# As you get older and your hearing gets worse car audio sounds better???



## Ultimateherts (Nov 13, 2006)

I was wondering if the myth about as you get older and your hearing gets worse car audio sounds better...


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## Bayboy (Dec 29, 2010)

Never heard of that, but perhaps it's because you won't be so picky with what components you run since you won't hear all the little issues that drive the rest crazy.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

I'm not sure about deterioration of hearing due to age, but certainly the longer you're alive the more time you've had to cause damage. My wife, for instance, has had her ears tested and has a "dead spot" in her hearing in one ear. Tones around a certain frequency are significantly less audible. (The exact frequency and dB loss escape me.) 

In order for music to be "faithfully" reproduced for her could be nearly impossible. Sure, you could EQ in the required dB bump at the specific frequency on the bad side, but she would also pick it up on the good side. And I would bet that her brain is already doing a better job of "correcting" what her ears hear than anything we could try to do with an EQ _*in a car*_. 

Now, change the conversation to headphones where the ears can be isolated and use a separate L/R EQ and you've got a whole different ball game.


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## Bayboy (Dec 29, 2010)

Yes, there is a such thing as deterioration of hearing due to age. It is compensated for somewhat during our hearing tests at work.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

Bayboy said:


> Yes, there is a such thing as deterioration of hearing due to age. It is compensated for somewhat during our hearing tests at work.



When you say "compensate," I assume you are referring to the dB level of the test, and not monetary compensation from the employer due to hearing loss?


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## trumpet (Nov 14, 2010)

Tell that to my dad, who has trouble understanding me talking to him at a normal level despite wearing a hearing aid. He can't give accurate, full criticism of my car's system, despite having much more experience than I have about what to listen for. This hearing loss is apparently what I have to look forward to.


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## Bayboy (Dec 29, 2010)

rton20s said:


> When you say "compensate," I assume you are referring to the dB level of the test, and not monetary compensation from the employer due to hearing loss?




:laugh: I wish they did compensate our pay for hearing loss. LOL But yeah, we work in a fairly loud environment (have to wear hearing protection) so we have to do annual hearing tests which age is computed into the results.


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## paulsnider11 (Aug 6, 2013)

Bayboy said:


> Never heard of that, but perhaps it's because you won't be so picky with what components you run since you won't hear all the little issues that drive the rest crazy.


absolutely !
i dont think we will be intrested in listning to songs after a certain age!
_____________________
India Tour
Rajasthan Tour


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

My hearing has been beat up pretty bad. Still not nearly as bad as some of my family. My right ear isn't nearly as strong as the left thanks to a muzzle loader going off right beside my head. My buddy came closer than he's ever come to getting his ass kicked that day. I tune my system to satisfy my hearing and I've found other guys with compromised hearing tend to like the tune better than people with near perfect hearing. If you wanna get the skinny on what's truly wrong with your system, get a girl in there with perfect hearing and knows what to listen for to tell you how the cow ate the crow. I have install issues in my doors that I haven't gotten around to fixing because with my hearing I just flat out don't hear them, but can tell they're there if I touch the panels that already have a layer of deadener on them.


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## Maylar (Dec 6, 2012)

As a member of that "older" crowd, and someone with hearing loss and tinitus I think I can comment on this...

I can't hear above about 6 khz. I pick tweeters that cross over between 3-4 khz so I can actually hear them. When I tune my system I'm mindful of what passengers might hear, so I always have my son or nephew (with perfect hearing) assist in tuning and listening for noises that I can't hear.

To answer the OP's question though, as we get older our audio systems sound worse, not better, because the detail just goes away.

Sux2Bold


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## Doozer (Jul 15, 2013)

paulsnider11 said:


> absolutely !
> i dont think we will be intrested in listning to songs after a certain age!
> _____________________
> India Tour
> Rajasthan Tour


I think the feelings that come along with memory of songs plays an important role as you get older. My dad had me play a few old time hymns to him in his last few days and he would hum songs all the time he was in hospice. He was 70. Even though they were remix by modern singers he enjoyed the music nostalgic effect. 

At 50 with tinnitus I still enjoy and appreciate quality sound. Most of which has recently been music from my teens and twenties. Unfortunately Pink Floyd and ELP don't have the same level of entrancing effect it did and at time certain tones are uncomfortable. But I still prefer clean music.


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