Do you ever go to live shows?
I used to go to an event called LOUD PARK, a heavy metal concert held in Japan.
I used to love to go to heavy metal concerts, where the sound was so loud, even in the midst of the loudest live music.
Listening to music with a blast is a lot of fun, isn't it!
Bass drum that resonates in your chest
Dripping Sweat
I can't help but get excited!
But, everyone!
Ears, aren't you overworking them!
Although few people in Japan wear earplugs, many people overseas wear earplugs to protect their ears.
Here we will talk about how live music can damage your ears and the importance of earplugs at live concerts.
The sound of a live concert is about as loud as a bullet train passing over a railroad bridge
When you come to an outdoor festival, you want to feel the loud sound all over your body and enjoy it to the fullest.
I understand that feeling.
I love it too.
However, it can be very damaging to your ears.
Especially if you are stationed in front of the speakers at a live concert!
If it is loud, you will hear sound at about 100 dB of sound pressure.
These days, many bands play loud music and the sound pressure is high.
To give you an idea of how much 100 dB is, it is equivalent to the sound of a bullet train passing over a railroad bridge.
It is about as loud as hearing a car horn up close.
What do you think? Doesn't that sound pretty damaging to the ears?
You can safety listen to live music for only a few minutes
Our ears are said to be damaged from 85 dB.
85 dB is about the volume of a subway train.
Therefore, the volume at which our ears begin to be damaged is rather abundant in our daily lives.
The sound pressure level and how long we are exposed to that sound pressure are shown below.
| Noise level | Permissible exposure time |
| 85dB | 8 hours |
| 97dB | 30 min |
| 100dB | 15 min |
| 103dB | 7.5 min |
What do you think?
The risk of noise-induced hearing loss increases if you listen for 8 hours straight at about 85 dB, which we consider to be the loudest volume we live at.
At 100 dB, if the volume increases by 15 minutes, that amount of time you can tolerate it will decrease.
The sound pressure of an airplane jet engine is about 130 dB, which increases the risk of hearing loss after just a few dozen seconds of listening.
Everyone on the tarmac wears ear muffs to suppress the sound, right?
In this way, you can see that listening to 100 dB or more of sound at a festival for one artist's worth of robust listening increases the risk of hearing loss considerably.
Earplugs will protect your ears -15dB.
I fully understand the feeling of wanting to hear the sound of an explosion since you are at a live concert.
Moreover, I think some people find that earplugs make the sound muffled and worse.
Especially in the bass part, you can feel the sound not only with your ears but also with your body, so wearing earplugs does not impair the sense of presence.
Moreover, there are also earplugs for live performances.
These days, you can buy earplugs for live performances at live venues.
These earplugs also guarantee sound quality.
These earplugs are great for protecting your ears and enjoying the music at the same time.
If you don't wear earplugs, you may enjoy the moment, but you may not be able to enjoy the music later, so please be careful!
However, a little care with earplugs can keep your ears healthy for a long time.
At 100 dB, even listening to music for a dozen minutes in a row is quite damaging to the ears.
Use earplugs to enjoy music longer.
Even if you have a hard time accepting it, earplugs are not that expensive, so you can just try them out once when you attend a festival.
We hope you will take care of your ears, even if only a little.
If your hearing does not return after a concert, or if you suddenly lose hearing in only one ear! then you have a sudden hearing loss.
If treatment can be performed within 48 hours, there is a good chance that the hearing will return to normal, but if it takes longer, the hearing may not return to normal.
If this happens, please go to a hospital immediately.
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