Tinnitus, Earplugs and Nightclubs

Tinnitus, earplugs and nightclubs.

Someone that has tinnitus I believe they should try and live a normal life as they possibly can. This includes going out to clubs, concerts and other venues of entertainment where music is played if they wish to. For some, tinnitus can be difficult to live with without putting further restrictions on their life. However, I also believe taking the necessary precautions is absolutely vital, in preventing noise trauma to the inner ear, which could make the tinnitus louder and more intrusive.

Unfortunately, in some instances a person can be left in a hit or a miss situation, as there is no way of knowing if they have put themselves in harms way until after enjoying a night out, find their tinnitus has become louder and more intrusive over the coming days. One hopes this will be a temporary spike but there is no guarantee this new level of intensity won’t become permanent and could require a visit to ENT. Sorry to sound so sobering but these are the facts as I see it.

One way of protecting yourself from inner ear damage is to wear noise-reducing earplugs when going to nightclubs or concerts. They will reduce external sounds, in this case music and fortunately won’t impair sound quality, which is so important to most people attending these venues. The earplugs are available in various degrees of attenuation from as little as 9 decibels right up to 25 and even higher. If money is no object, one can buy custom moulded earplugs with the full knowledge they are getting the best ear protection that they can afford.

A word of caution to anyone that might not be in the know. I believe no level of ear protection is one hundred percent safe; so one still needs to be careful when attending nightclubs and concerts and not get carried away in thinking, wearing earplugs is completely safe so anything goes and you can stand next to the speakers all night or right up near to the stage where the music is booming out. Some people might not be aware, if music is loud enough it can still be transferred to the inner ear and reach the cochlear and cause damage via the Mastoid bone. This is a hard piece of bone behind each ear. It is honeycombed and has air pockets within it. Please don’t think that it’s only midrange and high frequencies that can cause harm. Low bass frequencies, which cause vibrations, will do the same.

Go out and enjoy yourself and have fun but at the same time be prudent and respect your hearing.
Michael

PS: further reading is available at:
https://www.britannica.com/science/ear/Transmission-of-sound-by-bone-conduction

 

Thank you Michael, as ever you are the voice of reason here.

 

@Sam Bridge Thank you Sam, and happy listening at the club.