How do you avoid audio editing fatigue?

I find breaks to be an absolutely necessary part of the process, but also find that changing my environment is key! I record in the studio, and then take my laptop ANYWHERE else. The kitchen table, my couch, the picnic table in my garden, the carpool line (while waiting for it to start...not while driving LOL)- even the library! Changing the view around me helps me relax and enjoy the process. The other thing that helps is having quality headphones that are comfortable. I use Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO headphones and they are amazing!

You should try and mix at low volumes. If you can comfortably chat with someone while mixing then you are usually ok. This not only gives you a better mix overall it will also help reduce ear fatigue.

Fatigue affects all industries, not just A/V related occupations. However, for editors and mixers of audio and video, it’s a lot of time sitting (or standing). Being exposed to high audio levels and visual stimulation is fatiguing. To reduce fatigue we need to change something. For me, it is changing WHAT I am doing. - Get up and MOVE around - REMOVE yourself from your surroundings - Do something OPPOSITE to refresh your ears, eyes, and your MIND - Do this every hour for at least 5min Adjustments in HOW we work helps, but changing the environment is what disrupts our minds intake of our work environment. I practice these to stay fresh. Along with volume adjustments and visual cues, it helps for longevity in our work days.

While reference tracks are an important tool for achieving a clean mix, they contribute to, rather than alleviate, ear fatigue.

Using refs every so often can be an incredibly beneficial tool for several reasons: 1. Learning new equipment. Listening to a professionally produced work on new equipment will allow you to better understand the frequency & dynamic range you’re working with. 2. Everyone, no matter how good they are develops bad habits. Hearing a ref of others helps me gauge how much I may have slipped over time (or conversely fire me up to get better). 3. If I only hear my own work the I don’t challenge myself. I need to hear how other voices sound, or how other podcasts mix their audio in order to learn something new & grow. 4. I want to stay inspired. I edit at least 200 podcasts a year & remembering it is a craft & art form is very important to me.

I don't use reference tracks. Once you learn what "good VU meter hygiene" is you don't need "reference tracks". Rule number 1: Don't be buried in the mud ... with too little VU output and ... Don't be pinging in the red ... or having the VU meter needle buried (on the right side) ... in the red. You have to work for and strike a balance. You'll know it when you hear it. You learn by "doing" ... I'm learning that every person has their own style and way of editing audio, that's fine, its a big world out there. At the end of the day, IF your audience keeps coming back and they haven't written to you to complain about the audio quality of your broadcast, then you can have a pretty good idea that your audio isn't an "issue".

It is crucial to listen to references at a low level. I have found that it allows you to listen to more details. For example, some vocal delays are so subtle, but they contribute to the wholeness of the piece. If you are distracted by the amplitude or by hurting your ears you won't be able to listen to the details. Another great benefit of referencing tracks is that you learn what a professional production sounds like. You submerge into ideas that can spark new decisions in your productions. Finally, referencing allows you to hear how professional mixes sound in your preferred listening tools. It'll develop trust and knowledge of the equipment you're using.

We're in a remote world and if you do everything via your laptop you can easily change your location. For example, if you are a voice actor record in your studio standing up and then move to your office and sit down to work on your post production. Depending on the type of voicework you do, batch as much as you can and then get out of that small space and edit away in a bright larger space close to a window. Moving around to different spots can help reduce the fatigue as can using headphones when hearing every nuance is crucial vs studio monitors or laptop speakers when it's not.

I always like to make it a priority to test out my edits in different locations and settings. These days most edits are obviously done from the laptop but listening back through different headphones as well as the classic car test are standard.

For a freelance audio editor, work fatigue is a constant challenge. The need for multiple incomes leads to taking on too many projects, resulting in exhausting days. We must keep in mind that sometimes the ear no longer listens like when we first woke up. Changing the scope of listening can be an effective strategy, alternating between different schedules and resting. It will provide us with a mental break, we will renew creativity and improve the quality of work.

One thing I've found helpful is to listen to my mixes in phone speakers and earbuds. The audience will listen to music using earbuds, which gives you a good understanding of how they will enjoy it. A good piece of advice is to learn how these speakers produce the sound. Know what frequencies they tend to accentuate or attenuate. This will give you more information and get an accurate reflection of what you're listening to.

Remain aware fo critical distance in control room, especially in live-end/dead-end rooms w/o diffusion and/or insufficient surface treatment. Be vigilent of flutter-echo by paralax of opposing surfaces.

Back in the old days, we recorded and edited onto tape. My engineers, whether it was for music or voiceovers did not work remotely as we do today, yet what remains the same is hearing overload. Digital recording has its own inherent noise that we’ve gotten accustomed to. So, taking breaks is one way to rest the ears. Rest does not mean move your laptop to a different room or scene with noise. Your ears are still working. I don’t know how my engineers handled up to 8 hours of outputting a high level of work, 6 days a week. If you’re in a home studio, I suggest you give it all a break. Ears and brain.

I love spectrum view in programs like Adobe Audition. When my ears need a break, I'll edit visually for a while and then go back and QA everything.

Often what you hear is not necessarily accurate. Your speakers may deceive your perception or produce biases. By getting visual feedback you can reference what you're hearing. I have a visual EQ ready on all my tracks to see the frequency movements. It helps me visualize any peaks that I don't want in the mix. First is an auditory experience, then I locate it visually and adjust to taste.

When requesting feedback it's also a great idea to be as specific as possible in the type of feedback you're looking for, and how you would like to receive that feedback. I'm a big fan one-sentence bulleted note responses. Additionally, if you're looking for more "mood" notes, try sending only a portion of the audio. Sometimes you can get better notes if the listening segment is shorter.

When I first started producing music I knew that I needed someone to hear my productions. I didn't know anyone who could do this. So I decided to go to Fiverr and hire someone to give me feedback. I found a great producer named Eirik Aarseth and he was incredible! He provided a 10-page analysis of my track, he did a frequency, amplitude, arrangement, and composition analysis. This gave me so much insight in one go. I know that I became 10 times a better producer when I got this quality feedback.

Don't be afraid to beta test in your car, boom-box, $50 phonograph, MP-3.... If you can hear it all, even in inferior reproduction, you've done it right. Other ears included in the beta definitely adds perspective.

Utilize visual feedback tools like waveform editors, frequency analyzers, and meters to complement your auditory assessment. These tools help you identify issues and make precise adjustments without overloading your ears. Regularly seek feedback from colleagues or other audio professionals to gain fresh insights and avoid becoming too absorbed in your own edits. Lastly, keep your editing sessions engaging by continually learning and experimenting with new techniques, tools, and software. This ongoing learning process not only enhances your skills but also helps to maintain your enthusiasm and focus during long editing sessions.

Learning is a "cradle to grave" process. The audio engineer that I was when I started some 20 years ago ... IS NOT the same audio engineer that I am today, even though I've used the exact same products of Pro Tools and Adobe Audition as my DAW's in order to get the job done ... over all of that time. I utilize my "down-time" which is small in scope to try to "learn new things" ... I'll record a snippet of text or a public service announcement and I will put in my "effects" suite and select different effects to see how each effect works --- what it actually does. There is no better teacher than "by doing" ... practice does in fact make you better. We all can learn something new every day in which we are blessed to be alive.

As in music, someone else is always building a different mouse-trap. Same result, but, a different approach from fresh ears, unjaded by complacency. All contribute and maybe you can glean insight from a different method applied to your experience, if you seek. Knowing it all won't help your progress to another plane; e.g. Bach still contributes to Metal, or Ska, or Country. There's 12 notes and it's all been done before...

Being (and staying) teachable is an asset in any field, and a sign of good character, really. None of us are going to learn it all, but we can always benefit from observing and studying others (even if it's to learn what not to do, or what isn't our thing). There isn't one project I've done since starting this professional journey in 1996 that hasn't taught me some new skill, new approach, or given me insight into myself. I hope that never changes.

If I learned anything in the world of audio, it is precisely that I will never finish learning. There are always new requirements, new platforms, new tools, and for me creating and researching something new precisely keeps the work from becoming monotonous and boring. We have many tools at our disposal to be able to add and add knowledge.

One of the most effective ways to avoid audio editing fatigue is to work at calibrated monitoring levels. Whether on headphones or speakers, you should know how loud your audio playback is, the target loudness of the medium you’re delivering for, and make sure you’re not working at high decibel levels for more than 8 hours per day if you can avoid it. If you’re editing on a dub stage during a mix, you should consider using hearing protection whenever critical listening is not required. Custom-molded earplugs with different dB reduction filters are well worth the investment. When monitoring at a reasonable volume on a decent pair of headphones or speakers, you can safely and comfortably edit audio for more than 8 hours per day.

The best way to learn is to roll up your sleeves and try. Don’t be afraid to explore new techniques and broaden your horizons. Back when I first started doing artists interviews, I wanted to edit every little detail so it sounded “perfect.” What I realized later is that those breathes and pauses are nuances of natural conversations. Don’t overproduce or overthink it, and if you get stuck, come back to your work with fresh ears. People want to listen to something truly authentic with a real human connection. The relatability and quality of your content will always take you further than a nicely edited product.

You can't avoid audio fatigue, it's inevitable. At the end of the recording session you should set up a rough mix to check for any mistakes, then go home and sleep. Mix the next day with fresh ears. Check against reference CDs in the same genre from time to time. If the budget allows repeat the process the next day. And never forget the traditional trick of leaving the door ajar and listening from the next room - it works.

Avoiding fatigue can also be aided by starting with a good plan. If you know what your goals are on a particular project and you're not just flying blind, you'll experience less of the overwhelm and frustration that adds to overall fatigue. Of course you adapt those plans and goals as you find opportunities or challenges within your audio files, but overall, you should have a bit of a map to know where you're headed.

nikk sez, avoid long loud sessions w/o quiet relief. @90dB, the eardrum tightens up in about 5min. Now how accurate are your 'golden ears'. OSHA has time limit REQUIREMENTS for various ambient levels; and don't forget fletcher-munson and norris-eyrring when adjusting the ambient level EQ curves in your ctrl room.