I recently bought a pair of ath-m20x and I began using it with sonarworks soundid correction. Without the correction, the lows sound a little flat but when the correction is on there is a massive increase in low end. The low end sounds huge and sustained and I really feel the waves and punch of the low end vibrating my eardrum. Few weeks after usage (2 to 3hrs use for 2 or 3 days in a week), my inner ear hurts and I am wondering could this be the eq correction? I mean the added bass is supposed to be meet a flat response right ? but why does my inner ear hurt when my volume is just b2n 30-40% and I am listening to a flat response? It also can't be the clamp of the headphones because I stretched them very well before using the them.

 

hey no idea but just a recommendation, i think start with headphones only to make sure your sounds are matching to one another etc...but then spend more time with speakers if possible with low volume until you need to check things again with headphone much more down the line

no need to be hearing perfect 100% of the time when you doing arrangements or things like that

 

Be your own scientist. Stop using that correction for a couple of weeks, compare..
+1 for more speaker usage. But the way you use cans should be doable.

 

If in doubt, please go to your ear specialist and describe the problem to him.

Spoiler: What are the most common causes of inner ear pain?

What are the most common causes of inner ear pain?

Inner ear pain can be difficult to ignore and can affect a person's hearing or balance. Inner ear pain describes pain that is felt deep in the ear - in the labyrinth or bones, in the cochlea or in the vestibular system. This excruciating pain is caused by a bacterial or viral infection, or it can be a symptom of a more serious illness. Individuals with inner ear problems should consult a qualified doctor.

Infections of the inner ear region are typically viral. The viral infection can be the result of a virus that affects other parts of the body, such as mononucleosis. In some cases, a viral inner ear infection is isolated. Viral infections of the inner ear often affect the labyrinth of the ear, or the vestibulo-cochlear nerve, which connects the ear to the brain.

Earache caused by a viral infection is usually accompanied by other symptoms. Dizziness, balance disorders, dizziness, and hearing or visual impairment can also be due to an inner ear infection. Some people with inner ear infections may experience nausea and ringing in the ear. These symptoms range from mild to severe, and not everyone experiences every symptom.

Bacterial infections of the inner ear are less common. The symptoms are identical to those of a viral ear infection. Only a doctor can distinguish between the two on examination and physical examination. Earache felt deep in the ear can also travel to the middle ear, where infections are more common.

In addition to viral and bacterial infections, pain can also radiate into the inner ear region from the teeth, maxillary sinuses or sinuses. A condition called mastoiditis, which is an infection of the bone just behind the ear, can cause extreme pain in the inner ear. People with blocked Eustachian tubes - the tubes that drain the ear - feel pressure and can hear fluid in the ear while feeling pain in the inner ear.

Chronic inner ear pain is sometimes a symptom of a long-term illness or illness. People can suffer from lupus, chronic fatigue syndrome, and multiple sclerosis. Cancerous growths and lesions can also cause pain in the inner ear.

Treatment for inner ear pain depends on the cause. Treatment options include medication, hot and cold packs, and surgery. A doctor will prescribe the best course of action to treat the cause and provide pain relief that is appropriate for the degree of pain and the severity of the situation.

 

Giving my two cents with the assumption that your using the m20x for mixing.

If you ever feel like the eq correction is doing more harm than good to both your listening experience and health (ie: damaging your ears), you can try and use the ath-m20x as it is. You can try and use multiple references to understand and learn how those cans give its response. Once you've learned how it responds, you can get a good idea of how mixes could translate in them. Same goes for speakers and understanding your room imho. I feel like using reference tracks are a great way to understand how the tools we use to mix/ listen respond.

 

t

thanks

 

1. ATME, Sonarworks is overdoing the correction curves. I'd lower them by ~ 50%.
2. Closed back HP are not good for mixing. Use open ones if you can.
3. You should never suffer from listening with HP (or monitors). You will damage your ears in the long run.

 

We had that as a topic:Headphone calibration software
https://audiosex.pro/threads/headphone-calibration-software.58960/

You need to stop messing around with headphone calibration profiles and just listen to as much music as you can in your headphones until you become one with them. Compare your work with other artists of the same style, take an A-B test in selected areas, and remember that the end user of your work is almost certainly not listening to music with reference headphones worth $ 2,000. Quote: https://arefyevstudio.com/de/2021/04/07/kopfhoerer-kalibrierungssoftware/

 

Just a few thoughts on the subject:
Our ears are one of the most complicated and, next to the eyes, the most important sensory apparatus. In addition to hearing, the ears are responsible for balance.
If the ears are damaged, this affects two senses at the same time and can even lead to total loss.

Most people seriously worry about their eyesight at some point in their lives.
It is important to know that the sensory cells in the eye number in the millions and contain many reserves, while the sensory cells in the ear (hearing/balance) number only a few hundred and are relatively sensitive to permanent stimuli.

This is not intuitive and we therefore tend to regard the eyes as more important than the ears.
In addition, the provision of hearing aids for the ears is much more costly (and ineffective) than the correction of vision. A destroyed sense of balance is usually even irreparable and life is a torture.

Therefore: always protect your ears from overload and take care of them. Even a single rock concert can damage your hearing to the point of irreparable damage.

Today, there are simply far too many devices (besides the normal environmental impact) and misbehaviours that cause lasting damage to the ears if used incorrectly: Headphones, InEar Earphones, Q-Tips and Detergents. ... ... ...

In the past deafness was a problem of the very old, today people begin to suffer from hearing loss in their 30ies/40ies, even some in their 20ies.

 

Last edited: Oct 30, 2021

Honestly, I've had problems like that before. I'd suggest you take a fairly lengthy break and let your ears fully recover before using headphones again.

It might be the EQ'ing.. it might be something in the music you're listening to (ex. if it's music you're producing that isn't EQ'd/mixed properly yet and is hitting some of the 'bad' frequencies).. it's hard to say what it is, but your ears are definitely telling you to take a break. Speaking of taking a break, when listening to music on headphones, especially music you're producing (which gets to be very repetitive process and hard on the ears) take a lot of breaks. Try not to listen with headphones for very long periods at a time. Also, I guess you may already be listening to low volumes, but I try and listen as low as I can, when using headphones.

I mean, the best advice is probably invest in some good monitors and use those, but some of us (me included) can't do that for other reasons, such as neighbors/SOs/roommates/etc.

 

If the headphones require any significant amount of 'correction', it means they're not up to the job.
In general headphones are not suitable for mixing. Why? Because our ears are made to pick up sounds from what is around us, not for having sound pumped in from a few cm away from each eardrum. So the sound picture is totally wrong.
But if you MUST use headphones, get a pair that sound right/sound good as they are. And keep the volume down as much as possible.
Be very careful with your ears..... I've had tinnitus in my right ear for a long time and it's bloody awful. Interestingly, playing in a rock band for years didn't make the tinnitus worse, even when standing right in front of our (very enthusiastic) drummer. As long as he didn't smack the cymbals too much.

 

It is a fact that excessive levels of sound damage your hearing and brain. Studies show that noise causes cognitive impairment and oxidative stress in the brain. Being a musician my hearing is my life so I value and protect it.

 

i'm stuck with headphones because my environment and the people in it will not permit me to use monitors, not untill i get my own house or build a studio

 

Been making music for 10+ years and I can tell you can give yourself a level of tinnitus by listening/mixing on bright headphones like hd25 (ass for mixing) or m50x (pretty good for mixing) if your headphone more on the low end side aiaiai tma 2 young guru edition (too much low end) it can mess with the eardrums which only hurts. my ears are fine but i used to give them hell trust me if you do too much you'll feel pain and hear that high pitched tinnitus thing which can mess up your sleep pretty badly. I used to take week/month long breaks without headphones (strictly speakers) to ease my tinnitus which will either go away (not completely) or you'll just get used to it (which is impossible). BUT at the end of the day you will need studio monitors to do the 'real' mixing try to save up for a pair of decent speakers do mixing in daytime and do creative stuff/light essential mixing at night on headphones. You won't lose hearing in the long run but I'm pretty sure my ears would do a lot better without all the torturing. Also that beeping tinnitus is annoying af.

 

Well said. If ear fatigue especially in the low end is causing you pain, open back headphone will greatly alleviate that.

The other thing is to learn to mix at lower volumes in headphones and with speakers.

 

But you should only use the headphones at the lowest possible volume that works for you and limit the time you listen with them.

I unwillingly did a self-experiment a longer time ago: I had a bad tinnitus and played a white noise very quietly with earphones to fight the tinnitus.
And then I probably fell asleep.
Woke up after about 5 hours. Although the volume was very low, I was almost completely deaf for several hours afterwards, but this disappeared in the course of the day.
Lesson learned: Damage to the hearing apparatus is a function of volume and time!

 

It's generally easier to overdrive headphones than loudspeakers, be cautious

 

Turn down the volume.