I attended a music venue last night and I was rendered partially deaf after less than a minute. My ears are still ringing now. Less than one minute exposure damaged my hearing.
The volumes were far in excess of any emergency sirens, jackhammers, fireworks, or anything else I have experienced.
I would guess at loudness approaching 200 decibels. It was horrific and painful.
I dont know about anyone else here but I need my hearing to function as a musician. I cannot afford to attend music gigs if I am going to lose my hearing.
An audience member at that very loud gig showed me the earplugs she has to use at all these events just to survive them and told me that she recently lost her hearing for several days at just such an event. She still suffers long term effects. A music event is supposed to be enjoyable not painful and harmful.
Wearing earplugs to go to hear a band so you can survive it without irreparable damage is a bit like wearing a flak jacket to go shopping because you expect to get knifed.
I have turned up to a practice session with a 4 piece band and the musicians all immediately inserted earplugs so they would not deafen themselves. Maybe I am being irrational here but is it possible that turning the gain down might have the same effect as turning the gain up and then using earplugs so the amp is not too loud.
Should amp manufacturers simply now fit an on/off switch instead of a gain control, bands seem to need an amp on full or off and nothing in between. Or maybe we should have licenses for musicians and beginner amps that restrict the gain to less than harmful levels until the musicians know how to make music that does not physically hurt or maim people.
I was at an event where an audience member at a gig who knew me left the venue well before the end and he said he could not stand it in there anymore due to the loudness, he said my music was far more enjoyable than what was happening in that venue, he wanted to hear the music in the venue but he could not stand the volumes and was simply unable to stay.
Many times audiences demand that I play louder because they cannot hear my playing from just a few feet away and I was not playing quietly. Maybe society is being systematically deafened by idiots with a 200watt amplifier and a gain control that goes to 11.
Must we wait until venues are closed because of the harm they do to audiences, or prosecuted for injuring their audiences. I like LOUD as much as the next man but harmful and painful is not LOUD it is just wrong.
You can kill a sheep only once but you can shear it many times, musicians should want audiences to come back to hear the band again, not just have one visit and be rendered deaf and never be able to return.
I plan to have a word with the owner of the venue to suggest that he might want to do something to protect his audiences. I expect to be accused of unfair restrictive practices, but Damien Hirst cuts his sheep and cows in two for artistic freedom but he draws the line at slicing his audience members in two. Harming people should not in my view be allowed under the guise of artistic freedom.
Would it be acceptable for participants at a fun run to be left unable to walk would it be acceptable for audiences at a cinema to be left blinded and unable to see. Why is it acceptable for audiences at music venues to be left profoundly deaf and unable to hear anything.
The threshold of pain is 130 decibels the "music" at this gig was far more than 130 db I dont like censoring people especially musicians but I do think that restricting musicians to playing music that is below the painful 130 db level might be sensible. Or do they want their audiences to be in pain and lay themselves open to legal action from a concerned parent with the money to pay a sharp lawyer and medical reports of the harm done by the musicians.
We know how the government works if there are enough complaints and evidence of harm they introduce laws and prevent people from doing things. If we wait and pretend there is nothing wrong the government may act and then introduce draconian legislation stopping any live music that could be called loud and harmful and brass instruments can be called loud. Brass playing might be stopped if loud music is stopped.
Brass can emit sound at up to 130 db but the government if they act might introduce legislation limiting performances to something more like 100 db which would seriously limit performances.
We do not need more legislation.
This deafening of audiences due to excessive volumes appears to be normal round here is it normal nationwide or is it just a local effect.
Lets find out.
Opinions Please.
The volumes were far in excess of any emergency sirens, jackhammers, fireworks, or anything else I have experienced.
I would guess at loudness approaching 200 decibels. It was horrific and painful.
I dont know about anyone else here but I need my hearing to function as a musician. I cannot afford to attend music gigs if I am going to lose my hearing.
An audience member at that very loud gig showed me the earplugs she has to use at all these events just to survive them and told me that she recently lost her hearing for several days at just such an event. She still suffers long term effects. A music event is supposed to be enjoyable not painful and harmful.
Wearing earplugs to go to hear a band so you can survive it without irreparable damage is a bit like wearing a flak jacket to go shopping because you expect to get knifed.
I have turned up to a practice session with a 4 piece band and the musicians all immediately inserted earplugs so they would not deafen themselves. Maybe I am being irrational here but is it possible that turning the gain down might have the same effect as turning the gain up and then using earplugs so the amp is not too loud.
Should amp manufacturers simply now fit an on/off switch instead of a gain control, bands seem to need an amp on full or off and nothing in between. Or maybe we should have licenses for musicians and beginner amps that restrict the gain to less than harmful levels until the musicians know how to make music that does not physically hurt or maim people.
I was at an event where an audience member at a gig who knew me left the venue well before the end and he said he could not stand it in there anymore due to the loudness, he said my music was far more enjoyable than what was happening in that venue, he wanted to hear the music in the venue but he could not stand the volumes and was simply unable to stay.
Many times audiences demand that I play louder because they cannot hear my playing from just a few feet away and I was not playing quietly. Maybe society is being systematically deafened by idiots with a 200watt amplifier and a gain control that goes to 11.
Must we wait until venues are closed because of the harm they do to audiences, or prosecuted for injuring their audiences. I like LOUD as much as the next man but harmful and painful is not LOUD it is just wrong.
You can kill a sheep only once but you can shear it many times, musicians should want audiences to come back to hear the band again, not just have one visit and be rendered deaf and never be able to return.
I plan to have a word with the owner of the venue to suggest that he might want to do something to protect his audiences. I expect to be accused of unfair restrictive practices, but Damien Hirst cuts his sheep and cows in two for artistic freedom but he draws the line at slicing his audience members in two. Harming people should not in my view be allowed under the guise of artistic freedom.
Would it be acceptable for participants at a fun run to be left unable to walk would it be acceptable for audiences at a cinema to be left blinded and unable to see. Why is it acceptable for audiences at music venues to be left profoundly deaf and unable to hear anything.
The threshold of pain is 130 decibels the "music" at this gig was far more than 130 db I dont like censoring people especially musicians but I do think that restricting musicians to playing music that is below the painful 130 db level might be sensible. Or do they want their audiences to be in pain and lay themselves open to legal action from a concerned parent with the money to pay a sharp lawyer and medical reports of the harm done by the musicians.
We know how the government works if there are enough complaints and evidence of harm they introduce laws and prevent people from doing things. If we wait and pretend there is nothing wrong the government may act and then introduce draconian legislation stopping any live music that could be called loud and harmful and brass instruments can be called loud. Brass playing might be stopped if loud music is stopped.
Brass can emit sound at up to 130 db but the government if they act might introduce legislation limiting performances to something more like 100 db which would seriously limit performances.
We do not need more legislation.
This deafening of audiences due to excessive volumes appears to be normal round here is it normal nationwide or is it just a local effect.
Lets find out.
Opinions Please.
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