I am having a problem and hoping someone here can help...

[bluesman]

5 hours ago, Audiophile Neuroscience said:

This means  that  most  unfavorable  for  the  hearing  are  inner earphones, especially at high frequencies for which our  hearing  system  is  most  sensitive.  The  air  in  the ear canal is a natural protection from high sound pres-sure. Using inside earphones the length of the channel is reduced whereby the natural protection becomes less effective  and the  sound  level  in ear channel  increases by 6 dB

The normal human auditory system is most sensitive at 3500-4000 Hz.  There’s a second slightly lower peak at about 13k that seems to represent the 3rd harmonic of the resonant frequency of the external ear canal.  But in-ear phones plug the canal, which both raises that frequency to far above audibility (eliminating it as a contributor to SPL) and blocks transmission of ambient sound to the tympanic membrane.  

 

The major factor affecting SPL in the truncated canal remains the SPL at the transducer. All canal resonance is shifted upward and the contributions from the external ear are eliminated. I’ve never seen a study that measured this with in-the-canal transducers (which is what I assume is meant by inner earphones).

 

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Sound/maxsens.html

[bluesman]

5 hours ago, 4est said:

This might sound crazy, but I had a HDD on an iMac on my desk that induced tinnitus. It was barely audible, and the tinnitus subsided after replacing the drive.

There’s subjective tinnitus, which originates within the neurologic system and is heard only by the affected person. And there’s objective tinnitus, which has an identifiable source and can be heard by others.  Examples of the latter include a vascular hum, a carotid bruit, or one’s heartbeat, all of which may be heard externally in the case of a dehiscent jugular bulb or an aberrant carotid. These are often diagnosed by putting a stethoscope over the ear canal or high under the back of the mandible.  Extraneous sound when near a specific hard drive is far more likely to be objective and to have originated in the drive than in a response of the listener’s neurologic system to it.
 

The characteristics of the sound(s) are often a clue to the causes of tinnitus, regardless of its nature or source.  If I heard a faint high pitched whining or similar sound when near a drive, especially in both ears, I’d suspect a mechanical problem like a bearing and ask others if they hear it too.  I’d stick a mic against it, record a few seconds of activity, and look for adventitious levels in the spectrum display in Audacity or whatever you use.  

[bluesman]

11 minutes ago, charlesphoto said:

honestly imo there's not much that can be done beyond diet and lifestyle mitigation, and even then it's something you may just have to live with.

Sadly, that’s true for most sufferers. But there are some causes of tinnitus that need treatment, so a thorough evaluation is needed before accepting it and living with it.  Especially if it’s only in one ear, an otologic evaluation is truly necessary.  Imaging (CT &/or MRI) may be needed as well, before accepting that no cause will be found.

 

There’s a popular misconception that if tests are unrevealing, they were unnecessary.  This is simply wrong.  If history, exam, and appropriate audiologic tests suggest a reasonable probability of identifiable pathology, imaging is essential - and so is follow up for as long as the symptoms persist.

[bluesman]

9 hours ago, Audiophile Neuroscience said:

It was the the authors of that paper who claimed a 6dB rise in SPL using "inside earphones". I have no idea whether this has been verified but they do present empirical evidence to support that this type of listening causes more hearing damage.

But if the SPL were 6 dB higher at the same gain settings, you’d turn it down 6 dB to the level you prefer.  Is there an audiophile so foolish as to leave the volume higher than desired because the equipment made it so?  Please tell me there is not 😏