The hotness war that has led to increasingly loud commercial records (at the expense of sound quality) over the past decade ties in neatly with the question of noise-related hearing loss.
Although recording levels and output volume are nominally independent elements, it is fair to say that many people listen to music at SPLs that could safely be described as ‘loud’. This, of course, is part of the rock’n’roll ethos – but what are the effects of such high-volume listening behaviour in the longer term?
