Kurt Hoffman wrote:
quoted 4 lines well, I'm sure that napkins etc aren't optimal but they certainly blot> well, I'm sure that napkins etc aren't optimal but they certainly blot
> some of the sound, especially if they've been dampened slightly. when
> I've plugged one ear with a napkin and left the other open, it'll be the
> open ear that's ringing like crazy the next morning.
actually, your ear canal doesn't contract to protect from loud noises -
the muscles connected to your tiny ear bones constrict and damper the
eardrum so that it doesn't oscillate (and therefore transmit sound) as
much. you can test this - the same muscles dampen the eardrum when we
swallow and yawn (otherwise you'd hear all sorts of nasty internal
sounds.. i suppose it would sound a lot like that matmos album).
also, this doesn't happen for prolonged periods of time, it's only a
reflex action, so it only protects against short bursts of loudness. it
also has a rather slow latency, which makes it useless against quick
bursts of sound like say a gunshot (or a snare drum).
-j
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