There’s nothing like a summer concert at the Filene Center. Whether you have tickets to see your favorite band or you’re tagging along with a friend to see a performer you’ve never heard of, don’t forget to keep hearing protection top of mind.
To understand why hearing protection is so important, let’s look at how hearing works, how sound can damage it and a few tips to protect it without sacrificing your concerts.
How We Hear
Sound goes through quite the journey before your brain understands it:
- A performer creates sound waves that travel through the air to the outer ear
- The outer ear collects the sound waves and sends them to the eardrum
- The eardrum vibrates in response to the waves and sends the vibrations through the ossicles—three small bones in the middle ear
- The ossicles amplify the vibrations and send them into the cochlea, a spiral-shaped, fluid-filled organ in the inner ear
- Once the vibrations enter the cochlea, they ripple the fluid inside
- As the fluid moves, it stimulates thousands of tiny cells that translate the movement into energy
- The energy moves along the auditory canal to the brain
Noise-related hearing loss stems from issues in the inner ear.
Why is Hearing Protection Important at Concerts?
Loud noise creates sound waves more intense than your brain is used to hearing. Think of sound waves like a hose: at its lowest pressure setting, a hose can gently water your plants and even be fun to run through; at high pressure, it can damage your flowers or even break skin.
Apply that same logic to the impact of sound waves on the inner ear: when sound is at a low volume, the inner ear receives and transmits it easily; when it’s at a high volume, the intensity of the sound waves can overstress the cells in the inner ear, causing them to die and leading to permanent hearing loss.[1]
Any noise over 85 decibels can damage your hearing. A concert venue, depending on its size and the type of music, can reach well above the threshold for hearing damage.
Protecting Your Hearing at Concerts
There are a few ways you can lessen the impact of noise at a concert:
- Wear earplugs. Earplugs dampen the force of sound hitting your ears. Grab a pair of disposable foam plugs if you’re not a frequent concert-goer or a pair of reusable earplugs if summer concerts are your favorite hobby.
- Sit away from the stage and speakers. Noise is loudest close to the speakers. Grab a seat in the back or on the lawn to protect your hearing.
- Take breaks. Give yourself hearing breaks during the concert to avoid overstressing your ears.
If you have ringing in your ears or muffled hearing for more than a few days after a concert, contact ENT Specialists Of Northern Virginia to schedule a hearing test.
[1] National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. (n.d.). Noise-induced hearing loss. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/noise-induced-hearing-loss