Is the iPod Generation making movies louder?

[TheSeeker]

This question occurred to me recently when I had to walk out of a movie after 15 minutes because it was so loud that it was uncomfortable. It is the first time I've ever had to do this.

I've read articles on how the iPod generation is at risk of for hearing loss because of the constant use of iPods at very loud levels and it made me wonder if the people calibrating the sound at the theatre might actually have poor hearing.

I love to watch loud movies and my wife has to tell me to turn it down at home all the time but this theatre was just ridiculous

 

[Sean Aaron]

Well, I noticed music getting louder after the switch to CD. Apparently when older music is remastered it needs to have the volume jacked-up for some reason as well. This is most noticeable switching between my original CD releases of The Beatles versus the Yellow Submarine Songbook. You're right though, I think in the last decade theatres have been a bit excessive with the sound levels, but I only go to the cinema every couple of years so I don't notice it as much.

 

[TheSeeker]

Yeah, I read about the Loudness War a while ago too.

 

[An Officer]

I recently took the kids to see Horrid Henry, and my brother actually complained it was too load - normally he gets engrossed at the cinema, but it was enough to pop him out of the story. Children's hearing is more sensitive in any case. It was just about barely within my own tolerance levels (I like 'em load), any more and it would actually hurt I think! It would be interesting to know whether the decibels used in cinemas are enough to cause accumulative damage. I do suspect they have pushed it too far regarding children's movies, and that they are hurting their ears at the very least, if not causing permanent harm.

 

[TheSeeker]

I actually downloaded a decibel meter app for my phone and plan to use it next time I go to the same cinema. I'm very curious to see what reading I get.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

I always wonder why people blame iPods and the like for hearing problems. To me, the most likely suspect is the sheer level of noise from traffic on the roads. When I'm out with my iPod, I have to turn it up to ridiculous levels because otherwise I literally can't hear it over the sound of traffic. When I get away from the roads, I suddenly find my iPod's booming at uncomfortable volume and I turn it right down again. But I needed it at that volume to even hear it over the traffic. I've always assumed any damage to my ears would come from the cars, not the music. And even if it is the music, maybe if people could hear it over the traffic they wouldn't need the volume up so high?

On topic, one of the reasons I dislike cinema is indeed because it's too loud (I have very sensitive hearing).

 

[Trekker4747]

People have been ranting about "hearing loss" in people ever since the first Walkmans came out in the early 80s/late 70s. A generation has gone by since those days and we've gone from Walkmans to portable CD players to now iPods and we keep seeing and hearing the same things about hearing-loss in children due to these devices.

Somehow I've managed to make it through my 30+ years and I still have better than average hearing for someone my age that's sensitive enough to the point that I want some degree of hearing loss just so that the entire world is a loud, annoying, mess to me all of the damn time.

If children are taught by parents at a young age to keep the volume of their device at a reasonable level (the best rule of thumb is that if people around you can hear it then you have it too loud) and they'll suffer no meaningful hearing loss. But, I guess, that'd require most people to actually be parents and teach their kids these things and make them listen to their device with a lower volume.

I know my brother and his wife do this with her daughter, constantly telling her to listen to her MP3 player at a lower level and they tell her to do this not because it's bothersome to other people but they out-right tell her to do it or go deaf.

So, no, I don't think the iPod Generation is making movies louder any more than I think the Walkman generation made movies louder. I think movies are, well, just louder because a)theater owners have to accommodate a population with increasing numbers of elderly people b)theater owners are trying to compensate for poor acoustical planning in theater designs c)theater owners think people want louder movies because we all want to hear the big booms when the 'splosions go off and don't need to hear any of that "plot" stuff.

 

[An Officer]

I actually downloaded a decibel meter app for my phone and plan to use it next time I go to the same cinema. I'm very curious to see what reading I get.

I wouldn't be surprised you guys do it bigger and more on that side if the pond, usually the case with most other things! I'll take mine too next time and see what I get. Probably depends on the movie though, I would assume dialogue alone should be at similar levels as long as there's nothing exciting going on in the background.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I don't know about the iPod Generation's role in the premise of the thread, but I just wish someone would find some balance between the sound level of the dialogue and action on TV and in DVDs and blu-rays so I don't have to constantly adjust the volume between the level of a field mouse fart and a vuvuzela being played by Banshee.

I'm sure there's more I could be doing to adjust the settings on my TVs, but it seems to be a problem wherever I go, even when watching with friends who are more tech savvy than I and have expensive surround sound systems.

 

[RoJoHen]

I don't know about the iPod Generation's role in the premise of the thread, but I just wish someone would find some balance between the sound level of the dialogue and action on TV and in DVDs and blu-rays so I don't have to constantly adjust the volume between the level of a field mouse fart and a vuvuzela being played by Banshee.

I'm sure there's more I could be doing to adjust the settings on my TVs, but it seems to be a problem wherever I go, even when watching with friends who are more tech savvy than I and have expensive surround sound systems.

Well, in theory, surround sound should solve those problems because the correct sounds are coming out of the correct speakers. If you're still having those problems with surround sound, then it's probably set up wrong.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I don't have surround sound. Just the TV itself.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Same here. I must always crank up my DVDs and then crank down again for TV.

 

[Canadave]

I always wonder why people blame iPods and the like for hearing problems. To me, the most likely suspect is the sheer level of noise from traffic on the roads. When I'm out with my iPod, I have to turn it up to ridiculous levels because otherwise I literally can't hear it over the sound of traffic. When I get away from the roads, I suddenly find my iPod's booming at uncomfortable volume and I turn it right down again. But I needed it at that volume to even hear it over the traffic. I've always assumed any damage to my ears would come from the cars, not the music. And even if it is the music, maybe if people could hear it over the traffic they wouldn't need the volume up so high?

Get better headphones. The less environmental noise bleeding in from the outside there is, the lower you can set the volume. And incidentally, in that situation I'm pretty sure that the music would be causing the damage, not the traffic noise. It's closer to your ear, and it's louder overall.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

I always wonder why people blame iPods and the like for hearing problems. To me, the most likely suspect is the sheer level of noise from traffic on the roads. When I'm out with my iPod, I have to turn it up to ridiculous levels because otherwise I literally can't hear it over the sound of traffic. When I get away from the roads, I suddenly find my iPod's booming at uncomfortable volume and I turn it right down again. But I needed it at that volume to even hear it over the traffic. I've always assumed any damage to my ears would come from the cars, not the music. And even if it is the music, maybe if people could hear it over the traffic they wouldn't need the volume up so high?

Get better headphones. The less environmental noise bleeding in from the outside there is, the lower you can set the volume. And incidentally, in that situation I'm pretty sure that the music would be causing the damage, not the traffic noise. It's closer to your ear, and it's louder overall.

Better headphones would certainly help, I'm sure.

 

[Owain Taggart]

It's an interesting thought, to be sure. It's probably not so much that movies have gotten louder, but because we have more sounds coming at us from many directions so everything sounds louder without actually being any louder.

 

[RoJoHen]

I don't have surround sound. Just the TV itself.

I know; I was referring to your "tech savvy friends."

That's the problem, though. DVDs and Blu-Rays are designed for a surround sound system. If you don't have one, the sound will probably be all over the place. I also only have my TV speakers, so some movies are just painful to watch/hear.

 

[RandyS]

I don't know about the iPod Generation's role in the premise of the thread, but I just wish someone would find some balance between the sound level of the dialogue and action on TV and in DVDs and blu-rays so I don't have to constantly adjust the volume .

I've noticed this too. When I watch movies in DVD, I constantly have to turn the volume up to hear the dialouge, and almost immediately down when the music and explosions start.

It's irritating.

Regarding the theater, I've only found two movies to be too loud and that was Star Wars episodes 1 and 2. In both cases, the sound levels caused my ears to hear "scratching" noises all the way through and when I left the theater, my ears were literally ringing.

 

[Sean Aaron]

I've noticed this too. When I watch movies in DVD, I constantly have to turn the volume up to hear the dialouge, and almost immediately down when the music and explosions start.

It's irritating.

It depends on the DVD, but certainly with some films it seems the sound mix is shitty and unbalanced.

Myself after doing surround sound for years and getting tired of rigging up multiple speakers, I'm going back to a stereo set-up. I refuse to listen through TV speakers, but I'm done running cable all over the house so I can hear footsteps or whatever going behind me.