WHY SHOULDN'T WE MIX AT HIGH VOLUME OR GET EXPOSED TO HIGH LEVELS OF SOUND PRESSURE?

As professional audio, recording, mixing and mastering engineers, we should take care and protect our ears at all times. Our ears are our essential tool of work.

Avoid working at high volumes and visiting noisy places before doing critical listening!!!

I know it could be exciting to mix or listen to music at high volumes but it doesn't help. Whenever we are exposed to high levels of sound pressure, we lose hearing sensitivity and this changes the way we hear.

Our ears get tired and as a consequence of this, we start taking bad mixing decisions like increasing the intensity of the high frequencies of our mixes.

In small studios it is recomended to monitor your audio for critical listening at 75 dB SPL, and in big control rooms at 85 dB SPL. If you work at these levels, you don't have to worry, you can work 8 hours a day without risking your ears or getting ear fatique quickly. However, if you work at 88 dB SPL, it is recomended to work only for 4 hours a day. At 91 dB SPL just 2 hours a day and at 94 dB SPL just 1 hour a day.

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