Tinnitus

[kidkage]

Yeah I was just curious about the live details.
Alas, I may always stay in the bedroom studio and never learn through experience so i want to find out this way

 

[JimmyS1969]

Yeah I was just curious about the live details.

Alas, I may always stay in the bedroom studio and never learn through experience so i want to find out this way

Live shows is how you get the groupies tho!

 

[moresound]

Will someone please answer that dang phone!

 

[haunt]

Right....I would never consider using in-ear for studio monitoring/mixing. You need some "air" between your monitors and your ears to hear all the nuances and the imaging.
You don't get the best stereo imaging with in-ear monitors, same as with headphones. Yeah, you get fully encompassed with them, but I think it's better to have that "air".

Absolutely. As you mentioned before, the drivers in headphones generate sound waves right next to your ears. This is particularly problematic with lower frequencies as the wavelengths are longer & have insufficient airspace to fully extend...which is half of why you shouldn't mix with headphones. Aside from that, hearing is easily damaged by the proximity of those intense vibrations. The other point is that headphones isolate the left channel to your left ear and the right channel to your right ear, creating an artificial soundstage which gives the illusion that sound is everywhere and especially in your head, often resulting in the masking of stray frequencies. It completely takes acoustics out of the equation.

We hear in stereo, even if the sound is from a mono signal. In the real world, whether sitting in a concert hall or listening in your living room you [typically in relation to the stage/audio system] sit front of house & hear sound with both ears as it's projected outward, regardless if origin is to the left or right. It's how we perceive audible depth, similar to how 2 eyes are used to perceive visual depth. Remember Daredevil comics? You face the source and even with eyes closed are able to pinpoint the location of the sound's origin, as it's been [somewhat] recently discovered that both senses stimulate the same part of the brain, enabling us to "see". This is also why music sounds.....*wrong* in surround sound 5.1 7.1 or more. All you need is 2 in-phase monitors to create a proper 3d soundstage.

 

[moresound]

We just have to catch up with technology and surround sound will sound "right"

Just gotta figure out where to put those extra ears.

 

[bouldersoundguy]

So performers in bands right, they wear in ear monitors.
Are the in ear monitors noise cancelling so you can hear only the mix and protect your ears or are they damage causing as well?

IEMs aren't generally noise cancelling, but they are somewhat isolating, far more than many consumer buds. That allows the monitor mix to start at a lower level, and that can protect hearing. Lots of people are using earbuds these days, and most of those don't isolate much, so they have to turn them up to get over any background noise.

 

[kidkage]

Well I could look at this as preparation for future gigging as well jimmy
Gotta make sure the ears are protected


So then IEMs are a sort of protection as long as they're not cranked?

 

[kidkage]

Just gotta figure out where to put those extra ears.

We'll get those to answer that phone.

ZING

 

[saads]

Why do you think all those newbs slap on egg cartons and foam ? It prevents tinnitus. So the jokes on you

 

[Bobbsy]

So what exactly is the purpose of in ears? Im sure the venue monitor sound would be loud enough to where wearing ear plugs would protect your ears and still allow a person to hear the music just fine. Now I haven't played any "legit" gigs but jamming and rehearsals I could still hear through ear plugs. Muffled, yes. But I was hearing plenty loud music and my ears were fine after.

And now when rehearsal happened w/o earplugs 2/3 songs in the ringing was so bad that the music parts were indistinguishable

I think you're confusing In Ear Monitors which are well-fitting earphones that can act as a substitute for monitor speakers with ear plugs which, when properly designed, attenuate the sound reaching your ears by a specifc amount and help protect your hearing.

Using IEMs can greatly reduce stage wash and result in a much cleaner sounding FOH mix. Taken to an extreme, you can end up with an almost silent stage and keep the levels in the IEMs safely low as well.

For hearing protection, the good ear plugs are properly designed to attenuate pretty evenly across the audible frequencies so everything sound right, just quieter. I have a set of ETYMOTIC ER20 which have served me well for several years but I've heard good things about other brands as well.

 

[Lt. Bob]

that stabbing yourself to death thing though ...... well, that's why I discourage my friends from using alternative medicine treatments. Often they are worse than the thing you're trying to treat.

 

[miroslav]

stabbing yourself to death <---> using alternative medicine treatments.

Good one!

 

[saads]

People committing suicide because of pruritis that won't go away is common,I don't see why it's not possible with tinnitus too. An itch by itself isn't a huge problem, but I guess any constant, persistent stimulus has the potential to be so fucking annoying that you'd rather die than deal with it.

 

[miroslav]

Yeah...I guess if it bothers you THAT much, though I think there would be some forms of medical help that takes away a good deal of that annoying stimulus.
I'm curious if the guy tried anything to stop it or seek professional help, or did he just let it "get to him" to the point of suicide...?
Sometimes if we allow ourselves to fixate on some small thing...we can make it feel like it's a much bigger/worse thing than it really is. Not that I'm a phsychologist...but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night.

I recall hearing about a guy who due to some injury or surgery ended up having uncontrollable hiccups. He hiccuped for a bout 3 months and finally just died from it. It's not the same as killing yourself...but still, a crappy way to go... hiccuping to death.

 

[Lt. Bob]

actually, to be serious for a minute, I don't understand why I don't have it.
After all, I've played maybe 15,000 gigs as best I can determine. When it gets stupid loud I wear earplugs but generally I've never really worried about it and truthfully rarely wear earplugs. It has to get pretty loud before I'll go dig them outta the gearbox.
And when I do bass gigs I'm always right by the drumber and those stupid cymbals that drumbers insist on having are right there at ear level.
Last night the monitor of the singers in this band that hired me for a gig were stupid loud right next to my left ear with the drumber's cymbal right by my right ear.
And that's how I've rolled for 42+ years.
Not a hint of tinnitus

I guess some people are just more susceptible since I've read about people getting it from bands and such that I don't even consider that loud.

 

[saads]

Yeah...I guess if it bothers you THAT much, though I think there would be some forms of medical help that takes away a good deal of that annoying stimulus.
I'm curious if the guy tried anything to stop it or seek professional help, or did he just let it "get to him" to the point of suicide...?
Sometimes if we allow ourselves to fixate on some small thing...we can make it feel like it's a much bigger/worse thing than it really is.

I haven't read the article, but it would be stupid to kill yourself without seeking medical help first. As far as I know, there isn't any definitive treatment for tinnitus, just masking techniques.

I guess some people are just more susceptible since I've read about people getting it from bands and such that I don't even consider that loud.

Exactly, some people are more susceptible than others. Take smoking for example. People who have been smoking for 40,50 years are often cancer free, and some people with only a few pack years behind them get screwed. Call it fate, luck, whatever you want.

 

[miroslav]

...there isn't any definitive treatment for tinnitus, just masking techniques.

Right, that's what I said earlier.

I mean, at least at night when you want to sleep, etc...masking could really help with that. During the day, there's usually enough ambient noise to help mask it or at least distract you from it.
I mean...if the guy was just sitting around in a room going nuts with it...?...I can see why he killed himself.

 

[Bobbsy]

actually, to be serious for a minute, I don't understand why I don't have it.

As I understand it (and I'm certainly not a doctor) tinnitus is a relatively rare result. Far more common is just a gradual loss of hearing sensitivity at specific frequencies.

 

[moresound]

I haven't read the article, but it would be stupid to kill yourself without seeking medical help first. As far as I know, there isn't any definitive treatment for tinnitus, just masking techniques.

I've seen a bunch of holistic so called cures HERE Like garlic, pineapple, zinc, apple cider vinegar etc.

Also removing things from your diet will possibly help like your caffeine intake but they will have to pry my coffee cup from my dead hands.

Got ringing today - but I had a double whammy last night - running sound during a big fireworks display.

 

[kidkage]

I think you're confusing In Ear Monitors which are well-fitting earphones that can act as a substitute for monitor speakers with ear plugs which, when properly designed, attenuate the sound reaching your ears by a specifc amount and help protect your hearing.

Using IEMs can greatly reduce stage wash and result in a much cleaner sounding FOH mix. Taken to an extreme, you can end up with an almost silent stage and keep the levels in the IEMs safely low as well.

For hearing protection, the good ear plugs are properly designed to attenuate pretty evenly across the audible frequencies so everything sound right, just quieter. I have a set of ETYMOTIC ER20 which have served me well for several years but I've heard good things about other brands as well.

for some reason I thought people used IEMs in conjunction with stage/floor monitors.
I didn't really consider that the FOH and stage monitoring would not have to both be used.
I'm still learning about studio sound. Live sound I haven't had to dive into yet.
I didn't know that IEMs were kind of a replacement for stage monitors.

I knew what IEMs were (these things right? ), I just didnt really know the exact purpose. I assumed people added them with stage monitors which is what had me confused- "Why add moresound [pun intended] in your ears when the monitors are already there? Why not just go off the venue systems and use earplugs?"

I might have to buy some of those etymotic plugs. I've been using these
and dealing with the muffled sound. I didnt know there are plugs that attenuate evenly