I can’t hear bass anymore

The Lounge General Discussion
#1

I’ve had a long history of inner ear issues. I had a particularly rough couple of years and finally found a doctor that had some possible solutions for me. At their advice, I elected to have surgery, actually several smaller surgeries all together.

That was two weeks ago, and while I hear better overall, I cannot hear any low end. I can hear some low mids, but that’s it. Kicks just sound tiny, and everything sounds tinny.

This is generally an improvement, because for the last two months or so prior I was functionally deaf. I could barely have a conversation at close range, and couldn’t really speak to my kid at all.

The prognosis is that it will eventually even out, as I’ve still got a fair way to go in terms of healing, though I may still need hearing aids when all is said and done.

Still generally this is a good thing compared to where I was, but man it sucks not to be able to hear bass.

I’m not sure what I’m going to do about it, and I’m not sure why I’m writing this, I guess maybe seeing if anyone is dealing with anything similar, and how they do this hobby thing in that condition?

Anyway, all of this is to say, take care of your ears. Seriously.

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#2

Its good that the prognosis is for it to even out. I wish you a speedy recovery

In terms of practical soloutions, which inappreciate you may not be looking for - i hear the bass pack is quite good. Though its not something i have tried myself

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#3

I appreciate it. It will even out but to what degree, I don’t know. My hope is this is just temporary.

As for solutions, I am absolutely looking for them, yes. Do you mean the SubPac? It’s pretty pricy, but if things are looking dire, I may reconsider that. Thanks.

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#4

Wow, that’s wild, and I’ve never heard of your particular ailment. Anyway, I wish you all the best in your healing. This coming from someone with 40+ years of damaged hearing.

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#5

Feel for you, i really do. Ive had inner ear issues in one ear over the last 10 years or so, which i attribute to (tho have never been given conclusive confirmation) vaping, and/or a long term smoking habit going back 25 years (but really who knows, every ENT doctor i spoke with was pretty useless when it came to causes). My bad ear seems to be in a similar shape to yours by the sounds of it (no pun intended). Its a f**king misery but you learn to live with it, altho its positive youve been given an indication it could/will sort itself out over time. The takeaway from it for me is that i am ridiculously concientious when it comes to ear protection/health etc now- rarely use headphones except for short periods and at low levels, make sure i dont expose myself to noise, wear ear plugs to gigs, have quit vaping (and smoking, obviously), monitor the loudness levels when making/listening to music… Other fun things like alcohol can apparently be potentially hazardous to ear health too, which sucks, so ive learned to moderate that here and there too. I also have a long history of bruxism (teeth grinding) in my sleep, which again can be a potential stressor on the inner ear stuff, so i wear a weird mouth guard at night too when i remember to put it in… Basically ear stuff sucks, but youre not alone. Here’s hoping it works out ok for you in the end.

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#6

Yes! Sub pac - that was it

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#7

Ear protection is essential. You have to take care of what you have. It’s probably been close to 20 years since I’ve been to a concert or big event without ear protection.

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#8

…my personal nightmare…loss of hearing.

but ur chances of recognizing low end again are hi…give it some time…without worries and fear…
it can come back slowly…just be patient and whenever it crosses ur mind, tell urself, at least it’s not a constant tinnitus…

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#9

Lol I have that too, unfortunately. I haven’t heard silence in something like 6 years.

But I appreciate the sentiment. It could always be worse, and my hearing could have stayed at “functionally deaf” permanently, so there’s that.

#10

I wish you the best. Around a year and a half ago I suddenly loss all hearing on my left ear, luckly I was able to get almost all of it back except for some high frequencies and the tinnitus that will never go away. I was in the deepest depression of my life, thinking about a future without music, the most important thing in my life, was unbearable and I fell into suicide ideation.

I tell you this so you know I understand your situation and I hope you get a quick and full recovery. The ear is still a mystery to science, I also faced the lack of answer from medics and had to come to the realization that we are far from having real explanations and treatments about our hearing issues.

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#11

I sincerely hope it heals as should and that you’ll be able to work on your music again without discomfort and hindrance before too long. I’ve no knowledge whatsoever, but imagine being in the quietest environments possible, and being in woods, nature, hearing just wind and birdsong could be beneficial while healing.

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#12

I had a quad bike accident years ago. Fractured my skull, nose and a load of bones in my ear.

I have a drop off in high frequencies in that ear ever since. I get by having to flip the phase of my tracks quite often to make sure things are balanced.

Hopefully things will improve for you.

Not sure of your problem but one thing Ive been looking at (for swimming mainly) are bone conducting headphones. They sit of your check bones and your brain picks up the vibrations and converts then to sound. Not sure how good they are or where your issue is but that might be a solution???

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#13

I feel for you @hyperstationjr. If you have a Sub, you can put your feet on it to feel the Bass. Not ideal, I know. I wish you the best. :heart::pray:

#14

The Sub Pac is brilliant! Highly recommend. I used to have one (sold it to help fund an Octatrack ages ago) and I miss it. If I was in your position I’d get one in a hearbeat.

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#15

I don’t have any personal experience with what you’re currently going through, but I do have a spouse that struggles with chronic health issues, and I can offer the perspective that sometimes healing is:

  1. Slow
  2. Not linear

You’re only two weeks out from surgery. You’ve received a prognosis that sounds mostly positive, that this will even itself out over time. I am hopeful for you that if you give it time, things will improve. In the meantime, please be kind to yourself. Best of luck to you & best wishes for recovery!

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#16

I have had hearing issues my whole life. I had multiple surgeries as a kid. I’ve taken damned good care of my ears, to keep it from being any worse. Every once in a while, something will change. I’ve recently lost the ability to hear hats in any meaningful way. I’m still determined to work in this space.

Seconding bone conduction, although it probably won’t solve everything, and I haven’t seen non Bluetooth options that would be appropriate for studio use. They are odd - they won’t fix inner ear issues, but you end up getting a bit of a sense for how things feel - like, literally how the drivers vibrate - that sort of becomes another sense that makes up for it. This is something I’ve found myself relying on more and more as my hearing gets worse.

Spectrum Analyzers can be your mixing friend, and help cut down on where things overlap. Can really help with the sound design aspects.

I tend to use much more harmonically rich waveforms for things when I’m “composing” - it all may clash and sound a bit muddy, but it means I can hear things that may otherwise be in a part of the spectrum I can’t hear. I refine these once I’m done.

My personal workflow involves using a lot of these super rich waveforms for bass and high frequencies, then going back and filtering the individual sounds so that they sit nicely in a mix, with the help of a spectrum analyzer - I try to visually make sure that everything has its own place. This can help with getting levels right as well.

I then record a performance, and then listen to it both with good headphones on a headphone amp while looking for outliers on the spectrum analyzer, and then listen with the bone conduction headset if I’m otherwise happy. And that’s the closest to the full mixed experience I’ll get. I have to rely on friends to help with the critical listening once I get to this point, but if I’ve done the work, they usually don’t notice anything as muddy or standing out in a bad way.

Hardware is great, but being able to use a daw as an assistive tool providing the analyzers is incredibly valuable. I tried to work strictly in hardware for a long time, but there’s only so far my stubbornness will get me when it comes to trying to perceive things I cannot hear.

Even though it’s been challenging, I still absolutely love working with all of this.

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#17

Sorry to hear about your problems. I wish you all the best for your recovery.
I really like my Subpac and i think it could help you. But it’s pricey indeed and it takes a bit to make it sit comfy on your chair. I had the 2nd and the first version and just kept the first one because it’s a bit softer.

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#18

I’m truly sorry to hear about your issues. I absolutely understand. Sounds like you have a decent prognosis though, so be patient, protect your hearing, and hopefully things will get better. I also no longer hear low frequencies (or to be more precise, they must be at much higher volume levels for me to perceive them). The reason for this is that I have a lifelong progressive genetic condition that pretty much destroys the lungs and middle ears over time. To combat the middle ear issues, my eardrums needed to be surgically perforated, and for me, those perforations are permanent. So now imagine a drum head with a hole in it. Doesn’t resonate the same way, right? Loss of low frequencies is the result. I’m curious if you needed a similar procedure to address your own issues?

Unbalanced frequency perception wreaks havoc on the sound design, mixing, and mastering processes. The struggle is real. I would like to add my voice to the chorus singing the praises of the SubPac though. Seriously fantastic investment. It just shifts the instrument of low frequency perception to a different part of the body, and you quickly adapt. I love it, and really can’t live without it. It helps me feel like I can again fully “hear”. My mixes have improved tremendously. The SubPac company knows that the their product has potential for the hearing impaired community. They even had someone contact me to interview me after I mentioned my own impairment to them. Good stuff.

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#19

Another option is the Rumble module for the OP-Z. Haven’t used it, but everyone says they love it.

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#20

Seconding this, it’s awesome- I know a lot of people think it’s ridiculous, but it honestly does help me.

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