Ever felt ringing or pain in your ears after a loud gig? Or perhaps sounds are muffled for the next few days, or even weeks. While a one-off loud concert probably won’t cause any permanent damage to your hearing, repeated exposure can. At 100dB, technically you can only be exposed for 15 minutes before you’ll start to damage your ears.
And worryingly, an average club volume is around 100dB, while even a classical orchestra can reach 94dB and a rock band can peak as high as 125dB. Add to that the screams emanating from enthusiastic fans and it’s a lot for your poor ears to cope with. With party season kicking in, things are only going to get louder – whether festive hits blasting through speakers, karaoke sessions in bars, or Christmas gigs.
Wearing earplugs is the way to go, according to musicians, DJs and hearing experts across Dundee. Deacon Blue guitarist is a strong advocate for ear protection. “As a professional musician for 40-plus years I’ve been aware of potential hearing loss and tinnitus among my fellow musicians,” he says.
“It’s also a potential problem for the audience.” In the last couple of decades, Gregor has noticed his younger musician friends wearing earplugs “as a matter of course”. “I would always advise musicians and audience members to have ear protection on hand in case it gets loud!” he adds.
“And because I’m a music producer as well as a gigging musician I’ve worn specialist earplugs since 1994. “It’s saved my hea.