Health. Festivals: Protect yourself from high noise levels

Festival season is fast approaching, and if you don't protect your ears, it could be damaging your hearing. In France, 16 million people are affected by tinnitus , the noise you hear in your head without it coming from an external source.

Whistling, buzzing... according to a study by the Social and Economic Weight of Tinnitus (PESA), the average age at which tinnitus begins is 41. This is a far cry from the preconceived notion that these hearing problems occur due to old age.

Irreversible damage

The National Hearing Association also warns of the alarming increase in hyperacusis among young adults: +6 points among 18-24 year-olds between 2018 and 2024.

This hearing disorder, an exacerbation of sounds making them difficult to bear or even painful, is often the consequence of sound trauma linked to sudden and occasional exposure to noise – such as a concert – or during repeated exposure over time – through headphones, for example.

Acoustic trauma can be irreversible. It is characterized by the destruction of hair cells, cells in the inner ear, which do not regenerate. However, these cells play a fundamental role in hearing by ensuring the transformation of sound into an electrical signal that propagates along nerve pathways to the brain.

According to a study published in 2022 in The BMJ , 23.81% of young people aged 12 to 34 worldwide were at risk from excessively high headphone volumes and 48.20% from excessively loud music in nightclubs or concert halls.

In total, between 0.67 and 1.35 billion young people aged 12 to 34 worldwide were at risk of hearing loss due to unsafe listening practices.

As a reminder, safe listening time decreases rapidly as sound intensity increases. For example, according to the WHO, the human ear can be safely exposed to 80 decibels for only 40 hours per week.

From 85 Db, we fall to 12h30 of exposure without risk, then 4 hours for 90 Db, 1h15 for 95 Db, and only 20 minutes at 100 Db. However, in concerts, which generally do not last less than 1 hour, volumes can go up to 110 Db for rock or metal concerts!

How to protect your ears?

Before the summer, the National Hearing Association is releasing its advice on protecting the ears of teenagers and young adults. So, during and after a concert, follow these guidelines:

• use hearing protection: earplugs (foam, silicone, custom-made), headphones;
• Move away from the speakers. The further you are from a sound source, the lower the sound pressure;
• take hearing breaks, 10 minutes every hour: they allow the ear to recover and reduce the risk of hearing damage;
• limit the duration of exposure, because the longer it is, the greater the risk of damage, even if the volume does not seem so high;
• Think of children and protect their ears with headphones for children under 10 or headbands with protective earmuffs for babies.
• After a concert, your ears need a rest. Stay in a quiet environment;
• If tinnitus persists after 8 hours of auditory rest, then it is advisable to consult an ENT doctor or even a nearby emergency department.