Five Tips to Protect Your Hearing at Concerts & Music Festivals

One of the most essential pre-show preparations you can do for yourself is to make sure you’re protecting your hearing! As music lovers, many of us attend concerts and festivals every year, whether that be once a year, once a month, or even once a week. These events usually have a sound decibel level (dB) with the potential to damage your hearing, especially when exposure lasts several hours.

A recent poll conducted by EDM.com found that 49% of music festival attendees do NOT wear ear protection. If you’re a part of that 49% and have ever left a show with your ears ringing, it’s officially time to invest in your hearing. At times, the immediate damage may not be noticeable, but after numerous exposures over a lifetime, you may suddenly notice irreversible hearing loss that could have been prevented. Luckily, there are some preventive measures you can take.

1. Limit Exposure: Avoid prolonged exposure to noise. If you are attending a concert, you can take intervals of 5-10 minutes away from the music. While limiting exposure may help, it is possible to experience hearing damage in as little as five minutes.

2. Stay Towards The Back: Distancing yourself can also help preserve your hearing. If you’re like me when you first started attending live music events, you were always at the very front and right next to those giant speakers blasting over 100 dB of sound. After some of these shows, my ears would be ringing. If you’ve ever experienced this too, then you have experienced a sign of hearing loss called Tinnitus. Now, I’m more keen to stay towards the back in order to protect my ears.

3. Take A Break: You can also give your ears a break by walking away from the stage and into a quieter space. At music festivals, there is usually plenty of space to do so but at smaller events this could even count as a trip to the bathroom.

4. Earplugs: If you really love live music, the most beneficial way to protect your hearing at concerts and festivals is earplugs! Brands like MOONLVNDING offer high-fidelity concert earplugs that can keep your eardrums safe. These earplugs are reusable and reduce sound by 23 dB which is safer for an extended period of time (don’t worry you’ll still be able to hear the music). Anytime you’re at a music festival and especially when you’re at smaller venues that tend to be louder, you should bring a pair of earplugs.

MOONLVDING’s earplugs even come with a convenient carrying case that you can throw in your pocket or your hydration pack. They also donate 10% of each pair sold to the Children’s Hearing Institute, which helps children with hearing loss. You can grab a pair here or at their booth at Goldrush: Sonoran Skies this October 7th-8th at the Phoenix Raceway.

5. Consider Regular Checkups: One last tip to remember is to check in with your doctor! Since noise-induced hearing loss may develop gradually, it’s always a good idea to get a routine checkup.