Festivals, concerts, discotheques, but also wedding parties: we are actually no longer allowed to enter them without hearing protection. So says Annick Gilles, chief audiologist and head of the UZA tinnitus clinic. It is also important to keep wearing the earplugs at all times.
"Those who don't want to run a risk at all times can no longer go to events with amplified music without earplugs," says chief audiologist Annick Gilles. "Today there is legislation that regulates the number of decibels, but medically those levels can still cause hearing damage. Loud music is often listened to for hours on end. In recent years, even days. That makes it extra dangerous."
At such events it is very important to continue to wear hearing protection, and not to take it off for fifteen minutes for convenience. “Every minute of high noise levels can cause permanent damage,” Gilles warns. "The more minutes without protection, the greater the risk of damage. In fact, you can only take out earplugs when you are out of the field: when you are going to eat or drink something. As soon as you start listening to music again, they have to be put back in."
Not in the front row for hours on end
Those earplugs should then be custom-made ones, Gilles thinks. "They are manufactured according to your ear canal. So they are the only earplugs that guarantee that your ear canal is completely closed. In addition, they fit well and have a special filter so that the sound remains high-quality. Please note: those who are not yet ready for custom-made ones , is still better off with nothing custom than nothing."
Yet we still have to watch out for hearing protection at festivals and concerts, says Gilles. "Even with earplugs, we shouldn't stand in the front row for hours. Earplugs reduce the number of decibels by 10 to 15. So half an hour in the front row during your favorite artist's performance can't hurt. But in general, always try to stay at least ten to fifteen meters from the loudspeakers."
Source: GVA 28/07 via License2publish
