Concerts: Too Loud?

Studies show that going to concerts that are too loud can cause permanent ear damage. Millions of people go to concerts each year, and not many of them are aware of the risks that they take by not wearing the proper ear protection. Bands playing in concerts almost always turn the volume up a little bit too high.

The loudest volume (measured in decibels) a person's ear can handle without risking permanent damage is 85 decibels. David Opperman, M.D., was the lead investigator in a concert study conducted at the University of Minnesota. He and his team placed 29 men and women (ages ranging from 17-59) in various locations in a crowded concert. They were placed in pairs, where in one pair one person would wear ear plugs, while the other wouldn't. They were placed in locations such as the floor, left, right, and far away from the stage.

Prior to this concert the participants were given a sound test, to determine how well their hearing was. All of them had normal hearing. After the concert they were given another sound test, and it was concluded that 64% of the participants without ear plugs had a "significant hearing threshold shift." Less than 30% of those wearing earplugs had significant hearing threshold changes.

Now that you know this, take a stab at how many decibels were kicked out of those gigantic speakers. Keep in mind that with prolonged exposure to 85 decibels of sound or more, there is a great risk of ear damage. I'll even give you a hint: it was more than 100 decibels- Dr. Opperman found that the maximum amount of decibels was 125.

Let me put this into perspective for you. According to http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us The sound of rustling leaves is a mere 10 decibels, or dB. The sound of a whisper is 20 dB. People talking in a normal volume is around 60 dB, and Chicago's street traffic is around 70 dB. A CD player at its highest volume is about 100 dB, depending on the type of player. A military jet takeoff is around 140 dB. Wow, and to think rock concerts are just under the amount of dB of a jet takeoff. Hopefully this paragraph put into perspective how LOUD concerts are.

If you're a person who loves rocking out, wearing earplugs won't ruin the performance. Wearing earplugs at a concert is the same as adjusting the volume on your Walkman. Now I know that some people like the concert environment: the bands, the fireworks, the crazy people that are attracted to the concerts, and the noise. But when you're getting dressed to go to a rock concert with your best buddies, think about ear pretection. I know I will, I still want to be able to hear my children talk to me when im 40.