With V Festival happening this weekend and Reading and Leeds Festivals taking place over the August Bank Holiday weekend (to name just a few), festival season is in full swing. There’s so much to enjoy at a festival – the food, the fun and especially the music. But spending too long listening to loud live music can damage your ears for good.
If you stand near the stage or the speakers your ears will be exposed to noise levels of 110 decibels – maybe even more. That's like standing next to a jackhammer drilling into concrete. And that could cause permanent damage to your ears, resulting in problems like tinnitus and hearing loss.
If you’ve ever had dullness of hearing or ringing in the ears after listening to loud music, you’re already experiencing the first signs of hearing damage. Usually your hearing will get back to normal the next morning or within a few days. But the more exposure you have to loud music the higher the risk of permanent damage.
So how do you know if the noise level is too loud? Well if you can't talk to someone 2 metres away without shouting, it could be doing your ears some damage.
How do I protect my hearing at a festival?
Don’t worry! You don’t have to miss out on listening to your favourite bands this summer by staying in you tent. Just wear some earplugs.
You can get earplugs that have been specially designed for clubs and live music that don’t muffle the sound, they just make it quieter. Meaning you hear the music the way it should be, but at a lower level. There are different earplugs to suit everyone, from affordable and reusable one-size-fits-all plugs to custom moulds used by musicians and DJs.
Anyone's hearing can be damaged by loud music. And once your hearing has gone, it’s gone forever. So if you want to carry on enjoying listening to your favourite bands at festivals for years to come, don’t stand too close to the speakers, take regular loud noise breaks and get some funky-coloured ear-plugs. They’re the coolest thing to wear this year and show you’re a true music-lover.
But don’t just take our word for it. Check out the advice on noise on the Glastonbury website from “Deaf Geoff” Markson, ex-sound engineer to the stars.
Further hearing protection advice
Web design by Tribal Systems