When your favorite song comes on the radio, do you find yourself turning up the volume? Many people do that. There’s something intuitive about pumping up the jam. And it’s enjoyable. But, here’s the situation: there can also be considerable damage done.
In the past we weren’t familiar with the relationship between music and hearing loss. Volume is the biggest problem(both when it comes to sound level and the number of listening sessions each day). And it’s one of the reasons that lots of today’s musicians are changing their tune to protect their hearing.
Musicians And Hearing Loss
It’s a pretty famous irony that, later in life, classical composer Ludwig van Beethoven was hard of hearing. He couldn’t hear any of the music he composed (except in his head). On one occasion he even needed to be turned around to see the thunderous applause of his audience because he couldn’t hear it.
Beethoven is certainly not the only instance of hearing problems in musicians. In more recent times quite a few musicians who are widely recognized for playing at very loud volumes are coming forth with their stories of hearing loss.
From Eric Clapton to Neil Diamond to will.i.am, the stories all sound amazingly similar. Musicians spend a huge amount of time coping with crowd noise and loud speakers. Significant damage including tinnitus and hearing loss will ultimately be the result.
Not a Musician? Still a Problem
Being someone who isn’t a rock star (at least when it comes to the profession, everyone knows you’re a rock star in terms of personality), you could have a hard time connecting this to your personal worries. You don’t have millions of adoring fans screaming at you (usually). And you don’t have massive amplifiers behind you daily.
But you do have a set of earbuds and your favorite playlist. And that can be a serious problem. It’s become effortless for every single one of us to experience music like rock stars do, way too loud.
This one little thing can now become a serious issue.
So When You’re Listening to Music, How Can You Protect Your Ears?
As with most scenarios admitting that there’s a problem is the first step. People are putting their hearing in jeopardy and have to be made aware of it (especially more impressionable, younger people). But there are other (additional) steps you can take too:
- Control your volume: Some modern smartphones will let you know when you’re going beyond healthy limits on volume. If you value your long-term hearing, you should adhere to these warnings.
- Wear earplugs: When you go to a rock concert (or any sort of musical event or show), use hearing protection. Your experience won’t be lessened by using ear plugs. But your ears will be protected from further damage. (And don’t assume that using hearing protection will make you uncool because it’s what most of your favorite musicians are doing.).
- Get a volume-checking app: You might not recognize just how loud a rock concert or music venue is. It can be helpful to get one of several free apps that will give you a volume measurement of your environment. This can help you monitor what’s dangerous and isn’t.
Limit Exposure
In a lot of ways, the math here is rather straight forward: you will have more extreme hearing loss later on the more often you put your hearing at risk. Eric Clapton, for instance, has entirely lost his hearing. If he knew, he probably would have started protecting his ears sooner.
Limiting exposure, then, is the best way to reduce damage. For musicians (and for people who happen to work at music venues), that can be tricky. Ear protection might provide part of a solution there.
But turning the volume down to practical levels is also a smart idea.
