Concert crowd and concert stage.
Concert crowd and concert stage.

There are many things you think about when planning a trip to a festival.

‘Do I have enough baby wipes?’, ‘How will I sneak this alcohol in?’, ‘What are the chances of someone sh*tting on my tent?’ are just a few of the questions you’re likely to ask yourself in the lead-up to the big event.

But did you ever stop to consider how you’ll protect your hearing?

Now, before you roll your eyes and close this tab to go and look at memes or weird stock images, hear me out.

Hope they’ve got ear defenders in (Picture: Getty)

Tinnitus is probably something you’ve heard of but never really given much thought to, if you go to gigs and festivals, you probably should.

Do you ever get a ringing or buzzing noise in your ears after a loud gig?

Tinnitus is basically that, but constant.

Oh, and it’s incurable.

Chris Martin from Coldplay, Louis Tomlinson from One Direction and Jamie Laing from Made in Chelsea are just some of the celebs who suffer with the condition.

Hearing experts state that exposure to noise above 85 decibels (dB) can damage your hearing over time.

According to Action on Hearing Loss, an average nightclub has a noise level of over 100dB and the average for a gig is 110dB.

25db over the safe level might not seem a lot, but sound intensity actually doubles with every 3dB – so for every 3dB increase in volume, damage can occur in half the time.

If you think about it, a festival is basically a 3-4 day gig, and you’d never normally expose yourself to that prolonged level of sound, so we really need to be protecting our ears.

Action on Hearing Loss' tips for protecting your ears at gigs and festivals

  1. Don’t stand too near the speakers for a prolonged amount of time
  2. Take breaks between acts
  3. Make sure you keep your body hydrated to increase blood circulation and keep your body and ears healthy
  4. Wear ear plugs
  5. Make sure your children are wearing ear defenders
Don’t worry – protecting your hearing doesn’t necessarily involve looking like a toddler at a festival (Picture: Gideon Mendel/Corbis via Getty Images)
Don’t worry – protecting your hearing doesn’t necessarily involve looking like a toddler at a festival (Picture: Gideon Mendel/Corbis via Getty Images)

If you’re worried that wearing ear plugs will prevent you from enjoying the music, you can breathe easy.

”There is a misconception that if you wear them you can’t hear or enjoy the music, but this is simply not true,’ says Gemma Twitchen, senior audiologist at Action on Hearing Loss.

‘Ear plugs will block out the dangerous sound frequencies, still allowing you to listen to the music and enjoy it.’

Here are some discreet ear plugs that won’t make you look like Gwyneth Paltrow’s child at Glastonbury:

Isolate aluminium ear protectors, £24.99, Flare Audio

(Picture: Flare Audio)

 

EarPeace ear plugs, £14.99, Action on Hearing Loss

(Picture: Action on Hearing Loss)

 

Alpine MusicSafe ear plugs, £22.99, Andertons Music Co

(Picture: Andertons Music Co)

Tinnitus really does sound horrendous, no pun intended, but feel free to chuckle at leisure at that one.

If you really love music, getting yourself a pair of ear plugs seems like a wise investment so you can continue enjoying it for many years to come.

For more information on hearing loss and tinnitus, head to Action on Hearing Loss.

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