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People have a natural tendency to listen to music on headphones at much louder
levels than they would on speakers. If you hope to avoid permanent hearing damage,
it’s important to be careful not to listen at extremely loud levels or to listen for too
long at moderately loud levels. Because HeadRoom amps must be capable of
driving even the most inefficient dynamic headphones to satisfactory listening levels,
the amps are able to drive headphones of average and high efficiencies to
very
high levels. As a result, you may not be listening at a safe level even though the
volume control on the amp is less than half way up. Generally speaking, when
listening to headphones, you should only turn up the volume to the point at which the
sound isn’t too quiet.
The most common hearing damage caused by prolonged or excessively loud sound
is called tinnitus. It manifests itself as a sustained ringing in the ears and can
become a permanent condition. If you find that your ears are ringing or that there is
a sensation of pressure or fatigue, give them a rest for a couple of days (or until
they feel fresh). These symptoms are your body telling you that your ears need a
break. Should you choose to ignore these symptoms, you are risking permanent
hearing damage. As a general rule, sound pressure levels under 80 decibels will not
damage hearing, even if listened to continually. On the other hand, anything over
120 decibels may cause permanent damage fast. Sound pressure levels anywhere
in between can also be damaging. The louder the sound, the shorter the exposure
time required to cause permanent damage.
You can get a slight case. For example, you might only notice your ears ringing in bed
at night. Once you have a slight case of tinnitus, your ears are much more susceptible
to further damage. So, if you get it, it’s important to be much more careful about
exposure to loud sounds. Now that we’ve told you to be careful, don’t blame us if
you blow it. If you have any more question about hearing damage, call a doctor.
Sorry to sound so sobering, but a lifetime of musical enjoyment requires ears in tip
top shape.
And Now A Word About Your Hearing
More Available Upgrades
There are a number of upgrades available for your Little.
The power supply can be upgraded with the More Power,
providing a better power supply for the Little. You can
also upgrade the standard electronics module to a
premium module, offering significant sound quality
improvement. Please call us for details about these
upgrade paths.
