At first it's just my ears are sensitive to bass, it's like my brain was afraid of normal volume bass, but it alleviated. Then I found that if I put my headphones and, "the fear of bass" was back, and if I lift the headphones away from ears a bit to break the seal, it was much better.
It wasn't a big deal, just some discomfort and it got better over time.
My guess is that Gold Planar GL1200 caused the problem. I don't think my was on the high volume but listening to them for > 4 hours long, the ribbon drivers might did something to my ears.
But man, Gold Planar GL1200 + Schiit Jot R is really good, so good that I'm using them again, OK, lower volume (a bit), shorter listening period.
I get that often, from ADHD. It's 'selective hearing,' which is actually my brain overprocessing bits of hearing information over everything else. It's too big a piece of my sensory pie, and that can make sounds overwhelming. Can last a long time, if something jars me while I'm sensitized. Can't even wear my audezes because of the seal suck.
The trick I do is to re-jig on another sense. Sometimes I do fidgeting rituals where I fixate on tactile input. The best remedy for me is actually hand-eye tasks... forces my brain to ignore more audio input and lose whatever it's locked in on. If I can, I'll play a game on my phone with the sound off for a minute or two. Watching a video by lip-reading/CC works too.
@E_Schaaf Oh that ANC pressure, or ANC vacuum... I remember I yanked the headphones off my head within 3 second the first time I tried some proper ANC headphones...
@robot zombie Oh my... That sounds totally on a different level... I do think my case was more... physical, as I tried to reallocate my focus to the screens but not much changed (could be because I was actually still focusing on the problem)
It can be intense for me, yeah. But more often just nagsome and quite like you describe.
The key for me is active interaction with a different sense. I can actually feel the flip, like a mode switch on my heads amp. It took me forever to find what worked. It has to occupy your primary attention.
No idea if it works for normal people, but to me ADHD is a normal brain with some exaggerated input tracking, so maybe.
Question, dyou ever get "bass recoil" from extended listening? I find that wearing headphones with lots of bass and high seal sometimes makes my ears feel like they are recoiling briefly when the bass lets up, even if the levels have been reasonably moderate.
For that, the only cure I've found is to switch to lighter clamping, more open cans. No idea what causes that.
I don't fully understand it and I guess it's like "bass protection"? I don't think I've ever experienced it, as treble always got me first.
Come to think of it: extended listening, I noticed that after 1 hour, the traits of the headphones diminishes. And if I use a pair of headphones for some long time, say using A at work, then listening to B at home, B would sound more "counter-A" than usual. Brain compensation?
The brain takes consistency over accuracy. It normalizes to sensory constants and is jarred by outliers. Something I use to my own advantage with sensory stuff.
It's also what makes comparing headphones hard. Not just losing conscious 'audio memory' in seconds... but the fact that your hearing actually changed when you put on the first pair, both in your ear's impulses and your brain's readings.
IIRC the actual response curve of the cochlear nerve is altered by exposure time and levels. As you listen, your hearing changes and then stays that way for a while... and that's also physical, your brain has its own game it plays that keeps you from noticing that your hearing sensitivity is changing. Going for more volume only increases the natural compensation.
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