When it comes to live music, we’ve all been there. No matter what age we are, or where we’ve been, there has come a time when we’ve left a music venue feeling ever so slightly deaf. This can be a particular problem in smaller venue, where the wall of sound is a full frontal attack on your senses. In short the music has no place to go but in your ears. Today however I bring news, of what I think is a frankly genius idea to help us enjoy live music in comfort.
Comfort would certainly be important if you were listening to My Bloody Valentine, one of the U.K’s loudest rock bands. I’ve never been to one of their gigs, but I can easily imagine the decibel levels going through the roof. It’s even been reported that the lead singer of the band, and his girlfriend, have damaged eardrums after over exposure to the ‘glorious swirls of noise’ they’ve been creating. Something had to be done, and this is where the genius idea comes in. The band has teamed up with British online retailer Earplug Shop to offer fans free disposable earplugs at all their remaining European gigs this year. These earplugs have been designed to reduce the noise levels to safe levels, and thousands are expected to be given out to the bands fans. It’s not just fans of this rock band that will benefit though, everyone can. The website stocks the most comprehensive range of earplugs on the market, and also has a special ‘festival and gig’ section selling specialist reusable earplugs. Company director Shaun Thornburgh is very excited by the link-up with ‘My Bloody Valentine, and who could blame him.
“I am very pleased to have struck a deal with such an ear-splittingly loud band as My Bloody Valentine, and respect to them for taking ear damage so seriously. By handing out these disposable earplugs at their gigs, the band is highlighting how important it is to protect ears from damage which, once set in, is irreversible. I’m also really pleased that RNID’s Don’t Lose the Music campaign is working with us to showcase how important earplug wear is.”
(Source:The Observer May 2008)
200 Consumers have been surveyed by the website, and a large number of them were unaware that their ears are affected after only 15 minutes exposure to loud music. But now those surveyed, and you the music.co.uk readers know the facts, and will hopefully see what an important issue this is.
Hearing is a god given gift, and should be looked after. If we can invest in a product that protects our ears, yet doesn’t detract from our enjoyment of live music. Then surely it’s worth it. I for one would certainly buy a pair, and think it’s great that both musicians and hearing organisations are getting behind this initiative. I hope to see many more do so in the future. I just think it’s a brilliant idea, I salute the entrepreneur behind it, and if I was a Dragon in Dragon’s Den, I’d probably fight to invest in it to!
Here are all the links you need for further information on the issue featured in this article.
My Bloody Valentine: www.mybloodyvalentine.co.uk
RNID Don’t Lose The Music Project: www.dontlosethemusic.com
Earplug Shop: www.earplugshop.com
Earplugs are great for gigs!
Nine times out of ten the overall sound level at a gig is too high so your ears just hurt (and when they ring afterwards and leave you unable to get to sleep that’s because permanent damage has been caused) so I find earplugs act as a kind of noise gate, blocking out all the excess noise and improving the sound quality.
The only gig I’ve been to where the sound level has been spot on was A Perfect Circle at Manchester Apollo on their Thirteenth Step tour in February 2004. All instruments mixed perfectly and the sound level was just right *thumbs up* 🙂
Thanks for the comment, totally agree with you, I hope everyone will get behind this issue!
Fantastic article; and so good to see that music fans and musicians are becoming a lot more savvy when it comes to the dangers of hearing loss/damage…
Another great use earplugs is when musicians are having a lot of regular or loud (or both -lol!) rehearsals in a studio/practice room. All that loud music in a very confined space can lead to some really unhealthy sound levels…
I’ve known a few friends who have developed hearing problems due to playing loud music, and I haven’t entirely got off quite Scot-free myself… though fortunately I realised the error of my ways.
I used to think that hearing loss, involved the world getting quieter -lol! But nothing is further from the truth…
My friends tell me that you usually don’t even notice you have hearing damage… until one day when you’re out in a slightly noisy place like a pub, and you’re suddenly struggling to follow a conversation, because you’ve lost some of the top end range of your hearing!
…and at some point you notice that there’s a permanent hum or hiss in your ears… Apparently the worse the hearing loss is, the louder the hum gets.
I love making and listening to music, so nowadays I’m fanatical about protecting my hearing… I do understand that sometimes it’s impossible to play quietly and still get a good sound (for e.g. some guitar amps only sound great driven really hard) so earplugs can be a musicians best friend.
I admit that I did feel a little foolish the first time I turned up at a band rehearsal with my earplugs… but pretty soon I wasn’t the only one wearing them -lol!!
Best wishes,
Brett Huckfield