Headphones

I started wearing ear muffs/plugs a couple of years after I started playing in bands. Almost 2 decades later and I never go to a concert or play live without hearing protection. If I somehow forget to bring them, I grab a table napkin and fold it into makeshift earplugs. As a musician, I’m deathly afraid of losing my hearing.

If you listen to music outside, invest in noise-cancelling headphones/earphones so you don’t inadvertently turn the volume up too much just to hear it. Also, try to get used to listening at a lower volume at home. I did this by setting the volume to what I was used to, then turned it down one notch. I eventually got used to it and now I listen at a lower volume than I would’ve normally done.

I damaged my hearing when I was a kid, blasting out music from a Walkman. Digital devices tend to have limiters on, so I try not to override those, plus I listen to a lot more Ambient stuff nowadays.

As an older guy, growing up in the 60s and 70s, loud concerts, loud stereos, and working with power tools in the construction trade, we never thought about hearing protection. And now, my tinnitus is so bad sometimes I wish I could snip the nerves and become deaf. It's LOUD inside my head. Please protect your hearing!

I'm sure I have some tinnitus, but not to an extent where it really bothers me.

Over-ear headphones allow me to listen to things at a much lower volume while still hearing the whole thing.

I just don’t blast my music. I play it at a reasonable volume.

Not from listening to music, but from setting up a mic for a discord call while wearing headphones. Picked up feedback directly in my ears for like a 3rd of a second. Permanent ringing now.

I'm 19, I never listened to loud music, let alone for long periods of time, and I have a pretty quiet very high pitched noise in my ears when it's quiet (like at night). It sounds kind of like the whine of a CRT. I've had that for years and I have no clue why, it's not like I go to concerts often or get exposed to loud noises.

My phone has a db meeter in the settings for my Bluetooth anc headphones, and I never go above 70dB and it's plenty loud for me

It doesn't really bother me because with the slightest noise I don't hear it anymore but it's still a bit annoying, I have to put some kind of sound to fall asleep (like the radio) just because otherwise I start to focus on the sound and just can't sleep

When I was a teen I would literally spend all my day with earphones on, with music actually very loud (but not dangerously loud) guess I was lucky.

I worked in construction for a long time, and everytime I had to work with power tools I would just use some diy earplugs made with toilet paper, while it might sound hilarious it actually saved my hearing in the long run, for the ones who might ask why I didn't use correct earplugs. Well, in dusty environments it's actually better to use something cheap like paper mostly because you will be "burning" a ton of earplugs during the day and let's face it I wasn't in great shape regarding my finances, so every penny counted. Later on I would change jobs and actually buy decent earplugs so I could work nearby gas turbines.

Anyway long story short, use proper hearing protection because depending on the exposure you might actually lose your hearing without noticing it. As for tinnitus, besides the usual damage done by not using hearing protection, it can be genetic. My dad had tinnitus due to his exposure to power tools, but I know people who have it since birth.

Some last thoughts, I think younglings should be educated regarding hearing protection. I mean youth will be youth, but I'm pretty sure they don't want to lose their hearing in the long run.

Best regards.

I have tinnitus unfortunately (and something else weird where something in my ear responds to sudden spikey noises) or something like it, but not the hearing loss that's usually accompanied by it luckily. I went to see a doctor, but sadly, can't do much about it to fix it. The doctor actually made it worse after trying out an injection (some kind of disinfectant or something because it was a little inflamed). The only thing I can do is making it less noticable, particularly at night. Putting on rain sounds for example.

I have mild tinnitus from when I used to play in a metal band.

Only noticeable in very quiet conditions, but still, I wish I had been smarter.

Now I always use ear plugs at gigs. Ain't worth it.

I also don't listen to headphones loudly.

When I'm on a train and I can hear other people's music from their own earbuds, it makes me feel sick at the damage they must be doing.

I used an app on my phone to get a rough idea of the decibel level i listen at, and marked it on my amp's knob, then stay at or below that safe level -- plenty loud for me.

Something like this, as a reference, and 80db as my 'max' level marked on my amp.