An extreme case of oversight

So I've been around this hobby since 2008 and I think I've just got a limb outside the whirlwind of marketing and breakthrough products. I was up and ready for a facepalm, but you know what I'm probably not alone on suffering this massive oversight with my rig. I cared for low-level detail, S/N ratio, the joy of foregoing isolation to get the extra bit from open-back headphones, clear sound. Everything in my audio chain has been accounted for. And there's just one major problem that throws much of my former impressions & self-appointed credentials into an identity crisis.

Every day since the beginning I've had a computer at arm's length, a computer that I built frugally for performance and no second thoughts, to invest in audio. A computer with fans. I'm looking at an SPL meter right now.. 37db. So I found why I've been a closet closed headphone lover(I like thin bass so it ain't that.) Cough

Well this sucks, I've found something else to spend money on and I'm guessing this is what it feels like to have your car fail an emissions test while simultaneously being criticized by your mechanic for running a performance-tuned car with stock 90s breaks(too much Forza this past week) The only reason I noticed is because my low-level hearing/comprehension ability has been slipping for months, I listen too loudly, always have. I've had my music turned down since; has that noise always been there?