Recently while going to concerts, I’ve realized that most indoor venues actually give out foam earplugs as a precaution. After watching this video I’ve linked below, I finally decided that it was time to invest in a good pair of earplugs to protect my hearing.
In the months following that purchase, I’ve been using the earplugs frequently, but often feel guilty when taking them out in order to hear the unbridled sound of each performance. What frustrates me about this is that the audience is being forced into 2 options: either damage your hearing or listen to the entire set with everything slightly muffled (even with the best earplugs). So that made me wonder, are concerts getting louder? Were they always this high on the dB scale?
According to research, if anything, rock concerts have actually gotten slightly less loud, in concern for hearing damage. Regulations such as this one have attempted to look out for workers and enjoyers: https://www.hse.gov.uk/noise/regulations.htm. So why then are concerts still so prevalently loud? At first I told myself, it’s probably the genre of music that I’m enjoying that has this trend of necessitating loudness. But after going to electronic, funk and metalcore concerts in tight venues such as The Ritz in Raleigh or 1819 Hangar in Greensboro, I can safely say that this phenomenon is not limited to any singular genre or stadium size. But is this a problem that we can change?
One can make the argument that concerts have always been this way and must always be this way because the speakers’ sound must be able to reach everyone in the audience and create that immersive, surrounding experience. Feeling that bass in your chest as you head bang while the vibration spreads throughout your body may be what keeps people seeking out live performance in an era where you can listen to anything, anytime you want with recordings. Perhaps live drums also require other instruments’ sound to be boosted in order to keep up. Even during the time of the Beatles, the instruments also had to be turned up high due to screaming fans that would often drown out the music.
Whatever the reason is, concerts will likely never quiet down, so wear your earplugs!