It is no secret that prolonged exposure to loud sound is highly damaging to our hearing. Listening to loud music is one of the common factors leading to degraded hearing ability and tinnitus, and is deeply unhealthy.
At the same time, such level of noise negatively impacts the quality of sound perception, which degrades the musical side of the musical performance.
In what seems to be the echoes of the so-called “loudness war”, bands still stick to the idea that “the louder you blast it - the better”. But it’s not true. There are many other ways to energize the crowd without causing them sound damage, and I’d love to see more of those, instead of them trying to be the loudest ever.
Where are you, OP?
I’d say in the UK, venues and festivals seem to be pretty good at choosing an appropriate volume these days
Unfortunately I grew up before that was the case and I can pinpoint a few specific gigs at the Astoria in London and some silly nights out in Liverpool that kickstarted the tinnitus I have today
Russia. Here every venue feels its duty to turn up volume to the maximum possible amount.
Kinda envy of you now! But in a good way :D