Hearing Damage over 20khz?


I own speakers that produce in excess of 40khz, yet the human ear can only perceive 20khz.

If something is uncomfortably loud we can hear, we know to turn it down but what if the frequency is out of our audible range?

Is it possible hearing is being damaged by something we can't hear?

I have read reports of people having ears ring after using speakers that can go beyond 20k, but I don't know if it's due to the sounds produced below 20k or above or both.

It would be horrible to learn I was damaging my children's ears or mine without knowing it.
vintagegroove

Showing 1 response by ths364

Okay, shooting from the hip... I've never heard of anyone having tinnitus at 20 hz,or even 250 hz, It'd be like a bumble bee living inside of your head. But this is where most of the wattage in our amps is used.
I think we all agree that we WANT the extended frequency in our audio systems because there's information above 20k that we don't hear, but there are subharmonics generated below these supersonic frequencies that translate into harmonic information and/or spatial cues in the range that we DO hear.
Rupert Neve, recording console designer extraordinaire has been designing audio recording equipment that is intended to reproduce up to 100k (100,000 kilohertz) and higher since the 1970's.
High frequency sound waves like this are pretty easily attenuated by walls and carpeting so unless the kids are right in the room with you it's pretty hard to imagine them
being harmed by it. I do however wonder about my dog's hearing when she sits beside me during listening sessions...