Fatigue and tinnitus after listening my new headphones + DAC + amp

[Hipper]

One night I slept with the headphones beside my head, it was plugged in with DAC, amp and PC turned on but without any music, I woke up having a tinnitus on the ears which was on the side of the headphones.

Surely it's down to this, leaving your gear on all night. PC's in particular seem to make noise, even the quiet ones.

If you want to experiment, place the gear on the other side of your head and go to sleep. Which side do you get tinnitus now?

What volume do you listen at. Listening too loud can cause problems, particularly long term damage.

I have HD800 and listen for two hour sessions at most and have never suffered any issues.

 

[JIW]

I think it's not too loud, i have my computer at ~50% volume, and between 35% and 50% on the amp, 0dB setting. I easilly can speak with someone while listening to the music. I sadly can't tell you the exact volume i'm listening to, but i tried to put it low.
I saw the DAC default filter cancel noises after 22kHz or somerhing like that.

What operating system do you use on your computer and how do you set the volume on it? If it is Windows, I recommend reading this thread: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...nding-the-windows-audio-quality-debate.19438/. If it is macOS, you can open the Audio MIDI Setup and see the attenuation in dB and leaving it at full volume allows for bit-perfect transmission.

Could you try to reproduce how loud you listened setting the computer to full volume, the amplifier to -9 dB gain and full volume and controlling the volume via the DAC's remote control? Try starting at a low level, e.g. -40 dB, and raise it slowly. You could use pink noise at a specified level, e.g. -20 dBFS RMS, and use the microphone to record the level. However, make sure that the headphone and microphone are always placed the same relative to each other and that there is no change in reflective surfaces.

How easily you can talk with someone while listening to music depends on if in the music there is no content in or close to the range that makes speech intelligible that is at a level similar to the speech, i.e. if the speech is not masked by the music.

 

[Booker]

Alot of people have tinnitus and never really notice, some can think about nothing else. Ultimately there is no cure, but there are some very effective tinnitus retraining therapies that essentially retrain the cognition to not attribute strong emotions to the stimulus. Whilst ENTs may be aux fait from a diagnostic point of view most are unlikely to be clinically up to date re: management strategies. A well qualified clinical audiologist with some specialism in tinnitus will be though.

Obviously need diagnostics but most common cause is noise injury (Walkmans.have a lot to answer for).

Maybe Amir could incorporate safety features into reviews. Subjectively we like loud, the hearing system less so.

Exactly, I revealed my tinnitus back ten years ago, when I purchased my first closed headphones. As soon as I put them on for the first time, I began to realize it.

 

[MRC01]

Sort of, musicians ear plugs reduce spl at the ear drum but let sound through. Would be interesting to know what the measurements at the ear drum would be.

More accurately, musicians earplugs block or attenuate the sound before it reaches the eardrum, just like normal earplugs. The difference is the frequency response of the attenuation. Normal earplugs block high frequencies more than lows (which is why they muffle the sound), while musicians earplugs use tuned filters that block all frequencies more equally.
Another difference is that musicians earplugs are attached to custom molds that insert into the ear reaching close to the eardrum. This reduces occlusion, which is helpful for wind instrument players.

 

[twistedlogicuestc]

I don’t want to find this post until I feel lots of pain and uncomfortableness in my ear this morning. I bought schiit magni heresy following the good measurement, while what I don’t know is it’s too bright for my ears and can cause fatigue pretty fast. Already sold it and return to my gentle AD18, which is far from a Grade A student in the measurement exam.
Hopefully anyone in the forum could help find a warm but not dull headphone amp, and any review could be followed by a fatigue measurement

 

[Balle Clorin]

too loudP guess. Headphones are dangerous

 

[Ronnie Pickering]

Well I recognize what OP says. I believe the HD 800s is able to cause tinnitus but not always because it creates damage. I have experienced it myself. The tinnitus for me started after two weeks of not listening to music at all.

If your brain no longer receives a certain sound frequency via your ears it generates that sound itself. That’s what tinnitus is. In your brain you mark it as bad and your brain starts to see it as a threat. A viciously circle has been born.

The causes can be many and damage by loud sound is one of them. However I never had a capable headphone and I believe having a headphone that is able to clearly let you hear higher frequencies can cause tinnitus. Simple because your brain misses the clear frequency in day to day life.

It’s a hypothesis and maybe it’s something I tell myself because I don’t want to admit I listened to loud to my new headphones but have been very meticulous in not turning the volume to high… who knows