Music Festival Lovers – Your Ears Are Delicate. Protect Them With Earplugs
You might think it's downright uncool to head off to a music festival sporting earplugs, but it really isn't. Particularly if you tend to go to these kinds of events several times a year.
Considering the levels of sound intensity, it's not uncommon to leave a music festival with your ears ‘ringing' and sometimes you might experience a temporary deafness. You're probably thinking this is all quite usual – and I don't want to scare you unnecessarily – but what if you were to leave a music concert or festival one day and your hearing didn't return to normal?
Unfortunately it's a very real possibility. Because the fact is, frequent exposure to excessively loud music can cause permanent loss of hearing. It's a sobering thought.
One hundred decibels is generally considered the threshold at which hearing loss can occur during what's known as ‘short-duration exposure'. Yet many concerts and festivals can regularly be within the range of 130-140 decibels – well beyond the recognised ‘safety' threshold.
And one of the warning signs that any of us is in danger of permanent hearing loss, is that ringing in the ears sound, or the temporary deafness some people consider a normal part of concert-going.
Of course you won't want to stop going to festivals altogether and naturally you'll still want to listen to loud music – it's your passion – but you seriously do need to be careful and heed the warning signs.
By and large, it's the high-frequency sounds that do most of the damage to your cochlea, the auditory portion of the inner ear. And one of the most effective ways you can reduce the intensity of these high-frequencies is by using top quality earplugs.
The situation may be more pressing still if you are a musician reading this. The chances are your ears will have already been subjected to years of noise damage. If you are a professional musician and your livelihood depends on your ability to make music, then what happens if your hearing is damaged irrecoverably? It doesn't bear thinking about.
If you know your ears are going to be subjected to a pounding every now and again, do yourself a favour and get some earplugs. They won't spoil your enjoyment – you'll still get to take in the atmosphere and enjoy all your favourite bands' performances – while giving your hearing a little less of an ear-bashing.
Just think of it like this: earplugs are the new cool accessory you need to accompany you to music fests and gigs from now on. Your future ability to hear properly could depend on it.
Considering the levels of sound intensity, it's not uncommon to leave a music festival with your ears ‘ringing' and sometimes you might experience a temporary deafness. You're probably thinking this is all quite usual – and I don't want to scare you unnecessarily – but what if you were to leave a music concert or festival one day and your hearing didn't return to normal?
Unfortunately it's a very real possibility. Because the fact is, frequent exposure to excessively loud music can cause permanent loss of hearing. It's a sobering thought.
One hundred decibels is generally considered the threshold at which hearing loss can occur during what's known as ‘short-duration exposure'. Yet many concerts and festivals can regularly be within the range of 130-140 decibels – well beyond the recognised ‘safety' threshold.
And one of the warning signs that any of us is in danger of permanent hearing loss, is that ringing in the ears sound, or the temporary deafness some people consider a normal part of concert-going.
Of course you won't want to stop going to festivals altogether and naturally you'll still want to listen to loud music – it's your passion – but you seriously do need to be careful and heed the warning signs.
By and large, it's the high-frequency sounds that do most of the damage to your cochlea, the auditory portion of the inner ear. And one of the most effective ways you can reduce the intensity of these high-frequencies is by using top quality earplugs.
The situation may be more pressing still if you are a musician reading this. The chances are your ears will have already been subjected to years of noise damage. If you are a professional musician and your livelihood depends on your ability to make music, then what happens if your hearing is damaged irrecoverably? It doesn't bear thinking about.
If you know your ears are going to be subjected to a pounding every now and again, do yourself a favour and get some earplugs. They won't spoil your enjoyment – you'll still get to take in the atmosphere and enjoy all your favourite bands' performances – while giving your hearing a little less of an ear-bashing.
Just think of it like this: earplugs are the new cool accessory you need to accompany you to music fests and gigs from now on. Your future ability to hear properly could depend on it.