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Best Ways to Protect Your Hearing at Spring Concerts and Festivals

As spring arrives, concert season and outdoor festivals are underway, from local shows to big weekend events throughout Waterville and surrounding communities. While live music is a great way to enjoy the warmer weather, prolonged exposure to loud sound can put your hearing at risk, often without you realizing it. Letā€™s discuss some practical, easy-to-follow tips to help you protect your hearing while still enjoying spring concerts and festivals.

Couple cheering and enjoying an outdoor music festival

How Loud Music Puts Hearing at Risk

When you think of dangerous noise levels, your mind probably goes to a single deafening sound, like fireworks or an airplane taking off. But donā€™t underestimate how noise levels at seemingly lower volumes can harm hearing, especially if youā€™re exposed to them for a long period of time.

Starting at a volume of 85 decibels, noise can hurt your ears.1 Decibelsā€”the unit of measurement for sound intensity, or volumeā€”increase exponentially, not linearly like other units of measurement. A difference of 2 miles will always be the same distance, but a difference of 2 decibels (dB) means the sound intensity is doubled. What does this mean for you? It means that the time it takes for a sound at an elevated volume to cause damage is cut in half for every 2 dB increase in volume.

At 85 dB, it takes eight hours of continuous exposure to damage hearing. At 87 dB, it takes four; at 89 dB, it takes two; and so on.

Protecting Your Hearing at Concerts and Festivals

Live music can easily reach levels of 95 to 100 decibels, if not higher. At that level, damage can start in just 15 minutes. Here are some tips to mitigate that volume.

Wear Hearing Protection

Weā€™ve been pleased to see that wearing hearing protection, such as earplugs, to concerts has become more common in recent years. And for good reason: earplugs are quite effective at protecting your ears. When inserted properly, they can reduce volume by as much as 25 dB.

Foam earplugs are inexpensive and widely available. You can find them at any pharmacy and most general stores. To insert, squeeze the earplug between your fingers until it is as small as you can get it, then put it in your ear in this compressed state. Doing it this way allows it to expand inside your ear canal and mold itself to the shape of your ear.

For even greater noise suppression, consider custom earplugs, especially if you go to concerts frequently or are a musician yourself. We make musicianā€™s plugs and musicianā€™s monitors that are customized to your ear shape while still maintaining the fidelity of the music.

Watch Your Seating

Your positioning in the audience can have a big impact on the force of volume youā€™re getting. Sound waves right out of the loudspeaker are going to be much more powerful than they are 10 feet away from the loudspeaker, when theyā€™ve had time to dissipate into the air around. As you find a place to sit or stand at the festival, or if you get to choose your seat when purchasing a ticket, take into account where youā€™re positioned in relation to the speakers.

Take Breaks

Itā€™s continuous exposure to loud noise that is the most dangerous to hearing. Therefore, a simple way to interrupt the damage being done is to step away every so often to give your ears a break. Do this tip in addition to the ones listed above; taking breaks alone is not the most effective way to protect hearing. However, these breaks are an excellent opportunity to go to the bathroom, refill your drink or enjoy the outdoor scenery of the concert venue.

Signs of Hearing Damage

If you have noticed signs of hearing damage in the hours or days following the festival, itā€™s imperative to check in with a hearing healthcare specialist right away to assess the extent of the damage. Some signs include:

  • Muffled hearing
  • Everything seems quieter
  • Asking people to repeat themselves more often
  • A feeling of fullness in the ear
  • Tinnitus

Contact Waterville Audiology if you notice these signs, and we can get you scheduled for a hearing test.

Donā€™t let hearing damage ruin spring concerts for you. Protect your hearing and take action on noise-induced hearing loss today.

Learn More

1 National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. (2022, March 16). Noise-Induced Hearing Loss. NIDCD. https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/noise-induced-hearing-loss