I’ve always tried to avoid prolonged exposure to loud noises, even when I was young. In spite of that care, I have significant tinnitus…I can hear the ringing in my ears over fairly loud traffic noise on my commute. Although my room is reasonably quiet, fairly high playback levels are required to stop the constant ringing from interfering with listening enjoyment.
If the spectral content of the music has plenty of energy at the frequencies where I hear ringing, I can enjoy average levels in the mid-70 dB range (C-weighted, slow integration). Otherwise, I have to be closer to 90 dB to not be distracted by tinnitus.
