Explaining how we don't get hearing damage from bass

[Daniel Brill-Edwards]

Hi guys

I was trying to explain to a friend why we don't get permanent hearing damage from bass ie sub 80hz but I realised I couldn't actually explain it too well past stuff like "people have been doing it for 20+ years and they're fine". I am pretty knowledgeable about all the science behind sound waves and most stuff to do with car audio. The bit that had me think though is that when you hear these low frequencies at such massive volumes (I have sat in 160db at 30+hz so I know what it feels like) how does it not cause damage. It never hurt at the time and all you feel after is a little bit muffled for a minute or so. I have surprisingly sensitive hearing for my hobby and I always back my tweeters off because I hate that ringing in your ears from the high notes.

I'm sure that it is possible to get some damage from bass if you have a weak heart or something but a normal healthy 20 year old person should be able to sit in a massive system and apart from a pressured feeling, tingly nose, blurry vision and tickling in the ears, should be able to come out with no symptoms. Even long term is there anyone with tinnitus as a result?

Just hoping to bring a little science to this!

[appi]

i am 43 and i have tinitus but i dont mind i never stop whit my install in my car

i have try a several years whitout a install but pfffffffffff boring

[MrSkippyJ]

only way to show it would be to take a hearing test before you started listening and then years down the road take another and compare results. But even then it would only show that hearing changed (if it changed) and would not show why.

You could collect a group of people and do the same test and a group of people and do the test only without any exposure to bass. Then compare the results and see if there is a significant difference. That still wouldn't prove anything though. People deal with hearing loss without exposure to loud noises all the time.

[jrchevy87]

'Loudness,' or decibel readings, are a measurement of the movement of air particles caused by the sound vibrations. The more intense the vibration, the bigger the amplitude of movement for the air particles -- translating into a louder noise. Now, think about frequencies (measured in Hertz=oscillation/second). A 30 Hz noise (bass frequency) means that the particles being oscillated by the vibrations will influence your eardrum 30 times per second. Higher end frequencies (10,000+ Hz) influence the ear 10,000 times per second.

^Thats what ive found on the subject so far, and what i get from that is that bass can damage hearing it just takes a lot longer

[zxsonnyxz]

Maybe it's related to how higher frequencies contain more energy, combined with the ears not being to sensitive to lower notes. Just my initial uneducated tought..

If someone who knows their physic in this field chimes in that would be interesting.

[TheBetterMethod]

^Exactly jrchevy87

Think about it like this. Getting punched in the head 30 times (sub freq.) VS. getting punched in the head 1000-20000 times (hi freq.).

[Daniel Brill-Edwards]

I completely agree about how the higher frequency carries more energy. I know that if you half the frequency, you will have a quarter of the power so in general life we are very rarely subjected to bass with lots of energy. The resonant frequency of the ear canal is around 3000hz which may explain why the mids and highs hurt way more.

I am not saying that sound (pressure wave) cannot kill you, past 170db it's probably going to hurt and iirc 194db is when it becomes a constant ie no return wave like an explosion. I wonder what the loudest anyone has ever sat in is?

This is properly puzzling me?!!

[bre2ts]

i'm partially deaf sort of... my hearing damage can be recovered... but its because i work on a flight line and shit

[JeffRowland]

i spent 2 weeks in the hospital a few months back do to bass ... my ear drum was so messed up every time i would try and move i would get sick ..... now i have a constant ring that will never go away ... drives me nuts sometimes ....the damage was done at 48hz and 170.6 dbs for 30 sec.

[Omega5002]

You also have to consider distortion too, a distorted wave can cause more damage than a clean wave signal also. That's why it hurts your ears when you turn up a cheap radio, but when you turn up a nice stereo system on the same volume, you feel nothing. This is only really good till you reach a level your ears can't handle, regardless if the thd is less than 1%, simply because of the sound pressure it self.

Edit: I've sat in a 160db van before that was set by a DD-1, and my ears didn't hurt, but I came out disoriented, and with a headache, I'm also 19 years old.