I loved music trought headphones. Morning, in buses , a little at night... I hope to be able to listen again trought headphones. Noise induced T is so cruel. I hope my T is caused by stress ( i'm not really sure, even with hearing loss)
I have struggled with headphones but I do think that you can find something that will work for you. You obviously need to be careful as you can have them too loud without realising they're at a damaging level. I've found that I can use open back headphones without any problems - you don't get total immersion and outside sound isolation but they have a really natural feel so they don't make my T worse. I have spent a fortune on this trying to find what works; most head / ear phones irritate my ears. I have a pair of Sennheiser HD595 that sound and feel very nice, you need use an amp with them so they won't sound their best with an iPod, for that I have Grado sr80i that suit me really well.
Hello Steve H, thanks for your message. What is "open back" headphones exactly? Never heard of that ( and don't know the name in french) . I had bose quiet comfort 15 ( better isolation so not obliged to increase the sound, i thought it will be okay...) And my T is only 1 month old with no hyperacusis or big trauma,no increase when it's a litlle noisy,not deaf, so i hope it goes away.( but it's very difficult to live with.) I created this thread just to know more. Headphones are useful so... I'm waiting better days to retry headphones.
I could point to a few resources but they will be in english. Google open back vs closed back headphones (possibly dos ouvert vs dos ferme ecouters - that's from using Google translate so maybe not an accurate translation) and you should get a few articles come up to explain more.
Why risk it? 'And even though most of us don’t think too much about it, iPod hearing loss is a serious risk for many iPod users. A growing body of research is showing that how we listen to our iPods can cause lasting hearing damage. The iPod can produce a maximum of 100-115 decibels (software limits European iPods to 100 db; U.S. models have been measured higher), which is the equivalent of attending a rock concert. Some studies have even found that some people in their 20s have hearing loss more typical of 50 year olds, thanks to this kind of exposure (of course, this isn’t an iPod-specific problem: Walkman users had the same problem in the 1980s)'
That's right... When you put the sound at the maximum. I put the maximum volume at the middle. And even with this i never go to full volume. And if i use again it will be for shorts periods
I think earplugs is the worst enemy, and closed headphones. But if you must have headphones, like me, I would go for an open headphone, and always at very low volume. And also go for quality for better audio. Anything below 80 DB should be fine for your ears, however many people's tinnitus still seems to react to moderate and sometimes low noise levels. It makes sense to assume that your new volume in 'T' could be due to how close to the sound source your ears are. If this makes you feel uncomfortable then i would just discontinue the use of headphones. Some people may tell you otherwise. It's probably a common thing for 'T' to be reactive to even moderate and low DB's because i hear people sometimes complaining about how the T.V. volume seems to spike their ' T ', or even a short bike ride.
You should all definetly continue to listen to music regardless of T. Just keep the volume at ok levels. Music can give us so much positive things -> it can also help us with T. Hell, music can even reduce T according to some studies posted here recently, like this one: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/the-mozart-effect-in-patients-suffering-from-tinnitus.6628/ P.S. I am an audiophile and I know quite a lot about hifi and especially headphones. I would also reccomend open headphones. Probably one of the all time best headphones, Sennheiser HD600, is also a good one for T, because it has such a soft and soothing sound. Give it a go if you have a chance. There are also a plenty of them on sale as used ones.
I love music. I love high tones and for me loosing music is end of my life. I still listen with good headsets and low volume. Music is not about the volume but the quality. With 50-70db and good equipment you will hear a lot of details. Recently one of the users posted link to the album Vapor by Yosi Hirikawa. I love this album. It is so relaxing and has so many details in it. So many natural sounds. Must have it.
You are right @bwspot - it's about the quality, not the quantity, as the saying goes. If you have bad gear, you tend to raise the volume to make the music sound better. Bad mistake. If somebody wants to dive into quality headphones, check out Innerfidelity: http://www.innerfidelity.com P.S. Thanks for the Yosi Hirikawa recommendation. The 'Bubbles' track sounds awesome!
So there is hope to listen to music again? I've banned my self for like a month. Never listen to a lot maybe every other day in the first place but quality was rubbish so end up turning up too high I guess
Absolutelly @Lisa Robinson! Listen to the songs you love the most and use the music to calm and relax you -> your T will thank you. And if you don't have good headphones, I would recommend you buy a pair. Go to a shop and try different ones.
Agree with @Sound Wave - just make sure you have good quality, properly driven (if they need a good amplifier) headphones that feel comfortable. With a good quality pair you can hear so much more detail at lower volumes, helping you stay at a safe listening level and get a lot of enjoyment from it. You'll know fairly quickly if the sound agrees with you
Why are open headphones better than closed ones or 'vacuum' earbuds? Isn't it all about the volume? I'd imagine that closed headphones are better for listening to music on the bus, as they block the outside sound. They function as hearing protection and stop you from turning up to drown out engine and wind sounds. Or am I mistaken? I've once heard a hearing specialist describe listening to earbuds as using a plunger on your ear, but I still don't know how exactly that could be harmful. Anyway, I stopped using headphones regularly a long time ago. And my preferred way of listening to music has always been a nice stereo speaker setup.
^ yes, closed ones are better in noisy environments. Closed vs open in general is much a matter of taste. Generally people prefer open / semi-open ones in quiet environments, because they sound more 'open'. However, there are also really good closed ones out there. With headphones one must ALWAYS try them out before buying and see what you like.
I don't use headphones at all anymore because it is dangerous for me personally at any level. It's direct sound waves being played directly into your ear which makes my T instantaneously worse.
^ sound waves are physically exactly the same, whether they come from headphones or not. There is no 'direction' that matters to us - only the volume, which we can control and listen to music safely.
The only reason headphones / earbuds have a bad rep is because if you don't use noise cancelling ones, you may have to turn the music to harmful levels to block out external noise in crowds etc. Once again, it's not headphones' fault, it's because many humans are idiots and don't know the basic laws of physics.
