buy a stereo and never use headphones, headphones are bad for ears in general, even more so now that youve sustained damage. humans didn't evolve with having loud sounds blasted directly into their ear, even at lower volumes the vibrations travel from the earbud to the middle ear.

This is a common misconception.

The distance of between the eardrum and the source of the sound is only relvant to how much of the sound wave's energy is transferred into mechanical energy that enters the cochlea. Sure, if you placed a speaker 1 inch from your ear it will be far more damaging than the same speaker at the same volume placed 5 feet from your ear, but that's obvious. Headphones are closer but they also output considerably less power than speakers, so the sound wave that hits your eardum is identical in terms of power at the same volume.

Vibrations do travel from headphones to the ear, but that is also the case with speakers. That's how sound works. You cannot have sound without vibrations.

If the sound waves from headphones had any more energy than the sound waves from speaker, then it would also be perceived as being louder. If your headphones are at the same volume as your speakers, then there is absolutely no different in terms of damage.

I point this out because I'd hate for someone to think that unsafe listening levels are safe because they're using speakers and not headphones, which is simply not true.