Let me take you back around 4 years ago myself and some good friends went away to Ibiza, this wasn’t my first trip to the country so I knew what I was in for. Loud music surrounded by some amazing people, after 4 days of spending nights filled with dancing and days spent in my room wondering what the hell happened the previous night. It was our last night out before we went back home.
The last night was always the best as we knew within the next 12 hours we would be landing back in the UK to spend the rest of the summer at work. Our last night was going to be attending one of the best clubs in Ibiza with an amazing lineup. It’s strange out of all the nights, I can remember this night so clear!
Early hours of the morning I remember thinking I need some rest so I went to the back of the club where I could lean up against the wall and take the stress of my legs for the rest of the night. Little did I know this was the loudest part of the club as the large speakers lined the front and back of the club. That said I wasn’t phased as I needed a rest and stayed there for the remaining of the night.
The rest is history!
If I could point my finger on the events that caused me to develop tinnitus it would be this night, maybe there was a build up of events maybe there wasn’t regardless after that holiday tinnitus has stuck with me ever since
The reason for today’s article is to raise awareness of this issue around summertime in the Uk, as I sit here writing this article looking forward to a number of festivals I will be attending over the coming weeks I can’t help but think how many people will be in the same situation I was some years ago to wake with a strange whistling noise
How Loud Is Too Loud?
If you are attending festivals, concerts, clubs and surrounding yourself with extremely loud music it’s important to be aware of how loud the environment you are in
Looking at the image above it may come as a surprise to see that employees working above 85db are required by law to be provided hearing protection which is equivalent to the sound of a motorcycle. More surprisingly if you are at a concert, club festival where the noise level is much louder than 85db then the organizers do not have to make you aware that you should use some type of noise protection.
Looking back I wish I had someone say to me on that night.
“Hey just a heads up but standing next to a speaker your ears are going to be ringing like crazy tomorrow”
Although being in these environments will not give you hearing loss or tinnitus immediately. If you find yourself in these environments often looking for a quality type of hearing protection is key to keeping your ears healthy.
One of the ways I understand how loud the environment I’m in is by using a free sound app, this measures the DB environment. The app that I’m currently using is Sound Analyzer App. I’ve screenshotted a picture below of the app in use.
How can I look after my ears at such events?
If you are going to festivals, concerts, loud events then following these simple steps will help you if you don’t currently use hearing protection
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Firstly stay away from the speakers, although this may sound very normal I’ve seen many people including myself go up to the speaker and fill the decibels rushing through your chest
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Give your ears a rest, If you are in the front row and have been spending a couple of hours partying hard then take a step away and go to the smoking area to give your ears a rest for half hour. This may sound like a long time but by the time you get speaking to a couple of very drunk people minutes flow into hours
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Next day rest! Don’t turn the volume up on the radio or tv to exceptionally high volumes or put your headphones on to the highest frequency rest your ears in a quiet environment so that they can slowly start to heal from the exceptionally loud bass the night before
Although 3 simple methods of protecting your ears without hearing protection it’s important to understand especially if you already have tinnitus that protecting your ears is very important
Have A Great Summer!
Adam - EGGZ Team
