Clubbers risk losing the sound of silence

BY IAN MURRAY, MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT

Tinnitus: a ringing alarm worth heeding

MANY young people are at risk of premature hearing loss, according to the Royal National Institute for Deaf People. In a report published today it blames the growth in the popularity of loud music for what it says is an alarming rise in deafness among the young.

"These trends in youth culture have generated an inexorable rise in noise exposure and pose a serious threat to the hearing of an entire generation," the report says. It adds that a generation could experience hearing loss in middle age, rather than later on.

The report says that three times as many young people are exposed to dangerous sound levels today as in the early 1980s, with more than 23 per cent now regularly listening to very loud music. Digital technology means that music can be played at events or on hi-fi systems at a much higher volume without being distorted. As a result, clubbers or those who listen to loud music at home are three times as likely to suffer from tinnitus.

Hearing loss is cumulative, so regular attendance at live concerts and nightclubs puts people at increasing risk, especially if they also spend a lot of time listening to personal stereos. Although workers are required by law to be offered ear protection if they are subject to noise above 85 decibels, there are no statutory limits for the protection of audiences. At concerts, groups may play music amplified to above 120 decibels, which is 1,000 per cent louder than 85 decibels.

One concert in America registered music played at 150 decibels - twice as loud as the 140 decibels registered by a jet taking off or the crack of a gunshot. Music in nightclubs is usually played in the 95-110 decibel range and the advent of "all-nighters" means that clubbers are exposed to these high levels for long periods.

A study in Britain found that of those who went to rock concerts up to 73 per cent reported dulled hearing or tinnitus or both. Among clubbers the figure was 66 per cent, and 17 per cent of stereo users also reported hearing difficulties. Tests have shown that 44 per cent of those who attend rock concerts once a month have hearing difficulties.

Phil Benedictus, from West London, who started working as a disc jockey ten years ago when he was 18, had long suffered from temporary ringing in the ears after going to gigs or working in nightclubs. Two years ago he went to a loud gig and the ringing in his ears did not go away. He now wears earplugs for his DJ work, which he restricts to a couple of nights a week.

The RNID is conducting a campaign to raise awareness among young people of the dangers of loud music.

Tinnitus: a ringing alarm worth heeding

TINNITUS is commonly referred to as noises in the head or ear. These noises can be heard by the patient with tinnitus, but are, except in very rare cases, inaudible to anyone else. The noise may be whistling, ringing or clicking; it may be constant or intermittent.

It is usually associated with some hearing loss and, more often than not, is the result of damage caused to the mechanism of hearing in the inner ear. Therein lies the answer to why there has been such an increase in cases in the past 20 years and why the age of sufferers has decreased: the popularity among the young of clubbing.

The noise level on the dance floor of the average club is high enough to damage hearing. This damage may be transitory, and the tinnitus therefore temporary, or it may be permanent. Dance music is not the only loud noise that can cause it. Soldiers - particularly tank gunners - and workers with heavy machinery also suffer in a similar way.

Many drugs will induce tinnitus, or make it worse, perhaps the two most common being alcohol and aspirin. If the steady increase in the number of cases of early onset tinnitus - which will, in time, be followed by the early onset of deafness - is to be halted, then nightclubs and pop concerts will have to keep their noise levels down to less than 85 decibels. Furthermore, personal stereos and car stereos will need to be played with rather more discretion.

DR THOMAS STUTTAFORD

August 3 1999 Copyright 1999 Times Newspapers Ltd. http://www.the-times.co.uk

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