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| by steve sobel (steve) | |
It's a subject nobody wants to talk about. The young, middle aged and old alike are driven by the power of denial, and the feeling of invincibility. But hearing loss is a very real issue that fans of music should confront.
Have you seen someone at a concert wearing earplugs? Pondered why? Thought maybe they were silly? Think again.
The fact is, for anyone exposed to loud music on even a semi-frequent basis, ear protection is more than just a good idea.
A bit of background on sound:
The average conversation typically has a sound level of about 50 decibels. Your vacuum cleaner or blender brings the sound level up to about 70 decibels. A typical electric shaver reaches about 85 decibels. If you're imagining the loudness in your head and it doesn't seem like a linear progression - you are catching on quickly. For every 10 decibels, the loudness actually increases twofold. Therefore, 50 decibels is twice as loud as 40, 60 is four times as loud as 40, and so on.
The level an electric shaver reaches - 85 decibels - is widely agreed upon by doctors as the lower threshhold at which damage can begin occurring. At this level, several hours of exposure in a day can cause irreversible damage to the ears, especially if exposed on a regular basis.
For more reference - hearing a jet take off from 500 meters away reaches an approximate level of 100 decibels - 32 times as loud as your typical office, and more strikingly, 4 times louder than a freight train.
But loud music is no big deal, right? Wrong. A typical rock concert ranges from between 110 to a staggering 125 decibels (the loudest on record is The Who, at 126 - special thanks to Ward of the Highdive for having me double check my sources. Another editor's note: Man-O-War claims to have reached 129.5 in 1994 and says Guinness refused to list it because they didn't want to encourage people to try and break it -- a quick check of the Guinness website confirms they have no listing for loudest rock concert). Damage starts slowly at 85, and rapidly increases as sound levels go up. It takes only two hours of exposure in a day at 100 decibels to do permanent damage to a person's hearing.
At 110 decibels, that time decreases to only 30 minutes. At 130? A mere 3 minutes and 45 seconds of exposure can cause permanent hearing loss.
Surely, many people have been to plenty of rock concerts and have had no problems with hearing. However, every time your hearing is muffled the next day, or worse yet, your ears are ringing - you have done some amount of damage to your hearing. Sometimes, this damage is fully recovered, and hearing levels will return to normal within a day or two. Unfortunately, it is not at all uncommon for a person to never again hear as well as they did the day before seeing their favorite band play live.
It is true that people's sensitivity to damage varies. Some people have more conditioned inner ear muscles and less sensitive follicles than others, which leaves them less vulnerable to damage. However, all people can be affected at some level or another.
I myself suffer from a mild case of tinnitus - the technical term for a ringing in the ears. I leave a computer on in my bedroom so that the case fan drowns out the slight ringing - it makes it easier to sleep. Others are not so lucky. Many musicians, concertgoers, factory workers and other people regularly exposed to loud noise have permanent cases of tinnitus that are more than just a mild nuisance. Others, of course, have damaged or completely impaired hearing.
For these reasons, it is actually rather foolish to go to a concert without earplugs. Forget about anyone making fun of you (In my several years of wearing ear protection on almost a weekly basis, I have gotten a total of two snide comments). Think instead about your future. Would you like to be able to hear your favorite band 5 years from now? Would you like to be able to hear a new band in 15? Would you like to be able to hear your children or grandchildren speak? Then think ahead - and wear ear protection.
Foam earplugs are effective and cheap (as cheap as 50 cents a pair). Your ears will adjust to them relatively fast, and the sound quality lost will be minimal. For those who are concerned about preserving as much sound quality as possible, and especially those who are frequent concert goers - investing in a more expensive, higher quality pair of earplugs is a fine investment. A decent pair of "flanged" plugs can be had for anywhere from $15 to $25 at your local music store. Custom high fidelity earplugs can range from $100 to $200, but will last a lifetime and are actually crafted such that almost all sound is preserved even with the deduction in levels.
For local readers of OpeningBands - it is interesting to note that the Courtyard Cafe has a policy of keeping sound levels below 110 (though it's unlikely that this standard is adhered to). Venues such as the Canopy Club are likely to reach levels of 120 or more, and it is generally agreed upon that the Highdive is likely the loudest venue in Champaign-Urbana.
It doesn't help that many bands insist on having venues turn up the sound as loud as possible - they're often concerned with making sure that the audience can feel every bit of bass in their bodies, or they just get some kind of a rush out of the power and fury of as many decibels as possible.
Worse yet - most sound systems, while made to handle loud sounds, are not able to handle decibel levels for extended periods of time every night. As a result, sound is distorted, and quality is lost. The louder show ends up sounding distorted, washed out, and unintelligible. Lyrics become harder to understand, vocals clip, and instruments distort, actually taking away from the experience.
The power of denial is strong, and it has many bands and fans alike clamoring for louder stereos, louder PA systems and louder instruments. Until that trend reverses - you'd be wise to pick up a pair of earplugs.
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