05.05.2008 12:04 am

Have loud concerts damaged your hearing?

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

In Monday’s story, “Loud pieces put orchestra musicians’ hearing at risk,” we learn that most members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra have to take steps to limit the deafening sound when they’re performing on stage. Many who have performed at Powell Hall for years have some degree of hearing loss.

But what about the rest of us in the audience, watching and listening to concerts? In the case of a symphony orchestra, the sound normally dissipates enough that it shouldn’t cause much of a problem for orchestra patrons. But go to a rock or heavy metal concert - now that’s a different story.

Have you ever gone to a Van Halen or Mega Death concert and left with ringing ears that lingered for an hour or more? Is your hearing worse because of your concert past?

(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

Loading ...

17 comments

Comments are closed.

Blog Comments: Rules of the Road

Let’s just say that the ears are “comfortably numb”.

— shawn

2:47 pm May 5th, 2008

I have been a musician for 25 years and been exposed to …The Who.. like volumes for most of it…
I have permanent hearing damage in the form of Tinnitus…or constant ringing of the ears. For the first years it drove me crazy, but like all people with health issues you learn to move forward and try to prevent more damage while still being a normal active person. Yes I still play live and I use in-ear monitoring and try and control what my ears are exposed to. So the moral to the story is.. becareful if you wanna be able to still hear when your older.

Moderation and protection are key…but still have fun, cause your not really living unless your doing what you like and having fun doing it. There are always trade offs ….that is how I see this.

— Jeff

3:32 pm May 5th, 2008

Thank you for explaining to me what the secondhand smoking idiots will focus on after Barack Obama signs the National Smoking Ban.

— ews

4:02 pm May 5th, 2008

I concur with Jeff on the “Tinnitus”. I too have damaged my hearing by attending over a hundred arena shows, countless club shows, and playing guitar with numerous bands over the years. Certain frequencies are now seriously attenuated in my hearing range.

The worst side effect for me is trying to hold conversations in noisy environments like bars. When I go to a bar with friends, I might as well be deaf. If the bar is crowded and there are a hundred people all talking loudly and the PA is blaring music, I can’t hear what is going on at my own table unless people shout. Everyone else at the table has no problem distinguishing the discussion from the background noise, but I can’t do it anymore. It stinks when I go out with my fiance and friends to a club because I can’t participate in the conversation.

SO, kids: Wear those earplugs. You are NOT indestructible. And someday you WILL regret not having excellent hearing.

— Fark

5:42 pm May 5th, 2008

I’ve never been diagnosed with a hearing problem,but I have difficulty understanding some female TV traffic reporters on the morning news. Either they don’t enunciate well, or the pitch of their voices is such that I cannot hear them well and therefore sometimes I have no idea what they are reporting.

— Ryan On The Euphonium

8:13 pm May 5th, 2008

How old are you Tom, 40?

— Tim

9:22 pm May 5th, 2008

I think they are awesome, if you dont like loud rock concerts, THEN DONT GO TO ONE OR BRING EAR PLUGS!!!!!!!!!!

— JD

2:00 pm May 16th, 2008

Pages: 1 [2] Show All

Have loud concerts damaged your hearing?

Other ways to comment