Concert deafness
Discussion
I play quite regularly (rythmn guitar and lead vocals - rock band)...and have noticed the first effects on my hearing ....never worn earplugs before ......can anyone recomend any good ones?.....oh and i tend to jump around like a loon when playing ......so are there any 'secure' plugs on the market ....or will i just have to tape them in? ..
The guitarist in my band favours the higher numbers on the volume knob of his amp, so after a couple of post rehearsal ringing ears I got a set of moulded plugs from here.
http://www.customearprotection.co.uk/
http://www.customearprotection.co.uk/
R TOY said:
How long does the affect take to wear off for different people,?
I've noticed lately that i'm a couple of days before my hearing returns to normal and i dont hear the alarm radio come on the next morning !
No doubt the older you get the longer the recovery time.. or is permanant damage being done ?
If it was a one off, then it could be what is called a temporary threshold value shift, ( I think that is the term) and should go back to normal. As eveyone has said, exposure to loud noise is dangerous.I've noticed lately that i'm a couple of days before my hearing returns to normal and i dont hear the alarm radio come on the next morning !
No doubt the older you get the longer the recovery time.. or is permanant damage being done ?
Eventually if the hair cells in the cochela are damaged too much, then your buggered, you will be deaf and thats it, a hearing aid wont help,either.
As we get older we loose the higher frequencies, and exposure to excessive noise also affects the higher frequencies.
I must admit I have a chuckle to my self when the kids go past in their little toys with zillions of decibals of crap vibrating out and they are thinking "Bet I look cool", yes mate but in 5 years your be deaf.
As we loose the ability to hear the higher frequencies, having a conversation becomes difficult, its like listning to a radio station which is off tune, so take care of your hearing, and one last thing, a single exposure to a very loud sound can do permanent damage.
I saw Slash in Birmingham last night and my ears are still 'ringing' nearly 24hrs later, last night I could barely hear the car stereo on the drive home!
Some shows don't have the same effect and yet they don't neccessarily sound less loud but it seems (to me) that steel framed/roofed venues like the NIA seem to bounce the sound down at you more and so cause the deafness?...
Some shows don't have the same effect and yet they don't neccessarily sound less loud but it seems (to me) that steel framed/roofed venues like the NIA seem to bounce the sound down at you more and so cause the deafness?...
drumsterphil said:
Do a search for these - ACS ER20 Generic Fit Ear Plugs (which I use as well).
Most decent music shops sell good ear plugs - less than a £10 is a bargain for what you gain using something like these.
Cheers for that, i've ordered a pair today.Most decent music shops sell good ear plugs - less than a £10 is a bargain for what you gain using something like these.
I suffer quite bad tinitus after years of going to rock concerts without ear plugs, my left ear is far worse than the right and i have almost constant ringing when in a quiet room.
One particular gig that stands out is when i saw Therapy? at the water rats in 2009, it was incredibly loud and its such a small venue. My hearing was affected for quite a few days afterwards and has never been the same since.
Damage is done and i really regret not wearing earplugs, i have used foam plugs for the last few gigs i've been to but they do kill the sound a bit too much and take something away from the experience. Hopefully the ER20 plugs will be much better and help prevent any further damage.
I have had regular hearing checks due to my job for the last 25+ years. There's been a reasonable drop in high-frequency response in both ears, to the point where I'm very careful with hearing protection at gigs and sometimes when driving the TVR with the roof down. Spoke to the Doc about it, and he reckons that my teens/20s penchant for metal gigs, nightclubs and firearms has melded with 25 years of flying, watching motorsport and blatting about in sports cars with the roof off. All are bad. I've now got a 20dB+ drop at high-frequencies in both ears at the age of 44. Hearing was completely 'flat' up until I was about 35... The point is that the damage can take years to manifest itself.
I spent countless evenings in the 80s with my ears going 'eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee', post-Maiden gigs etc. Of all the rock bands I saw, the most unexpectedly loud were Kiss. The PA was gruntcrunchingly noisy, and 2/3 of the way through the evening my hearing had deteriorated to the point where it was just a painful low-bandwidth clipped grind in my lugs. Bands do seem a lot quieter nowadays. Or maybe it's because we're all going deaf...
Stick the plugs in, kids.
I spent countless evenings in the 80s with my ears going 'eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee', post-Maiden gigs etc. Of all the rock bands I saw, the most unexpectedly loud were Kiss. The PA was gruntcrunchingly noisy, and 2/3 of the way through the evening my hearing had deteriorated to the point where it was just a painful low-bandwidth clipped grind in my lugs. Bands do seem a lot quieter nowadays. Or maybe it's because we're all going deaf...
Stick the plugs in, kids.
I keep a stash of the tiny foam ear plugs in the house and in the car in case I ever need them.
I bought them originally as I had a Fiesta ST with a ridiculously loud Mountune conversion (I fully admit that it ruined the car - it was fast but unusable every day, defeating the whole point of a hot hatch!) and on long trips I used the earplugs.
I've tried the plastic ones, and the "mold your own" ones and they don't seem to work for me very well. Don't go overboard about the decibel rating, I tend to buy the lowest I can get - just to take the edge off the sound. And I find them fine for gigs or band rehearsals.
I'll most definitely use them if I'm driving the Caterham a long distance on a motorway too.
I bought them originally as I had a Fiesta ST with a ridiculously loud Mountune conversion (I fully admit that it ruined the car - it was fast but unusable every day, defeating the whole point of a hot hatch!) and on long trips I used the earplugs.
I've tried the plastic ones, and the "mold your own" ones and they don't seem to work for me very well. Don't go overboard about the decibel rating, I tend to buy the lowest I can get - just to take the edge off the sound. And I find them fine for gigs or band rehearsals.
I'll most definitely use them if I'm driving the Caterham a long distance on a motorway too.
Earplugs. Good advice which I wish I'd taken 25 years ago when I started going to loud gigs as I've now got tinnitus. While I can't be sure that's what did it, it can't have helped.
A useful trick when at a loud gig and wish to talk to someone, is to put your thumb over the other persons ear hole to protect the inner workings, then talk to your thumb. This blocks out the background noise while making the speech really clear plus saves you having to shout right into their ear.
A useful trick when at a loud gig and wish to talk to someone, is to put your thumb over the other persons ear hole to protect the inner workings, then talk to your thumb. This blocks out the background noise while making the speech really clear plus saves you having to shout right into their ear.
wst said:
..uh oh. I'm going to see Motorhead in a month. Better get some ear plugs!
I wouldn't worry too much. The elf'n'safety regs are such that they're not as loud as they used to be. The thing with Motorhead is that it isn't necessarily always the sheer volume; it's usually Phil Campbell's guitar that does the damage. Have fun!S7Paul said:
wst said:
..uh oh. I'm going to see Motorhead in a month. Better get some ear plugs!
I wouldn't worry too much. The elf'n'safety regs are such that they're not as loud as they used to be. The thing with Motorhead is that it isn't necessarily always the sheer volume; it's usually Phil Campbell's guitar that does the damage. Have fun!
Could, however, smell it. Argh.
Saw Black Sabbath back in 1973, the first of many times, and that concert was the loudest I've ever experienced. Just eight rows from the stage, it was loud, bloody hell was it loud. Had sort of ringing bells for three days and numbness for a week after the concert. No permanent damage though.
I decided to stand near the left hand speaker bank at an Alice Cooper concert a few years back. The sound coming out of the bank of speakers was hitting my chest like someone thumping me. Couldn't hear properly for 3 days after that. Was a great concert though (seem to remember he "killed" Britney Spears 
)
These days I get to deal with the hearing test results in the company I work for. I find it amazing the amount of youngsters that have damaged hearing. All from car stereos and mp3 players.
)These days I get to deal with the hearing test results in the company I work for. I find it amazing the amount of youngsters that have damaged hearing. All from car stereos and mp3 players.
Lol @ the comments about Motorhead!
Saw them once at Brixton, in about 1994. I had been to umpteen gigs before, but I wasn't prepared for this one!
It was so feckin' loud, it was unreal. When me and my mate stepped out of the gig, I couldn't hear much at all - it felt like someone had nailed thick carpet over both of my ears.
Worryingly, the next morning, I woke up and still had the fluffy carpet hearing, combined with a high-pitched whine. I am not joking, it took two further days for my hearing to return back to normal!
I always take plugs to gigs now, and as soon as it feels a little uncomfortable - the plugs go in.
Since then, at 40 years old, my hearing seems to be luckily ok still...
Saw them once at Brixton, in about 1994. I had been to umpteen gigs before, but I wasn't prepared for this one!
It was so feckin' loud, it was unreal. When me and my mate stepped out of the gig, I couldn't hear much at all - it felt like someone had nailed thick carpet over both of my ears.
Worryingly, the next morning, I woke up and still had the fluffy carpet hearing, combined with a high-pitched whine. I am not joking, it took two further days for my hearing to return back to normal!
I always take plugs to gigs now, and as soon as it feels a little uncomfortable - the plugs go in.
Since then, at 40 years old, my hearing seems to be luckily ok still...
Foam earplugs are cheap and do the job. Concert venues locally sell them in case concert goers have forgotten them.
Surprisingly the greatest effect I noticed on my ears was at an Ultravox gig in a small venue.... Midge likes his lead guitar now more than Billy on the synths = very loud!
Surprisingly the greatest effect I noticed on my ears was at an Ultravox gig in a small venue.... Midge likes his lead guitar now more than Billy on the synths = very loud!
Vipers said:
From memory, the recommended daily safe exposure was 93dba for 8 hours. Maimincrease of 3 dba halves the exposure bymhalf.
Another 3 halves that as well. So at some of these gigs youre recommended exposure can be measured in minutes, ie 111dba equates to 7 mins
111dBA? Pah! I expect that would be about 6 on Lemmy's amp, which probably goes up to 11. Another 3 halves that as well. So at some of these gigs youre recommended exposure can be measured in minutes, ie 111dba equates to 7 mins
I'm sure they were measuring over 120 at one gig many years ago - it certainly felt like it!
In my irresponsible youth in the 60`s I was a road`y with a rock group.I`m sure that was the cause of my present hearing problem.I`ve been using hearing aids for the last 30years,struggle with conversation in most situations,can never follow theatre or cinema dialog without a PERFECT loop system via my aids.Without my aids in place I would never hear any form of alarm going off.In other words my hearing,or lack of it,affects my whole way of life.
When I see people of today particularly the very young, consistently bombarded with noise, it makes me realise we are creating a whole generation that will have hearing problems in the future.During the day they walk around with either iplayer head phones,mobile phones and other gadgets stuck in their ears.Then in the evening sit in trendy bars shouting at each other because the music is so load!As for these concerts and night clubs? it makes me shudder.
One thing that puzzles me?the people that work there? Its their place of work and if it was a factory they would have to wear ear defenders,the noise would be monitored,if over a limit the place shut down.
When I see people of today particularly the very young, consistently bombarded with noise, it makes me realise we are creating a whole generation that will have hearing problems in the future.During the day they walk around with either iplayer head phones,mobile phones and other gadgets stuck in their ears.Then in the evening sit in trendy bars shouting at each other because the music is so load!As for these concerts and night clubs? it makes me shudder.
One thing that puzzles me?the people that work there? Its their place of work and if it was a factory they would have to wear ear defenders,the noise would be monitored,if over a limit the place shut down.
Old Merc said:
One thing that puzzles me?the people that work there? Its their place of work and if it was a factory they would have to wear ear defenders,the noise would be monitored,if over a limit the place shut down.
The people most exposed at a gig are usually the security staff, and they all wear ear plugs.Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff