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Why do your ears ring when you've been around loud music?

Kenbo: I just got back from Finigans Wake, a bar in Philly. I was watching my favorite cover band Modern Bliss. The music was very loud and I was near the front of the stage. And my ears are ringing hard core.

Kenbo's Avatar

3 years ago

Answers

  • Iscariot
  • -  1043 pts
  • -  (3 years ago)

The cells in our ears are fine-tuned to pick up and translate specific frequencies, and once that cell is pushed too far, it dies off with a ring. The frequency of the rings are those of dying cells, and you'll never hear that pitch again.

It sounds pretty bad, but then, I have no idea how many different hundreds or thousands of frequencies there are to be distinguished.

  • Vector
  • -  1145 pts
  • -  (3 years ago)

That's pretty interesting but daunting Raz.

I've always metaphorically compared the eardrum to a real drum. If you beat on it too much, eventually bad things are going to happen.

Iscariot's Avatar
  • Iscariot
  • -  1043 pts
  • -  (3 years ago)

The fascinating thing is you can listen to the same sounds before and after such an experience, and while you may not notice, it will not sound quite the same. You'll miss just a few odd pitches here and there because you no longer have the receptors to pick them up.

god's Avatar
  • god
  • -  4827 pts
  • -  (3 years ago)

I don't get this, are you sure it doesn't heal, because a lot of the time I kinda depend on hearing the different frequencies. I always just thought this was what happened whilst the cells were damaged, and it continued until you droned it out or it healed...

Moonrise's Avatar
  • Moonrise
  • -  1189 pts
  • -  (3 years ago)

The thing is that there really are thousands of frequencies that the human ear can hear, and for permanent damage to take place for one particular frequency it really won't go noticed. The problem, of course, is that too much noise and you will have permanent damage to your ear drum and hearing will just become altogether more difficult.

Its the hairs that record sound on the inside of your ear dying

 

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