Subject: Re: painfully loud sound From: Bob Masta <audio(at)DAQARTA.COM> Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 13:21:57 -0500This may be unrelated, but I have on occasion experienced what I would call "uncomfortable" sounds. They were not very loud, but were distinctly distorted. The symptoms were feelings of warmth and fullness in the ear canal, which persisted for many minutes after the end of the sound. My working hypothesis at the time was that perhaps the middle ear muscles became activated by higher centers due to a perception that the sound was obnoxious enough to need muting. I never got around to testing this, and I have long since disposed of the one source I owned that could induce the phenomenon: A really cheap portable radio. (The other instance that I recall experiencing this was at a dance recital where the sound system failed and they brought a "boom box" onstage to continue the performance.) It got me wondering about a phenomenon that "golden ears" audiophiles sometimes complain about, which they call "listening fatigue". I have never heard any real description of this, let alone an explanation or hypothesis. (I guess that audiophiles never ask about it because, hey, if you have to ask, you certainly aren't one of the cognoscenti!) Anyway, assuming that it has some basis in fact, this might be the same phenomenon I experienced. Any thoughts on this? Bob Masta audioATdaqartaDOTcom