Did I fuck up my hearing?

I’m your stereotypical audiophile. I hate Youtube and MP3s. Everything has to be lossless because even a well-encoded MP3 sounds like Bassnectar played through a 1940s telephone, at least to me. But over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed that I’m hearing deep bass (<120Hz) louder out of my left ear than my right. It's not ear wax — I keep those fuckers clean. It's not my headphones — I've tried 3 different pairs. Nor is it my laptop — I've tried this on multiple rigs, and tried going into a basic Openbox setup and killing pulseaudio (which is the glitchiest piece of shit to ever hit Linux). It's my ears. Is this normal? Will this go away, or did my years of blasting music finally start having an effect on my hearing? On top of being an audiophile I also have OCD, so the unequal sound is driving me fucking nuts.

asked May 19, 2015

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Weeb Trash

342

3 Answers

I think eventually it's best to have your hearing checked out. A doctor will be able to tell you if your hearing is lesser in your one ear than it is in your other. If you play your music too loud, it can definitely have a negative result on your hearing. To be sure, consult a doctor to have your ears tested.

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Rain

9,516

Usually it is the higher frequencies that go first with hearing loss. If the lower range sound is what is going you could either have an inner ear infection or some type of blockage that is causing a pressure differential in your ear (like you get when you are on a plane or in higher elevations. Of course I am not a doctor but I did do a kick ass science project on the ear and which parts allow us to hear what sounds.

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AnnieH

666

Just like with my potential cancer mass, it's best to just wait a little while and see if it goes away on it's own. Unless you actually have a job, any money or health insurance...in which case...sorry I just got really depressed all of a sudden. Where was I? Oh right, If you can notice it...you can just adjust the levels to favor one side over the other. I mean I know how to do it with the masters with windows, so...your probably some kind of wizard. Also...there is no also.

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Trevor