Ear fatigue...

TelePaul

...assuming it's not a myth propogated by sound engineers to excuse crankiness, I think I might have it. Mixes that seemed great two hours ago sound **** now, and I find myself 'fixing' changes that I'd spent hours on previously. Am I just tired?

DamagedTrax

i suffer from it. usually manifests as a pain in my jaw just below the ear alongside a lack of focus and dull highs.

its definitly a real thing, phsycological aswell as physical.

best thing to do is to break at least 5 minutes every hour and take proper breaks for lunch and dinner. i usually turn tv onto some mindless crap that doesnt involve any critical listening. also mix at lower levels until you're getting in really deep towards the end and only then turn things up.

TelePaul

DamagedTrax wrote: »

usually manifests as a pain in my jaw just below the ear alongside a lack of focus and dull highs.

Not to go OT - and not that I'm a doctor - but a pain there sounds like an infection in your eustachian tube. Not sure if this would be caused by frequency abuse but it's possible. Hmmm.

DamagedTrax

not so much pain as an ache. ive always suffered from it and had it checked out but notving showed up. it only appears after a few hours of intense mixing and goes away after 30 mins rest.

PaulBrewer

TelePaul wrote: »

...assuming it's not a myth propogated by sound engineers to excuse crankiness, I think I might have it. Mixes that seemed great two hours ago sound **** now, and I find myself 'fixing' changes that I'd spent hours on previously. Am I just tired?

Do 'save as' versions as you go every time you make a significant change, then you can go back and check was 2 hours ago actually better.
Also turn down . One of the common things to the Mix Lads , cla brauer clearmountain townshend etc is that they work at low level most of the time.

If you have to raise your voice to talk over a track while mixing it's too loud.

PaulBrewer

I sometimes get 'Hole Fatigue' from listening to bands ...

trackmixstudio

As Paul says, keep it as low as you can and take lots of breaks (as in get away and go for a walk). Listen to other stuff regularly too.
Really good monitors help a huge amount too.
I used to get bad ear fatigue from Yamaha hs80s but since I switched to Focal Twins a couple of years ago it has been much less of a problem.
With more experience you will begin to second guess how fukked your ears are when it starts to get late in the day.

PMI

Low Volume a must and I mean LOW ! ear breaks, fresh air off for a walk etc.. clear the head if possible.

If its not a today thing do as much as feels right and re-visit tomorrow