Loud music and deafness

My teenage children spend all day bombarding themselves (and the rest of the house) with the latest rock music. As a teenager I was obsessed with Genesis, Pink Floyd and Yes, so I don't want to stop their fun, but could they be damaging their hearing?

Mike, 43

Dr Trisha Macnair responds

You're right to worry. Recent research has shown that as many as one in five teenagers has already done damage to their ears and put their hearing at risk because of exposure to excessively loud music - that's three times as many as in the 1980s. The problem is set to worsen as today's rock fans grow up.

Our ears can put up with very high levels of noise for very short periods of time, but the louder the noise, the less time you can spend listening to it before damage is done. Most of us can put up with noises of 90 decibels for up to eight hours without permanent damage, for example, but at 100 decibels the maximum time is one hour.

Deafness on the dance floor

Most nightclubs play music at 110 decibels, and the noise there is particularly dangerous because you can't get away from it. As many as 80 per cent of people leaving nightclubs find their ears are buzzing or ringing - a sign that noise levels are above the safe limit.
Several European countries have legislation to limit noise on the dance floor. In the UK there is no such regulation to protect clubbers or concert-goers, although Control of Noise at Work Regulations should be implemented in the entertainment industry by April 2008. These regulations aim to protect the workers, but should also help to reduce noise exposure to customers too, for example by keeping noisy areas such as the dance floor well away from the bar, and limiting overall noise levels.

Dance drugs, such as ecstasy, are also thought to increase the risk of hearing damage because clubbers tend to dance for longer under louder volumes of noise when taking them.

Another danger factor is the use of mp3 players or iPods. People who use them regularly (several times a week) are at risk of hearing loss in the higher frequencies of sound, which affects their ability to hear speech.

Recovery time

Most clubbers recover from the temporary damage to their hearing within a day or two. The ears need at least 16 hours to recover from two hours' exposure to a 100-decibel sound to prevent long-term hearing loss. Some people are more sensitive and need a longer recovery time.

What your children can do:

• Use earplugs
• Take regular breaks from the noise - at least ten minutes every hour
• Take longer periods of rest from prolonged excessive noise
• Keep as far from the source of noise as possible
• Try to have some noise-free days, as most damage is from repeated exposure

This article was last medically reviewed by Dr Trisha Macnair in February 2008

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