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[Akroma]

so, for the last few years it has become more and more normal for me to ask "sorry, what did you just say" and lean in closer to hear things clearly.

most of my friends were totaly used to that, and sow as I, so I never thought much into that, but since I am now at university, and meeting a whole bunch of new people every day, I get a lot of comments that I am "talking so loud".


yeah, so today I went and got my ears looked at, and apparently, I hear nothing that lies below 30-40 decibel, putting my far below the average human hearing, which ranges from 0 to 20 decibel. (strangely enough, 0 decibel is still something that can be heared. don't ask me how decibel works <_<)


anyway, looks like I'm going to get a pair of hearing aids.


curse you, music-that-only-sounds-good-when-heared-loudly !

[TheNewerMartianEmperor]

Yeah, i've never had my hearing checked, but I'm fairly certain that it isn't very good. Also, I think it's getting worse.

[Duke 2.0]

 Thankfully we live in an age where hearing aids are really small. Like, really. I imagine they are like another pair of glasses, only for your ears and nobody can see them.

[Aqizzar]

Did they give you any specific causes for your hearing loss?  When I was younger I had terrible hearing, and it's still not great, because of congenital problems with my inner-ear bones that took surgery to correct.

[Akroma]

nope, the insides of my ear look okay. I am fairly certain that too loud music is the cause.



but oh meh, it's not that bad. 40 decibels is not that much. just the normal background noise of a medium working place, i.e keyboard noises, papers being sorted, someone crunching the aluminium of his lunchbox, etc.

seing it that way, it's positive, as that probably helps me concentrate.


on the other hand, somebody whispering into your ear is only 30 decibels, and that sucks

[Aqizzar]

So wait, how exactly does this work?  Do you just not hear anything below about 40 decibels, or does everything sound 40 decibels quieter to you?  I imagine the later, but I'm concerned about this sort of thing myself.

[Tack]

Damn... That sucks. However, it also means that you'll be able to hear your loud music much better.

[Akroma]

@aquizzar
well, in the hearing-test, they sends sounds through my ears of different frequencies, starting at -10 decibel (wtf, how does that even work), and then increasing by 10, until I heared the sound ever so slightly.

depending on the frequency, I started to hear some sounds at 30, and some sounds at 40

so yeah, since all sounds are a mix of frequencies anyway, I hear nothing below 30, and anything above that quieter.

I should be able to ever so slightly detect anything above 40 decibel (of course, ever so slightly means that I "notice there is a sound". that I can actually hear what that sound is is a different question.


thus, why I have problems with normal talks. normal talks are at 60 decibel. so yes, I do hear that people are talking. I just hear it a whole lot quieter



@tack

well, not quite. just because I hear it less loudly doesn't mean it is less damaging to my ears.
in fact, since my hearing is already damaged, this means that I will have to make it quieter, as not to increase the damage

[Jreengus]

Wow that sucks, and you've got me worried about myself now as I seem to regularly say "Pardon." when people are talking. Anyhow as Duke says at least hearing aids are small enough you wont notice unless your looking for them now. And you should find it easier to get to sleep in a room full of people whispering. 

[Tack]

On the note of my last horrifying question: You wouldn't be able to use standard earphones at the same time as hearing aids. Therefore, you are now stuck with headphones.

And the way I said it meant that you can now listen to it with the same quality, but quieter, if you get aids.

[Mr Tk]

The decibels relate to sound pressure something can beyond our hearing (i.e. the frequency) but still have enough pressure to damage your ears. 0db is the auditory threshold at 1 kHz, however the absolute threshold is not a discrete point so they test -10db in case you've got freakishly good hearing at that level.

[Cthulhu]

My grandpa trapshoots (And is in the trapshooting hall of fame.  Yay obscure celebrity) and refuses to wear hearing aids.  He could probably be considered legally deaf.  You have to repeat everything, my "Yeah" and "No" sound the same to him, and he can't hear the phone ringing across the living room.

[Maggarg - Eater of chicke]

I'm a bit deaf. Too many metal concerts with 110+ decibel levels.

[chaoticag]

Never got into music when I was younger, and I never played anything loudly untill recently. I know I had a physical, and I was told I was "okay" whatever that means.

I think part of the reason was that I have a slightly deformed ear, not to the point that you would notice, but to the point that putting an earphone in my left ear doesn't work unless my shoulder is raised and my neck is tilted. I stick with headphones now.

[Nilocy]

Yeah, I'm going to the doctor tomorrow about my ears and other things. I feel as if i've become a hypercondriact, but when you have a constant low whining in the background all the time and and have weird pressure build ups in one ear then I think its time to go see a doctor.