Listener fatigue

When the volume of music is higher, these artifacts become more apparent, and because they are uncomfortable for the ear, cause listeners to "tune out" and lose focus or become tired.

Because they are not regeneratable in humans, any major damage or loss of these hair cells leads to permanent hearing impairment and other hearing-related diseases.

A natural physiological reaction to these threshold shifts is vasoconstriction, which will reduce the amount of blood reaching the hair cells of the organ of Corti in the cochlea.

[4] This can lead to fatigue and temporary hearing loss if the outer hair cells do not get the opportunity to recover through periods of silence.

When combining exercise with exposure to loud noises, humans have been observed to experience a long temporary threshold shift as well.

A study conducted in Japan reports fatigue sensation shown in subjects who listened to a metronome for six minutes.

[10] A metronome was used as part of a technique to test the effects of musical and rhythmic stimulation in physical rehabilitation programs.

After a series of tests involving physical therapy exercises while songs with different tempos played, subjects were asked to evaluate their own levels of fatigue.

Lin et al., conducted an experiment in Taiwan that tested the effect of generation of reactive oxygen species on temporary threshold shift and noise-induced hearing loss.

[11] [12] Subjects were employees at a steel manufacturing company and each one was assessed for personal noise exposure during work shifts.

Statistical analysis yielded a correlation between exposure of higher-frequency sounds to lower temporary threshold shifts and greater levels of tiredness and hearing loss.

In cases of sensory overload not related to purposeful listening of hazardous noises, common ear protection such as earplugs and earmuffs can help alleviate the issue.