The Gathering

Last weekend, i went to Doomfest in Biebob, Vosselaar (BE). Though i was feeling a bit sick, i was very interested to see Agalloch and Novembers Doom (and Saturnus and Thurisaz, they were great too).
Anyway, it was a lovely evening with many great bands but one thing that really annoyed me at the moment was how the music was.
Now, one week later, i still hear a constant noise in my left ear. When there's enough noise or while listening to music i can just cope it, but once quiet in bed, it drives me crazy! I hope it will go away so i can enjoy music and gigs again like before.

How do you feel about it? Are they sometimes playing music too loud at concerts or festivals? Is it normal that we should protect our ears at such events? Wouldn't it be more fun if we could just enjoy the music with a little less decibels (and more respect from the listening crowd too)? Do we have to be afraid that we risk to be deaf at our 50 or 60, not being able to enjoy the music at the best? Especially with this 'iPod generation', are we massively destroying our ears?
Or am i exaggerating?

I can image how it feels, i´ve gone through this for years.
The first time i heard that constant noise was after i woke
up one usual morning.I found out that happened because
i was too busy at work - too many hours a day,not enough
sleep for some weeks or month,i don´t remember for sure.
after that i had trouble with loud music or any noise ´cause
that "signal" was still there. My Doc connected me to an infusion
line and i felt better after some days.Currently i rarely hear
that noise, i´m in a better health condition than years before,
and when i make music or go out to concerts, i protect my ears.

Hope you get well soon

Frank

anendel,

I read your testimony and i think you dont exagerate... on the contrary.

as you probably hear some innappropriate sounds (such as buzzing, ringing), i think you have a "tinnitus" symptom but i'm not sure.

these hear troubles may be temporary or it may be intermittent or permanent... but no worry, most of the time, they are harmless.

but you probably need some professional medical advice.
if this still persists and disturbs you, maybe you should call for a doctor or an otologist to diagnose these hearing problems and recommend the best way to manage it.

meanwhile, maybe you shouldnt listen to music for a few days to relax and rest your ears.

in my opinion, it's very reasonable to put earplugs for gigs...
that's what i do for 2 and 3 years. as i listen to music everyday.

get well soon.

First of all hope you get better soon!
2nd...You saw some great bands

on topic now ithink that the important thing is the quality of the sound and not how loud it is.If the sound is correct i don't think that will hurt you...but i cannot say for sure...
It's reasonable to protect your ears at concerts...i don't..

The only time i had this kind of problem was in 98 after a motorhead concert and the problem lasted one week...

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I think the level of loudness is at some concerts way too much. Some people seem to think that louder is better, while that is almost never the case so I agree with all your posts.
It is very strange that they have the need to do this, not only at concerts but at bars you have it a lot of times too. Why does the music have to played at such a loud level you can't even talk to each other???

Luckiliy I never had these kinds of complaints, even though I don't protect my ears at concerts but on the other hand, I almost never stand very close to the stage.

As also mentioned before, I think you should visit the doctor, just to be sure. No harm, no faul!
And I hope you wil recover and have normal hearing again soon.

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I have studied a bit this problem of pip in your ears (sorry dunno the English words)...
What I read is most commonly, if you have a sound in your ear for more than 24 hours, you should go directly to hospital... I think they can inject some mineral (magnesium & sodium I think) to try to help your ears to restore itself...
But what I read is also that in most cases if you still have this sound in your ear after 48 hours, you may have to learn to live with it...

It's 3 years that I wear professional earplugs during concerts... They are very expensive (about 150 EUR) but it is something I was ready to invest in since I work with live performances.. so on top of not being able to enjoy the music, if I get deaf I lose the ability to do my job too...

If you cannot afoord it, you have to know you can buy "musician" earplugs.. those plugs cost about 40 EUR I think and the only difference with the pro ones is that they are not custom made for your ears...

It's still some money but these plugs will filter the sound approximately the same for all frequencies... which is something standard plugs you can get for a couple of EUR don't... [those only filter high frequencies so you lose some definition in sound and feel much more bass].

anendel: I would advice you to contact your doctor as soon as possible... and if you can't get rid of this noise, protect your ears in the future because if they are attacked again by a loud volume, you may have a louder "pip" in your ears...

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Maybe i'm paranoid, yeah that's my problem
You almost have to be when you look like me

As far as metal concerts are concerned, I´d say not only sometimes, but always. I think that nowadays most metal musicians (at least those who are sensible) wear earplugs - even those retards who boasted about being "the loudest band in the world". (If anyone knows better, please correct me.)
I attended my first four metal concerts way back in 1987 and 1988 without earplugs and after each of them I had the impression that everything around me sounded somewhat muted. After the first three, this feeling was gone the next morning. The fourth concert - Metallica in Dortmund - was worse. Already during the concert itself, the music was so loud that it nearly hurt and I couldn´t enjoy the concert anymore. This time, the muted feeling wasn´t entirely gone before the second day after the concert. From then on, I´ve always taken earplugs with me when attending a metal concert and I usually had to use them.

This problem is not restricted to metal concerts. E.g. I´ve been to concerts by some non-metal bands - I´m talking about Mila Mar and Qntal -, where at least some of the songs were played so loud that I decided it would be better to use my earplugs. Unfortunately, the first time I saw them live, I hadn´t brought my earplugs along, because I hadn´t expected it would be that loud. It really pisses me off when such bands play their music too loud, too, which is absolutely unneccessary and ruins the music - IMO!

I´m afraid the answer is "Yes".

Of course it would! The concerts I´ve enjoyed the most so far have been those, where I didn´t have to use my earplugs.

You are not exaggerating at all. E.g. if you use mp3-players (in "ancient times" it was Walkmen) with headphones while sitting in a train or bus and turn them so loud that the music completely covers any other background noises, you should be aware that sooner or later, this might damage your hearing.
It´s the same if you listen to music in your car, drive very fast and turn the music so loud that you don´t hear the background noise from your car anymore. In these cases I´ve just mentioned, you might not have the impression that the music is too loud because of the background noises which are covered by it. But once these background noises are gone, for e.g. when you reduce the speed of your car or even stop, you might notice that the music is actually louder than it would be when you listen to it in an otherwise quiet place.

Everyone is free to damage his/her hearing, but I usually try to protect mine. Once you´ve got tinnitus, it´s too late.

To read about "metal concerts" makes me smile cause actually they are not that often the loudest...
Any kind of concert can be to heard for your hearing... It's not about metal or not... I can destroy your ears mixing a singer/songwriter without any problem... [Of course I would not do that to ]

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Maybe i'm paranoid, yeah that's my problem
You almost have to be when you look like me

i mostly agree with you all.

even the background music they put for the audience, before a band start playing live can be really loud too.

That´s why I also mentioned Mila Mar and Qntal.

np: Solitude Aeturnus - "Transcending Sentinels"

i saw Dark Sanctuary this year... the mixing and the level were so good, i didnt have to protect my ears.

As for Post Rock gigs generally (Mogwai, Mono, Red Sparowes, Iliketrains, Shora...), i have to say it's a huge mistake no to bring earplugs.

...and I don't really recommand any Motörhead concerts for anyone who has problems like this. It was terribly loud (and funny for me ) in the first 3 songs, then Lemmy asked if it was loud enough and after hearing the "yes" answer ordered the mixing ppl to turn on a bit more...

Pfff.

I also think on earplugs for next time...It's worth to give it a try, sounding is mostly crappy here so it doesn't really count

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Ez az egy perc az ok, amiért itt vagyok...

Tesam evanukampartham
Aham ajnana-jam tamah
nasayamy atma-bhava-stho
jnana-dipena bhasvata

Lemmy is completely deaf man...

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Maybe i'm paranoid, yeah that's my problem
You almost have to be when you look like me

i personally have this buzz for many years but i got used to it... i don't know how loud is this buzzing

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Greek Room Meetings

Putting earplugs on, however "uncool" it may seem at first glance, is quite obliging to persons dealing with continuously loud noise. I do wear them during rehearsals and have recently started doing so in concerts as well, in order to avoid increasing the noise I already have in my head. As Burn already stated, to give an amount of money for a pair of high-quality earplugs, comprises an investment.

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that's interesting... but where can we find those high quality earplugs?

i got mines from my work for free... they're just regular one.

they reduce the noise from 30 dB(A) ... that's not so bad.
except some gigs can reach 120 dB(A).

there are some earplugs here in greece that u can used them once... I think that these are the best and they are more healthy too...

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Greek Room Meetings

here too...

actually, there are many kinds of earplugs ... some of them which are used once can protect til 35 dB(A). that's correct.

mines are washable but the reducing is not so efficient as these (30dB(A)).

finally, 150 euros for some high quality earplugs, that's too much...

it depends how many concerts you go to.

i dont have so many (10 per year in average) to go too.

maybe i'd go for the 40 euros one... but what is the noise level reducing of these musicians earplugs ? does anybody know ?

thanx

You can get those earplug by any shop that deals with hearing product, whether it's because you want to hear less or hear more...

And regarding the amount of dB filtered, there is no need too much...
I don't know if it's the same everywhere but in France, gigs cannot be more than 105 dB with peaks at 120 dB, this is by law.
In the Netherlands, I saw many time desks were technicians are asked not to go over 105 dB.

I've seen lots of concerts with the dB-meter on and I have to say I have very very rarely seen more than 110 dB.

Now here are some facts:
- You may lose hearing with sounds above 85dB but this depends on the volume and the length of the exposure.
- You risk something if you are exposed for more than 8 hours to levels of 90 dB. After the amount of tolerance is divided by 2 when you double the volume:
90 dB -> 8 hours
93 dB -> 4 hours
96 dB -> 2 hours
99 dB -> 1 hours
102 dB -> 30 min
105 dB -> 15 min

(dB is an exponential scale so doubling the volume only increases of 3 dB)

Most of the technicians I know who have earplugs use a -15 dB filter. If you are in a place where you are exposed to 105 dB, - 15 dB, you are back to a 90 dB level which is acceptable for the time of a concert.

For musician earplugs I know you can also get filters with -9 dB or -25 dB.. I think to appreciate a concert without any risk, - 9 dB might be too less, and -25 dB too much.

As I said earlier, musician earplugs can be standard or custom made for your ear. The investment is custom made is a big step indeed, but if you buy the standard you will also experience good sound quality without risking your hearing.

musician plugs differ form the "workers" plugs because they filter all tones the same way. Worker plug often reduce of 15/20 dB for low and medium and then filter high frequencies up to -40 dB...
If you think wearing earplugs is totally deforming the balance of sounds, you had some "worker" plugs... investing in standard musician plugs is not that costly and you can re-use them a lot more than a normal worker plug (that you should keep in mind is a one use only!)


At last, you should bear in mind this is theory only, everyone's hearing is different...

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Maybe i'm paranoid, yeah that's my problem
You almost have to be when you look like me

thanks for these informations Burn... this is very interesting



the good point is that most of them protect more than some more specific and expensive worker ones.

there are some good washable ones. they looks a bit different and can be used several times.

so... finally i think i'll check some musicians earplugs (40 euros) one day