Sounds of Summer
Summer is nearly here, and so many of us will be getting excited as the festival season really gets going.
After events were completely shut down during the pandemic, demand for festival tickets has reached a record high. 2021 saw attendance back to 80% of pre-pandemic levels, and this has continued to rise.
It’s being forecast that by 2026 the market will reach £3.2 billion, and well over 30 million people will attend a music festival in the UK, with a further 6 million attending concerts in smaller venues.
This is why noise-induced hearing loss is a growing concern in the UK. Particularly among younger people who often attend the loudest concerts and get as close to the stage and speaker stacks as possible without taking any precautions to protect their hearing.
Noise-induced hearing loss can occur due to long or repeated exposure to sounds above 85dBA – the louder the sound, the less time it takes for the hearing loss to occur.
You’ll know you’ve caused some damage to your hearing when after a concert or festival, you have ringing in your ears or feel like your head is in a bucket.
This often passes after 24-48 hours. That is until the day it stays with you.
How?
So how can we protect our precious sense of hearing while still enjoying the festivals and concerts we love?
The simplest way is to use earplugs, reducing the amount of noise that reaches your ears while still allowing you to enjoy the music and conversation with your friends clearly.
Earplugs, in their simplest form, are pieces of foam, but they go all the way to really hi-tech, laboratory-created and tested pieces of kit that filter out certain frequencies, thus giving optimum sound quality.
Phonak’s Serenity Choice Music Earplugs are designed for musicians, music lovers, and concertgoers to help prevent hearing damage in loud listening environments.
They reduce sound to a safe level, making it great for music as the listener doesn’t lose any of the original sounds.
In addition to protecting your hearing, wearing hearing protection can actually improve your concert-going experience by filtering the frequencies and letting you pick up on some of the finer details in the music.
So if you’re heading out to a concert or festival this year, make sure you’re carrying protection.
As a 100% independent audiologist, Discretion Hearing Ltd can advise on what hearing protection is best for you for both leisure and work.
Contact us for more information.