Hearing - using and keeping it

[Dingo]

I'm 65 years old this year and started in the Sound Industry over 45 years ago.

I have worked in live Rock, Blues, Jazz as well as studio recording and mixing.

I've also bashed my ears on numerous big loud Action movies and spent way too many hours in the chair in one hit.
Possibly worst of all was a good five year period on mixing Cinema trailers when there where no CALM, LeQ or whatever - loud and not so proud.

I have regularly had my hearing tested at local 'hearing aid' places and all seemed OK.
Every couple of years I visit my Ear Nose Throat specialist as I also suffer from sinus issues caused in a car accident in the 90's.

Worried I was loosing a bit of the tops I had my hearing checked out by a specialist audiologist - so when I attended my ENT appointment today I was pleasantly surprised when the Specialist announced that I had the hearing of a 20 year old - Whoopee

We talked about hearing loss and he said not much is really known about it but there appears to be some genetic disposition and much depended on the type of work you do as to the specific hearing loss you suffered.

But the discussion has triggered me to list the things I have always done to help keep my hearing... in the hope that it might help others from loosing the very thing we all love.

1. NEVER use cotton buds in the ear canal - the little micro hairs in the ear are the early warning system for the hammer and anvil. They sense incoming loud and tell the little bones to brace for it - bit like a superior auto gain system.

2. Avoid in-ear hearing buds and extended periods of loud MP3 compressed material. MP3 sucks the air and dynamics out presenting the listener with a constant bombardment.

3. Loud is not really great, trim the monitor levels when doing basic editing then set them back to reference levels for critical hearing.

4. Be aware that 'Dolby reference' levels should be interpreted according to the volume area of the room you are in. 85dBC is Okay for a cinema sized room, but 81 is more the speed in a Living room mix.

5. After a long period of loud mixing I would go into the very quite ADR or record stage and lie down with no lights or other stimulation and relax for an hour before letting anymore light or sound bombard my senses.

6. Avoid large amounts of strong cafe and alcohol - ( a bit of 'mixing fluid' is OK late at night) but anything in excess can add to fatigue and that means you are making mistakes and mixing longer. Also both are diuretics which dry out the sinuses and sensitive areas of the head/ear making them stiff and limiting flexibility.

7. Contentious but I have avoided noise cancelling headphones and whilst flying don't use headphones or watch the movie, I just rest and try to prepare myself for jet lag recovery. I think that phase cancellation is 'fooling' the hearing - and potentially could cause double the 'energy' at the ear canal.

That's my tips - maybe others have more - happy listening.

[Theotherguy]

Dingo, I read an interview with famed mastering engineer Bob Ludwig. He said that he never worked his levels over 82dB.
He retired earlier this year. And closed Gateway Mastering. He took care of his ears.
This is an important topic to be discussed. Thanks for bringing it to the forum.
Alex

[sunrat]

As a veteran live sound engineer, I thought my hearing would be rubbish. Mixed a lot of really loud rock bands at really loud levels. One that scares me recalling it was The Mark Of Cain gig when I think I was in a bad mood for some non-gig reason - checked the loudness meter at the desk peaking at 118dB C weighted, yikes! Normally I would mix at levels a few dB lower than other acts on the same bill and had a good reputation for clean but fat heavy mixes.
My local gym had a free hearing test van outside one day so I chatted to the audiologist. I had run a sine wave sweep at home recently and found my hearing dipped at a bit above 12kHz. She said they only test to 4kHz so my hearing would be considered good. A neighbour who is also an audiologist confirmed although they test to 8kHz. I do have moderate tinnitus though.
Mainly retired these days but listen to and enjoy a lot of music at home, usually under 75dB.

[Robomusic57]

"I was pleasantly surprised when the Specialist announced that I had the hearing of a 20 year old"

So that means you hear what you want to hear and ignore directions!!!!!

[jeff_sloan]

Yea, I think he meant you only hear what you want to hear

[Dingo]

As a veteran live sound engineer, I thought my hearing would be rubbish. Mixed a lot of really loud rock bands at really loud levels. One that scares me recalling it was The Mark Of Cain gig when I think I was in a bad mood for some non-gig reason - checked the loudness meter at the desk peaking at 118dB C weighted, yikes! Normally I would mix at levels a few dB lower than other acts on the same bill and had a good reputation for clean but fat heavy mixes.
My local gym had a free hearing test van outside one day so I chatted to the audiologist. I had run a sine wave sweep at home recently and found my hearing dipped at a bit above 12kHz. She said they only test to 4kHz so my hearing would be considered good. A neighbour who is also an audiologist confirmed although they test to 8kHz. I do have moderate tinnitus though.
Mainly retired these days but listen to and enjoy a lot of music at home, usually under 75dB.

Yes most audiograms go up to 8kHz, most are concerned with speech and so that's the general range they examine.
Perhaps as relevant to audio engineers as frequency response is Impedance Audiometry - or measurement of the tympanic membrane response of the ear.

It is possible to have a relatively even frequency response but with reduced tympanic response due to excessive broadband noise - this is normally revealed in a Speech Audiometry test which measures your ability (0-100%) of being able to hear or discriminate the intelligibility of the spoken word. Lack of ability to discern conversation is perhaps the most debilitating aspect of hearing loss.

Having worked in the design and construction of Mixing rooms, Cinemas and Theatres one of the most interesting areas is the Speech Intelligibility Index (SII) which measures or calculates the level of intelligibility of speech depending on Background noise levels, Reverb Time and general acoustic design. When you go to a good Drama Theatre every actor can be heard clearly through the entire auditorium without the need for electronic reinforcement.

In my path down this track I became aware of the work of Mimar Sinan - he was considered the greatest Architect of the Ottoman Empire designing many of the finest Mosques. He died in 1588 and was famous for using Helmholtz resonators in his buildings centuries before Hermann von Helmholtz discovered or re-discovered the technology.

In volume areas that should have made the Imams speech unintelligible he designed architectural acoustic solutions to enable everyone in the Mosque to clearly hear speech. He effectively reduced the reverb time to a point where there was little or no buildup and a dome that allowed the speech to spread across the entire area.
Much of what he pioneered is only now being fully understood.

https://muslimheritage.com/sinans-acoustical-tech/

[Jostein]

Nice thread!

My mixing level is quite easy to set: -It must be possible to speak and have a normal conversation during mixing. If anything sounds good on that level without too much compression, then it will sound good on almost any level IMO.

My hearing is only up to around 13k on the right ear and around 10k on the left one on moderate levels, which means I have lost a little more than an octave. I'm just two months from being 62 and if things sound clear to my ears, then it will probably sound clear among other listeners.

So hearing loss isn't a big deal so far, I hear the problems and I do slow down the speed so I can catch what's going on on the upper frequencies. My clients seem to be satisfied and I hope they will continue to like my taste for some more years to come.

[thekoala]

I have a question if anyone knows:

My hearing caps out around 10k both ears.

However, I have no problem hearing annoying squeaks when an acoustic guitarist doesn't fret right.

1) So I go to edit the squeaks out, and I check in RX and find that they are usually 7k -> 16k. So I use the eraser tool, and spot erase something at 15k and I can hear it go away.


How is this possible if I supposedly can not hear those freqs?

[Dingo]

My hearing caps out around 10k both ears.

Much depends on how you came to determine that. Using headphones and a tone generator at home can a/ be hazardous to your hearing if not careful and b/ fool yourself because the signals you are testing with may not be accurately 'weighted'.

Our hearing is not linear, we hear different frequencies at different loudness levels.
Often called the Fletcher Munson curve, Equal-Loudness contours are taken into consideration in a hearing test done by an audiologist.

I would suggest getting a real audiologist to check your hearing every couple of years.

However, I have no problem hearing annoying squeaks when an acoustic guitarist doesn't fret right.

I actually like those individual characteristics and leave them in. I did a mix for a Soundtrack "Last Ride" and it consists almost entirely of fret noises

1) So I go to edit the squeaks out, and I check in RX and find that they are usually 7k -> 16k. So I use the eraser tool, and spot erase something at 15k and I can hear it go away.
How is this possible if I supposedly can not hear those freqs?

Possibly because your hearing does not end at 10K, it normally rolls off gradually, also the amplitude of the fret noise (see Loudness contours) makes it 'stand out' ...

The other could be a bit of Hyperacusis which can manifest as high sensitivity to certain frequencies. Fret noise, chalk on a chalk board, tyre squeals etc.

I worked on a TV show and one of the Producers made us strip out every cricket and cicada in the atmospheres - to her they were screamingly loud, but to others just a normal part of Australian summer.
My guess is she didn't often leave the city.