ear plug discussion

[bournville]

Hello everyone

I’m just putting this out there as the question about which ear plugs for concerts gets asked a lot.

According to UK health and saftey executive statistics UK (see link below) rock & pop concerts are subjecting the audience to levels of around 130db

hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/hsg2...

It’s seems that most ear plugs available off the shelf can only offer attenuation down to a maximum of about 25db. This level of attenuation seems nowhere near enough looking at the numbers:

130db minus 25db = 105db

So although off the shelf plugs will help a bit they aren’t really up to the job?

[TinnitusUKPat Partner]

I'm not one to disregard the good works of the HSE out of hand, but I would note that their guide was published in 2008, which does make it somewhat out of date.

There's no doubt that gigs get loud but it's probable that the 130 dB figure is an outlier - the only confirmed reference that I can find to a concert that loud in the UK is the opening show of Leftfield's 1996 tour, where their Brixton Academy show reached peaks of 137 dB and bass vibrations damaged the building's plasterwork.

Band members noted, in an interview ten years later, that their shows are nowhere near as loud due to local authority regulations protecting staff working at venues and residents living near venues.

There's no way on earth that I would want to attend a show that loud, it should go without saying, but not everyone has the same viewpoint.

[surreycccfan]

I use Alpine Party Pro (alpinehearingprotection.co...., used them at many gigs and concerts (most recently Primal Scream two Fridays ago) and I find them extremely comfortable and not only protect sound exposure but I have not had any spikes using them. For transparency, I always make sure I position myself at a gig/concert to not be to near the speakers/sound system. I also like them as you have 3 ranges of filters you can interchange depending on the noise level exposure.

[Chumpiechops in reply to surreycccfan]

I agree with you, bought the Party Pro to attend a gig and now use them at football too.

[Kellythecat-74]

"Quies" pure wax from the chemist. Plugs my ears to silence when watching a show or cinema. Not sure about a pop concert but you can always double up .