Loud concerts and sporting events can reach unsafe sound levels that put your hearing at risk, even after short exposure. Using the right hearing protection helps prevent noise-induced hearing loss while still allowing you to enjoy the experience.
Heading to a concert or sports event? Don’t forget your hearing protection!
Seeing your favourite band or sports team play can be an amazing experience, but it can also be very loud! Our measurements at a concert at Christchurch’s Wolfbrook Arena showed peak sound levels up to 111 dB, and some reports from the Taylor Swift Eras tour recorded levels reaching 123 dB. Sports events in arena settings can reach similarly high levels. Exposure to such loud sound, even for just a couple of hours, can cause tinnitus and temporary hearing loss in the short term and can contribute to permanent noise-induced hearing loss in the long run. According to a recent report from the World Health Organization “More than a billion young adults are at risk of permanent, preventable hearing loss due to unsafe listening practices”.
Hearing protection at loud events is essential to safeguard your hearing without missing out on doing what you enjoy. There are many options available for hearing protection depending on your needs. Foam plugs (when inserted correctly) are a great, inexpensive option to protect your ears, although they do impact sound quality. If great sounding music at a lower level is important to you, consider filtered earplugs designed to preserve the original sound, but reduce the volume. These are available in both custom made and ready to use, non-custom versions.
The Bellbird Hearing Team is happy to help if you want to discuss the right hearing protection for your needs.