I am curious how far away people sit/stand from their amp while practicing. I realized I’ve been sitting directly next to my amp less than a foot away while practicing. This is convenient for plugging in and adjusting the knobs on my amp, but I’m now concerned about the long-term effects on my hearing. So I was wondering what other people’s thoughts are on this!
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My thought is you can turn it down. 
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So you’re saying I shouldn’t have it set on max the whole time???
Haha but yeah good point, I do keep it set pretty low so maybe I shouldn’t worry about it. I’ve just seen firsthand what early hearing loss can do to someone so I’m a little paranoid about it!
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I think so.
If you think it convenient and like the sound all is good.
I don’t think it makes a difference for hearing loss with the low frequences we usually play in if you sit 1/2m or 3m away from your amp. That said if you’re careful and have it set pretty low I don’t see a problem whatsoever.
I usually stand 1-2m away from my amp but it’s more because I start backing tracks on my pc and have to adjust more there than on the amp. I leave the amp as is most of the time.
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Unless all knobs are in full open position! 
I own a Fender Rumble 100 v3 and sit at about 1.5m (~5 feet) from it in a fairly audible low setting. My neighbours didn’t pay for a ticket
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I don’t ever sit while playing, even though I have a collection of different stools and chairs of all different heights and configurations. For some reason I cannot find a comfortable sitting position in which I can play. Besides, I figure if musicians in bands stand while playing, I should too 
With that said, I stand a few feet from my amp, just as if I was playing in a small venue. I don’t do much with my amp while playing, as everything is controlled by pedals, but I still stay fairly close. I have a long cable so sometimes I wander away just to check to see how it sounds if I was in my make-believe audience.
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I’m usually about 5 feet or so, either home or stage. As far as keeping the amp turned down, how do you expect to make your pant legs vibrate?
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The majority of the time I use the headphone out on my Ampeg SCRDI. When I play through the amp, I step back at least 6 to 8 feet and monitor the volume closely.
When performing live, we use in ear monitoring only.
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I usually sit on my amp lol
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I sit about 1.5m from my amp, and as my amp is on some racking, it’s at head height. However I only have a small Fender Rumble LT25, so nothing very powerful, and I never really wind it up loud as it’s not necessary for the lessons, and I don’t really want to advertise to my neighbours my shortcomings 
I think we all should take care with our hearing, but remember you can cause as much damage from overly loud practice headphones, in fact with the temptation to turn them up as no one can hear, I reckon the risk is greater than from a sensibly used practice amp at home?
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Wow! I hope it’s sturdy, @wgeorge29!
Edit: just realized this was from a while ago, sitting on the amp still going fine? No destruction?
I sit very close to my amp, probably 1 or 2 feet.
Download a free dB meter app for your phone and check it. Try to shoot for 70 dB max. average.
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I sit right by mine!
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The rule of thumb is 1 foot way for every 1 inch of speaker. So 10 feet away gives you the best sound from a 10" speaker, 12’ for a 12", etc.
But it’s all about compromise because different frequencies have different wavelengths. Having your ear positioned exactly at a frequency’s wave length from the speaker will give the best sound. Got 5 a string with low B? Well, due to the wavelength of that open B, you’d want to be about 37’ feet away for it to sound best… but that isn’t very practical.
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As a general rule I stand (I never sit when playing) around 5 feet from my amp head and cab. My cab is a 210, but standing 10 feet away is impractical given the size of my music room.
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I go along with what @PamPurrs and @Korrigan said above . . . and stand about 10 -12 feet from my 12" speaker . . .
Cheers
Joe
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I can’t stand (I never sit either) any further away from my amp than about 2 m, because that’s the length of my headphone cable 
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My music space is in a room about 3m by 4m, so… yeah
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Also rooms have “modes” at certain frequencies. These are standing waves where one spot will be loud and another totally dead. Before you think you have a dead note on your instrument, walk around the room and make sure it’s dead everywhere.
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Have a Fender Rumble 40.
I usually play it with the gain about 30% and master volume about 50%. Neutral EQ. Enough to feel it but not rattle my teeth.
I have the gain set low because high gain on guitar does a pretty good job of concealing bent/flubbed notes. Practicing I care about technique, not neccessarily speed.
Speed comes with good reps.
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