Wear earplugs to rock concerts at age ___ ?

2»

Comments

  • billbillw
    billbillw Posts: 6,163
    I would recommend at least bringing some cheap disposable ones at at any age. You never know how loud its going to be. If you end up close to the monitors, you could really do some damage. If your ears are ringing after the concert or the next day, you've already lost some small % of your hearing. The effect is cumulative and is not reversible.

    If you go to a dozen or more concerts a year from your teens/early 20s, that can add up over time and you'll have significant loss by the time you are in your 30s-40s. You'll be one of those 50-somethings who needs hearing aids to understand conversation. Throw in some super loud dance clubs on the weekends, and some friends with loud car stereos...it can come quicker.

    Some concerts are just soooo loud, its ridiculous. I've been to some where you can literally feel the pressure and you know immediately it is way over 120dB. The loudest I remember was a Cult show in a very small 1000 seat venue. As soon as they started up, I knew I was in for some ear pain. I didn't have any plugs, so I remember wadding up TP/napkins to cut down the noise level. Didn't help much and I remember after that vowing to always bring something. You don't have to use it if you find the volume is not that loud, but better to have it in case.

    I'm 46 and can still hear up to somewhere around 18kHz. I don't think my wife (at 39) can hear past 14-15kHz. She used to love to get up in the front row, right in front of the monitors...
    For rig details, see my profile. Nothing here anymore...
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,481
    I had won back stage passes to a Jethro Tull concert. When it came time to meet and greet there was like 35 people when there was supposed the be us two. Ian Anderson brought the others back because he moved their seats to a different location that was much worse viewing wise than the seats they bought. During sound check that had found a particular kHz frequency that would of destroyed hearing for those sitting in that section of seats. Ian was starting to explain this when one guy decided to get a little feisty. That guy was quickly escorted out. The rest he told that yes they had good seats but the tone they had found would of made their ears ring and weeks later they would of started to lose hearing unless they had brought ear plugs. He asked how many brought ear plugs, no hands went up. That for me was the beginning of my ear plug use. All those folks got CD's, posters and shirts for the Rock Island tour they were on.
    We ended up with personal pictures with all the members and Ian signed my wife's pants leg and other swag. All in all he spent a good 2 hours with us. I thought it was very considerate of him to think about the folks that come to see his shows hearing safety.
  • msg
    msg Posts: 9,309
    edited June 2017
    lol, I gotcha after looking that up. all I had to see was the picture that looked a little like a stamp lol

    friggin' hooligans.
    and lucky. I wouldn't have been allowed to hang out with you guys.
    In fact, I probably woulda been afraid of you guys and your jacked up hot rods, smokes, mullets and loud music. Just like with carnival people - you don't stare and don't make eye contact.

    I'm not sure that everything I learn around here is good...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUXb7do9C-w
    I disabled signatures.
  • jflail2
    jflail2 Posts: 2,868
    msg wrote: »
    I first saw this as "digging out my Splitfire Spark Plugs"
    I thought, hmmt, unconventional, but inventive...
    jflail2 wrote: »
    I guarantee I lost some hearing at the Tool concert. For protection, I'll be digging out my Surefire earplugs as they have the ability to let more/less sound through in that filter plug.

    That might be a bit less comfortable, but possibly a bit cheaper and certainly more sturdy...
    2007 Club Polk Football Pool Champ

    2010 Club Polk Fantasy Football Champ

    2011 Club Polk Football Pool Champ


    "It's like a koala bear crapped a rainbow in my brain!"
  • Jazzhead
    Jazzhead Posts: 520
    After playing, listening, and attending all sorts of concerts for decades (I'm in my 50's) I have definitely lost some high frequency hearing ability. My right ear has tinnitus that comes and goes but really cranks up if it is exposed to loud levels. Stress/caffeine seem to exacerbate it as well. When working in a huge, loud furniture plant years ago I learned that quality earplugs can be used to chop 20 decibels or more off the sound level, without really sacrificing any particular frequency. At the plant we had to protect our hearing (OSHA), but it was a safety issue to be able to hear the machinery and have a conversation. You can buy high quality earplugs for concerts and I use them in all sorts of situations in an attempt to preserve what I have left...
    Polk Audio first generation RTA-12s; 12 inch Polk Stands; DHS Speaker Service upgraded crossovers w/ Sonicap/Mills; the "westmassguy anti-lobing mod" (hyperdamped outer drivers/mirror imaged); tweeter anti-diffraction mod; Cardas binding posts; Neotech UPOCC internal wire; foam-lined inner driver baskets; xschop phase plugs; deleted fuses; Hurricane nuts; Sonic Barrier; Dynamat Xtreme
    Ayre K-5xeMP preamplifier
    Cambridge Audio 840C CD player; Herbie's Audio Lab Super Black Hole CD Mat
    D-Sonic Custom Audio M3a-600M monoblock amplifiers
    NAD 4155 FM/AM tuner
    Silnote Audio Morpheus Reference II Series II balanced interconnects; Virtue Audio single-ended interconnects
    Kimber 12TC speaker cable w/Furez connectors; VH Audio Flavor 4 power cables w/Furutech connectors
    Herbie's Audio Lab system isolation: Tenderfeet, Big Fat Dots, Grungebuster Dots, Little Fat Gliders
    Dedicated 20A/10 AWG circuit; Furutech GTX-D (G) outlet; Furutech eTP80; Shunyata Research Venom Defender; Synergistic Research Orange fuses
  • Unfortunately , any time you hear ringing after exposure to a loud sound, it has caused permanent ear damage. The accumulative effect will bring on tinnitus.