[ghporter]

...that they're risking their hearing. Pete is one of the largest advocates for careful use of headphones for listening to music-I think he's one of the earliest rockers to point out the dangers of loud music, followed by others like Pat Benatar, who wants you to get your hearing checked for H.E.A.R.

I suffer from tinnitus caused by exposure to loud industrial sounds, and I ALWAYS used the proper, specifically called for hearing protection-just using the minimum level of protection is not enough sometimes. Because of this I'm particularly sensitive to hearing issues; when I can hear someone else's iPod from several feet away, I KNOW that person is damaging his ears, but there's nothing I can do for him. I hope people like Townshend and Benatar can help the millions of people listening to music that's too loud before we wind up with a whole generation of deaf people. That would be truly tragic.

[TETENAL]

He should warn all portable music player users. It makes no sense to single out iPod users.

I believe iPods sold in Europe have a lower maximum sound level because of a law in France. I know some people here hack their iPods to make them louder again.

[Doofy]

Oh. I thought this was gonna be about Townshend warning video iPod users not to keep their kiddie porn on them.

[Dork.]

Harumph. People try and put us down, just because our hearing's down.

Wasn't he supposed to die before he got old?

[starman]

Face dances

Tonight

[Goldfinger]

Originally Posted by TETENAL

He should warn all portable music player users. It makes no sense to single out iPod users.

I believe iPods sold in Europe have a lower maximum sound level because of a law in France. I know some people here hack their iPods to make them louder again.

Yep, I've removed that limit because it's ridiculously low. You can barely use it on the street in your average city with the limiter turned on.

[nath]

Originally Posted by Dork.

Harumph. People try and put us down, just because our hearing's down.

Wasn't he supposed to die before he got old?

I prefer the old Nirvana tshirts - 'Hope I die before I turn into Pete Townsend'

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Doofy

Oh. I thought this was gonna be about Townshend warning video iPod users not to keep their kiddie porn on them.

That's cold, Doofy! Funny, but cold.

Originally Posted by TETENAL

He should warn all portable music player users. It makes no sense to single out iPod users.

Actually the iPod is just an example. In the article he talks about earphone use in general, though iPods are the most common digital music player around and becoming more common than even CD players and portable radios combined. Too loud is too loud, no matter what the source.

[Krypton]

Pete damaged his hearing in no small part due to the use of explosives on stage:

The Who was most famous for smashing their instruments at the end of their concerts, and would often throw the damaged remains into the audience. One of the most famous times this happened was on The Smothers Brothers Show. The Who were nearing the end of "My Generation" when the American audience witnessed the truly destructive nature of the Who. Pete Townshend jammed his guitar into his speaker, causing it to short circuit in a ball of fire and smoke! Keith Moon had rigged his drum set with double the normal amounts of explosives, and as Pete Townshend smashed his guitar into oblivion the drums exploded and Pete, supposedly (see below), sustained severe ear damage.

[Maflynn]

It's a well documented fact that headphones in general can cause hearing loss. In the ear types are that much more inclined to cause damage. Lets get one thing clear, its not the headphones themselve but the users blasting the music. Lets get back to some personal responcibility. If I put on some WHO music and crank up the volume so much my ears bleed, is it the headphones fault.

I also don't like them singling out the ipod, but I undrstand why,its an easy and large target.

Mike

[Kevin]

I use the "in ear" buds at low volumes.

Alot of people turn up the volume to drownd out the background. The in ear buds block it out well enough you don't have to do this.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Kevin

I use the "in ear" buds at low volumes.

Alot of people turn up the volume to drownd out the background. The in ear buds block it out well enough you don't have to do this.

You would think so, but from the level of sound I hear coming from people just passing by me, they must disagree. Either that or it's too late for them.

[angelmb]

Originally Posted by Goldfinger

Yep, I've removed that limit because it's ridiculously low. You can barely use it on the street in your average city with the limiter turned on.

One could think you are talking about a cruise control / speed limiter in your car

[Oisín]

Originally Posted by angelmb

One could think you are talking about a cruise control / speed limiter in your car

It’s true, though. Walking in the streets with my iPod, I find I have to skip quite a few songs, because the ones that are constantly loud (i.e., have no quiet parts) are the only ones I can hear. If a song has a quiet part, which most of the music I listen to does, it is completely and absolutely drowned out by traffic, to the point where I can’t hear if there’s a song playing or not. I don’t want it louder, though; the noise from the traffic is almost enough to make my tympana hurt by itself, and I have no desire whatsoever to end up deaf or with tinnitus because I had to listen to music cranked up so high I could hear it over the traffic roars.

t's a well documented fact that headphones in general can cause hearing loss. In the ear types are that much more inclined to cause damage. Lets get one thing clear, its not the headphones themselve but the users blasting the music. Lets get back to some personal responcibility. If I put on some WHO music and crank up the volume so much my ears bleed, is it the headphones fault.

The World Health Organisation have spread into the music-making business now? Wow, they sure do like their diversity.

[TETENAL]

Originally Posted by Goldfinger

Yep, I've removed that limit because it's ridiculously low. You can barely use it on the street in your average city with the limiter turned on.

Belgium is somewhat affiliated with France, so you should really respect that sound volume limit. You might seriously damage your hearing by circumventing it.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Maflynn

If I put on some WHO music and crank up the volume so much my ears bleed, is it the headphones fault.

No, it's YOUR fault for making your ears bleed and using headphones to do it. I think your point is that it's easier to make your ears bleed with 'phones because they concentrate the sound into your ears. But simply turning up the volume to "11" is YOUR OWN fault.

Not only is excessive volume damaging to your ears, it can keep you from hearing all of the music. With the volume set correctly, you should be able to hear all of the music from the quietest to the loudest, without having your ears so numbed by the loud parts that you can't hear the quiet parts.

[Oisín]

Originally Posted by ghporter

No, it's YOUR fault for making your ears bleed and using headphones to do it. I think your point is that it's easier to make your ears bleed with 'phones because they concentrate the sound into your ears. But simply turning up the volume to "11" is YOUR OWN fault.

Ahem, that was in fact exactly his point

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Oisín

Ahem, that was in fact exactly his point

Not explicitly enough for me. The sarcasm flag wasn't flapping visibly enough for my tastes, that's all.

Personal responsibility is indeed the point, but what exactly is the person supposed to be responsible for? I think it's not turning up the volume so much that the headphones won't sit flat on your ears. I think it's paying attention to whether or not you can hear, rather than actually FEEL the music. I wasn't really contradicting Maflynn, I was amplifying the point. I guess my "I'm agreeing with you" wording didn't come through very well. Oops.

[kmkkid]

I've been working in the steel business for a few months now, and I can agree that the provided hearing protection in those environments is not adequate, I can tell my hearing is becoming muffled. Nowhere near what a few hours at a concert does to my hearing though. But of course my working situation is prolonged, so I'm sure it's worse.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by kmkkid

I've been working in the steel business for a few months now, and I can agree that the provided hearing protection in those environments is not adequate, I can tell my hearing is becomming muffled.

There's nothing that says you can't augment what you're provided, is there? I have found the combination of foam plugs with full-cover muffs gives me significantly better sound protection than either alone. Further, foam plugs that are properly inserted do a better job than any generic, non-fitted earplugs because they fit the contours of your ear better than anything except custom made, cast-in-the-ear plugs.

Steel mills are enormously loud, as are processing floors and even stocking and loading areas. My grandfather worked steel in the Downriver area of Southeastern Michigan for decades, and his hearing was never any good. My dad worked in the same plant for a while and hearing protection was one of the reasons he left-the other was the steel coiling machine and how dangerous a coil that isn't properly banded can be!

[kmkkid]

Originally Posted by ghporter

There's nothing that says you can't augment what you're provided, is there? I have found the combination of foam plugs with full-cover muffs gives me significantly better sound protection than either alone. Further, foam plugs that are properly inserted do a better job than any generic, non-fitted earplugs because they fit the contours of your ear better than anything except custom made, cast-in-the-ear plugs.

Steel mills are enormously loud, as are processing floors and even stocking and loading areas. My grandfather worked steel in the Downriver area of Southeastern Michigan for decades, and his hearing was never any good. My dad worked in the same plant for a while and hearing protection was one of the reasons he left-the other was the steel coiling machine and how dangerous a coil that isn't properly banded can be!

Well they provide the foam ear plugs. I work practically everywhere in the plant, I've even been on the coiling machine - very dangerous as this machine cuts and coils at the same time so you have razor sharp scraps twisting also. I'm going to be a crane operator when I return after holidays, so that's a little less dangerous, and also highest paying

*edit*
I was wrong about the plugs being 65 decibel, obviously as that's normal speaking range, they must block more than that

[Dakar]

Originally Posted by TETENAL

Belgium is somewhat affiliated with France, so you should really respect that sound volume limit. You might seriously damage your hearing by circumventing it.

So if you're not affiliated with France you can't damage your hearing circumventing it?

[TETENAL]

Originally Posted by ghporter

There's nothing that says you can't augment what you're provided, is there?

Reminds me of the safety instruction video about forklift driver Klaus.

http://www.worldspace.nu/movies/funn...rer_klaus.html

[SpaceMonkey]

Originally Posted by Goldfinger

Yep, I've removed that limit because it's ridiculously low. You can barely use it on the street in your average city with the limiter turned on.

Then you need new headphones. Closed headphones or in-hear monitors that block out the sound should do the trick.

[JoshuaZ]

People have been warning the public about the dangers of earbuds and bad headphones for years. I mean, can gigantic speakers and subs in cars blasting music be good for your ears either?

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by TETENAL

Reminds me of the safety instruction video about forklift driver Klaus.

http://www.worldspace.nu/movies/funn...rer_klaus.html

Keep that crazy Klaus away from me!!!! Help!!!!

Yes, my Mr. Safety Man alter ego strikes again. I can't help it-I've been to well programmed to find problems and fix them.

P.S.: Klaus should never be allowed anywhere near a forklift ever again! I used to be qualified to run one, and the crap Klaus gets into is nothing compared to what you CAN do with a fork! I saw what happened when a guy tried to put a palet into the back of a pick up truk without a spotter. Pick up truck beds aren't supposed to have holes in the sides.

[RAILhead]

WHAT?

/got nothin'

[Goldfinger]

Originally Posted by angelmb

One could think you are talking about a cruise control / speed limiter in your car

What I said could indeed apply to the speed limits on the roads as well, yes

Originally Posted by TETENAL

Belgium is somewhat affiliated with France, so you should really respect that sound volume limit. You might seriously damage your hearing by circumventing it.

Somewhat affiliated with France ? Not any different than the affiliation between Germany and France.
I don't really get your point.

Originally Posted by SpaceMonkey

Then you need new headphones. Closed headphones or in-hear monitors that block out the sound should do the trick.

I've been using in ear headphones for years now.
Try listening to classical music. You really want to be able to crank up the volume.

[MrForgetable]

i use in ear monitors now.
but i know what it is like. on the bus, the road noise/people talking volume level is so high that you need 90-100% on the iPod with the iPod earphones to hear the music at all, and usually the music is still very faint.
so now with the isolation of the IEMs (20-30db isolation) and the fact that they are that much closer to my ear drums, i never have my iPod at more than 2 or 3 out of 10 on the volume scale, and sometimes that is still pretty loud. in a quiet setting, say with my powerbook in my room, i can get away with 1 or 2 out of 16 with iTunes on full volume. my speakers need 5 or 6 to be heard.

i don't know, it seems safer to me. i'm sure its very easy to blow your ears with any in ear headphone, but if you know how to control it, it has many benefits.

[ghporter]

IEMs are very good at blocking outside noise, so they can get by with a lower volume level. And they can get you the same percieved volume level with much less actual power because they are so close to the eardrums.

The only knock I have against IEMs is that they can be too good at blocking outside sound and you could miss stuff happening around you. I would NEVER use these while driving or riding!

[nredman]

i know that i listen to my ipod way too loudly. i come home from the gym and my wife can always hear my headphones.