Sorry to be obvious, but I played a gig last night, and my perceptive hearing is WAY off today. I need to let my ears rest after having being exposed to heavy / loud noise / sound. It might take me a day or two...
All the best.

Guitarhacker

It's not just the sheer volume level, but also factors how long you are exposed to that level.
 
Levels as low as 85dB can damage hearing and are considered to be dangerous when the exposure is prolonged.  It's not a linear scale, it's a log scale.
 
85dB  requires 8hs
90dB drops to 2.5 hrs
100dB drops to 15 minutes
 
So you could have been listening to 90dB to 95dB and not realized it.... and ended up with some ringing of the ears as a result.

Use a weighted dB meter so you know what the actual levels are.   To those who have not damaged their ears and hearing..... I would say, be very protective of your hearing.  I used to shoot guns and play in loud bands, all without using ear plugs. Big mistake..... too late now. My ears ring constantly. There's no drugs to use, no cure and no fix.

What??? (Sorry to OP)

I noticed the exact same thing when I stop using my consumer stereo system and powered computer speakers as monitors and finally invested in some proper reference monitors (Mackie MKII's). I got mild ringing/ear fatigue at much lower levels.
 
I also noticed the same thing when switching from consumer grade headphones to pro grade headphones (Sennheiser HD280's... which aren't totally top shelf but the best I could afford).
 
I personally would say the theory that my ears had never previously been exposed to the entire frequency spectrum before is what were making them get cranky. This despite nearly two decades of insanely high volume band practices and gigs with little to no ear protection.
 
Although my ears seem to have adjusted and it's not quite as painful/fatiguing when I spend extended periods of time using those sources (usually the cans due to noise issues in my apartment) I still take FREQUENT breaks when using those cans and monitors. Like I never go for more than an hour before stopping for at least a half hour and don't do more than 4-5 hours of critical listening in a day... despite my frequent breaks. After that point (and usually much sooner) I simply am not able to do anything useful to a mix and generally just make things worse.
 
Even then I've learned to give myself at least one night before making any further mix decisions but more recently I've started waiting an entire week or more once I think I've got things nailed after a long session. Then when I go back (after maybe doing some other stuff but usually just not doing anything) I can hammer down the last few details that I would not have noticed if I hadn't taken a break. And then I'll give it another night, few days, week and try again. Kind of like sanding a sculpture or piece of woodwork. It's been really helpful.
 
Based on the types of things I manage to pick out of mixes after all the high volume insanity I exposed myself to over the years I am extremely fortunate that my ears are still so sensitive. I think I may have even recovered some of my hearing since I stopped playing live and blasting myself out in tiny little bandrooms or at least learned to work around any lost frequencies.
 
My biggest problem is being able to dial in exactly what I WANT to hear... but that comes with experience and experimentation I guess.
 
I am, as always, not a pro... but trying to be.
 
tl;dr...
 
You are using pro gear now. Take frequent breaks to avoid burnout/ear fatigue but your ears will adjust.
 
Cheers.

Zargg71

Guitarhacker

It's not just the sheer volume level, but also factors how long you are exposed to that level.
 
Levels as low as 85dB can damage hearing and are considered to be dangerous when the exposure is prolonged.  It's not a linear scale, it's a log scale.
 
85dB  requires 8hs
90dB drops to 2.5 hrs
100dB drops to 15 minutes
 
So you could have been listening to 90dB to 95dB and not realized it.... and ended up with some ringing of the ears as a result.

Use a weighted dB meter so you know what the actual levels are.   To those who have not damaged their ears and hearing..... I would say, be very protective of your hearing.  I used to shoot guns and play in loud bands, all without using ear plugs. Big mistake..... too late now. My ears ring constantly. There's no drugs to use, no cure and no fix.

What??? (Sorry to OP)

That's pretty much the advisable daily exposure times for various volumes. 8 hours at 80dB is advisable hearing protection time, 8 hours at 85dB is the point at which employees should be provided with hearing protection. Though the full picture is a bit more complicated, starting with music can have very loud peaks but a lower average while factories full of machinery tend to ne at a more consistent volume.

Believe it or not, orchestral violinists can suffer hearing damage from playing their own instrument for many hours a day - the sound's directed towards their ear at very close range from the violin plus via bone transmission through their skull.

The whole thing's better explained here - http://www.hse.gov.uk/noise/musicsound.htm
And here - http://soundadvice.info
Amd here - http://downloads.bbc.co.u...oise_guide_Part_II.pdf

Hi,
 
Weird ... I have never been one for "loud" ... going way back to the 70's. I doubt that there is any more quality in a recording if played louder, specially if you did it, when you know what you put in there at any given time. 
 
Going back to Sgt Peppers, for example, you played it loud because there were little things in the background that were cool that you barely heard ... DSOTM is the same thing ... but in general, on a clear recording, this is not necessary at all ... as I said before, the English version of the LP, you did not have to bust out the volume to hear the little things in the background.
 
Just weird ... for my tastes, but ear damage, is no fun at all ... if that is what it is, which all these postings, really suggest. The question is, can you train your ear to hear at a lower level, and still catch every thing?

I don't think anything has ever induced ear-ringing faster in me than playing the banjo, with steel fingerpicks, in the bathroom. I could only play 5 minutes at a time and I would come out with my ears hissing like crazy. Whatever frequencies are most prominent in a banjo, well there's my tinnitus maker. 

sharke
I don't think anything has ever induced ear-ringing faster in me than playing the banjo, with steel fingerpicks, in the bathroom. I could only play 5 minutes at a time and I would come out with my ears hissing like crazy. Whatever frequencies are most prominent in a banjo, well there's my tinnitus maker. 

That's borderline TMI there Sharke! 

In 1970, while listening to Black Sabbath on acid at high volume, I started hearing demonic voices.
 
Turned out it was just the downstairs neighbors.

bitflipper
In 1970, while listening to Black Sabbath on acid at high volume, I started hearing demonic voices.
 
Turned out it was just the downstairs neighbors.

bitflipper
 I'm sure George Martin was not in the habit of listening to loud music, but even he had to retire due to hearing loss.

 
Well yeah that  -- and death will cause a retirement to happen.