Listener Fatigue is an authentic medical condition caused by adverse acoustic conditions commonly affecting radio communications hobbyists.
First identified in the world of Short Wave Listening (SWL) but now widely prevalent in all other forms of radio communication (ie. Ham, Freeband, Citizens Band), Listener Fatigue is defined as a phenomenon resulting from prolonged listening to sound whose distortion content is too low to be audible but high enough to be perceived subliminally, causing discomfort such as headaches and restlessness.

In radio communications, Listener Fatigue occurs when the ear tunes out unwanted noises such as QRN and QRM and focuses on the wanted ones (ie. the incoming station’s audio). When listening to your transceiver, for example, the speakers may give off an unwanted hissing noise that the communications hobbyist has to focus out or ignore, thus causing listener fatigue. This is an extension of the quantifiable psychological perception of sound, adding time-variance effects.

Furthermore, if communications hobbyists get fatigued when listening to a station then they may tune out when this station appears on the band and either consciously or unconsciously, come to avoid listening to that station.

The constant quest for greater loudness in TX audio, an obsession with pushing levels to the maximum, and a lack of understanding of the complexity of amateur transceiver functions, can all generate distortion and lead to an increase in Listener Fatigue. This includes the use of studio rack equipment which, when incorrectly aligned, achieves the same acoustic fatigue for its listener.

43DA010 Darren has reviewed a number of noise cancelling products on 11m DX Activities Oz and all of these shack accessories, judging by the findings he has elaborated on, would be effective in reducing the occasional headaches and restlessness that come with Listener Fatigue.

Any comments on your experiences with Listener Fatigue are welcome.

Warmest regards,

Stella
Doctor DX