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.
We’re way beyond that. Overly loud bands are so 1980s. Overly loud rock bands are why I became a Blues fan.
However these days I’m more concerned about sporting events. In the last year I’ve been to multiple hockey games where the volume is painful and my watch frequently records over 100bB. The new Islanders arena was absolute worst, with every announcement or music over 90 dB and peaking at 115dB. Do you know what would energize me more than covering my ears in pain? Being able to hear the crowd, participate in cheers or chants