'˜Wear earplugs to nightclubs and concerts or risk tinnitus', warns charity

People should wear earplugs when going to nightclubs or concerts and use noise cancelling headphones when listening to their personal music players to avoid developing tinnitus, a charity has warned.

Music fans on the second day the TRNSMT music festival. Picture: Andy Buchanan/Getty Images

Action on Hearing Loss said young people are particularly at risk from damaging their hearing from listening to loud music, estimating that four million could be in danger of the effects of over-amplified music.

It said its research had found more than half (53.4 per cent) of people aged 18 to 24 had experienced tinnitus, with 40 per cent unaware that being exposed to loud noise can lead to permanent tinnitus.

In nightclubs or concerts, noise levels are often over 100dB which means individuals can only safely listen to music for 15 minutes without wearing ear plugs.

The charity’s chief executive Paul Breckell said: “Who goes to a gig or a club for 15 minutes? Ear plugs are the only thing that can protect you as they take off on average 15-20dB – which takes you under the 85dB level, and makes for safer listening.”

The charity said noise cancelling headphones are good for listening to music when background noise is high, such as when using buses and trains, as it means users do not have to increase the volume to override or compete.

This week is UK Tinnitus Week, which aims to raise awareness of the condition which causes a ringing, hissing, buzzing or roaring sound in one or both ears where there is no external sound source.

The problem currently affects one in every ten adults in the UK and can have a detrimental effect on a person’s life, their relationships with family and friends and their ability to sleep, concentrate and work.

While there are ways of managing the condition, there is currently no cure, which the charity is trying to rectify.

Action on Hearing Loss senior audiologist Gemma Twitchen said: “You don’t have to stop your love of music in order to protect yourself. It’s a good idea to get good ear plugs in loud situations like gigs whether you’re playing or listening – the modern ones are quite comfortable and don’t ruin the listening experience as some people think.”

The safe exposure time to listen to music at 85dB is eight hours. As sound intensity doubles with every increase of 3dB, the exposure time halves. For sounds of 110 – 120dB, like in nightclubs, even a short exposure time can cause hearing damage.