Did you know that seven minutes beside a loudspeaker at a rock concert can cause noise-induced hearing loss for a few days? And what prolonged exposures can result in permanent damage?
At a time when hearing loss is the order of the day, given the risk of deafness for Brian Johnson, lead singer of AC/DC, and that the summer festivals are just around the corner, GAES – Centros Auditivos recalls the risks associated with exposure to high volume noises.
To the assurance given by Brian Johnson that the risk of total hearing loss he faces is due to the time he spent on the motorsport tracks – neglecting the hearing protectors that must be worn under the helmet –, add theories, among which, that the risk of deafness of the vocalist results from the continuous exposure to high noise levels to which he was subjected during the concerts.
Guarantees and theories aside, it is certain that, according to the Hearing Prevention Observatory for Musicians (OPAM), only one in four (musicians) use some type of hearing protection during rehearsals/performances.
The same goes for the thousands of people who annually attend the summer festivals. How many of them will use hearing protectors in response to the risk they are exposed to?
At a rock concert, the sound can easily reach 110-120 decibels (dB), the equivalent of the so-called “pain threshold”. Do you know the maximum recommended daily exposure time for this sound pressure intensity value? Only 15 minutes!
Aware that the emotion and adrenaline experienced during a concert cannot outweigh the damage that high volume can cause to the ears, Pearl Jam announced the distribution of hearing protectors in their next performances.
The band's bassist even went further, leaving an alert to fans on his Facebook page: “Don't be indifferent to the noise you are subjected to during a rock concert or the volume of music you hear through headphones, as I did for 30 years, or they will end up like me, facing every night a feeling of pressure/heaviness in their ears and not being able to conveniently enjoy the wonderful silence that some places give us”.
“Noises above a certain acoustic pressure are always harmful to the human ear, although the probability of causing injuries depends, obviously, on the intensity of the pressure peaks and on the exposure time”, recalls Dulce Martins Paiva, general director of GAES – Centros Auditory Portugal.
“Sound starts to be harmful above 80dB, and when subjected to an acoustic pressure of 120/130dB, we pass the so-called comfort threshold or pain threshold”, he concludes.
At the next summer festival of two: conveniently step away from the speakers or arm yourself with a good pair of hearing protectors. There is a wide range of hearing protection solutions adapted to different environments and tailored to the individual's ear canal.
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