive blender is not just loud but highly distorted.

5. We don't frequent loud clubs but the few times we do, if it's out of control in the loudness area, we'll leave. Live jazz is so much better for you.

Just what I do. May not be 100% accurate but a good practice to follow.

[audio amateur]

Audio Amateur:

A very good topic and one that should be repeated from time to time. This is an area I am quite concerned about. Here's what I do to protect.

1. I don't use any type of IPODs or MP3 players blasting music directly into my ears. Audiologists believe that listening to these over a long period of time can be detemental to your hearing. When I fly on business which is monthly, I watch movies on my lap top PC using ear buds but the volume is low and it's not loud music but mostly dialog.

2. I have an SPL meter in my listening room and I check the dB's on a regular basis. Now I do listen to music loudly in the low 90's but it's low distortion and I keep the low frequencies up which are not as damaging then that high's can be. The less distortion your speakers produce, the better. I have all B&W loudspeakers in a 5.1 arrangement. Fabulous.

3. I use ear protection whenever I mow the lawn, blow leaves, etc and have been for years. The ear plugs I use reduce the dB's by about 30. These are those disposable foam ear plugs you can purchase at the Home Depot or Lowes.

4. From what I've read, it's higher pitched distortion in sound waves that can be damaging to ear drums. When I use a blender in the kitchen to make fruit shakes, etc, I cover my ears every time. The sound of an inexpensive blender is not just loud but highly distorted.

5. We don't frequent loud clubs but the few times we do, if it's out of control in the loudness area, we'll leave. Live jazz is so much better for you.

Just what I do. May not be 100% accurate but a good practice to follow.

Totally agreed.. thanks for sharing.
I noticed yesterday as I was in a club, not too far from the main speakers, the following: At the beginning the volume was fine, the sound was fine but then it when up suddenly, and sounded like crap. My ears were over-loading, and the highs were just nasty. I dont understand why they have to play it so loud in those clubs, it ruins the whole thing for me. I only stayed in there for about an hour, always in the same place then left. As I went outside, to my surprise, my ears were ringing & sounds were compressed. I was quite surprised of the effect that little exposure had on my ears. The ringing was fairly mild and
by the morning it had gone.
My mower is very loud and i think I should were ear plugs, indeed. So is the vacuum cleaner.
I use sennheiser CX-300 earbuds which are really good at cutting outside sounds, but then again I don't use them a lot. I make sure I keep the volume low.

[Auricauricle]

Rememba: Hearing loss can be insidious. Even listening to Barry Manilow at low levels or Melvin and the Chipmunks over the holidays can be hazardous....