The new year has just started and already we have some bad news. Listening to MP3's is bad for our ears!!! According to this article we should all stop using compressed audio cause it will damage our hearing. Due to the compression, which leaves certain sounds out, the ears would become lazy and degrade.
 From the view of neuronomy it is therefore to classify, although not as acutely dangerous, at least as very precarious that a wider and wider spreading audio transmission technology for data reduction just systematically removes those spectral sound portions at the auditory threshold, on those normally the hearing processor fields of our brain decide whether they shall be perceived or filtered out, because so the signal for their self calibration is missing, whereby at longer term a maladjustment of the hearing processor fields can threaten. Possible consequences of intensive consumption of datareduced audio material could therefore include ear noises (tinitus), a general degradation of the perception of quiet sounds, as well as a worsened timbre perception (a so-called "tin ear"), which would make the human of the cyberage even more insensitive than he already yet has become by the continuous mass media infotrash bombardment he is exposed to. Actually it is still unclear whether the consequences of such maladjustments are only temporary (similarly like seeing the world in green/ red discoloured after taking off red/ green 3D glasses) or if the continuous consumption of neuroacoustically datareduced sounds can lead to long lasting or even permanent damage. |
It is good to see that 'scientific' research is used for this matter. I am quite sure that every visitor of this site will stop using compression formats for audio. Looks like the RIAA is getting some help from our own body. You can always discuss this topic in our Audio Forum or maybe the Living Room is more suited 
Source: Article
