| HHIssues@aol.com 2005-10-01, 8:33 am |
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source: bhNEWS
>From the Sydney Morning Herald, September 29, 2005
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Your mum was right - it will send you deaf\By Ruth Pollard Health
Reporter
Doof-doof means deaf deaf . clubbers go off at a Sydney nightclub,
little realising the harm they may be causing to themselves.
Three out of four nightclubbers are at risk of permanent hearing
damage, with many reporting symptoms that could lead to incurable
tinnitus or premature deafness.
Predicting an epidemic of hearing loss, Britain's Royal National
Institute for Deaf People warned that of the young people who regularly
went to nightclubs or concerts, 75 per cent suffered ringing in their
ears and dullness of hearing after a night out.
"That is a warning sign that the music is loud enough to damage your
hearing," said the institute's campaigns officer, Lisa McDonald.
The institute surveyed 1100 people aged between 18 and 30, and found
that while half knew that ringing in their ears was not a good sign,
most did not know the damage could be irreversible.
The study did not produce figures on the number of people who went on
to become deaf, said Miss McDonald, who will speak today at the Club
Health Conference in Sydney.
The researchers called on venue owners to give clubbers a break by
providing "chill-out" spaces where music is played more quietly, and
promoting the sale of ear plugs.
Hearing experts also expressed concern at the widespread use of iPods
and other portable music players, warning that they, too, posed a
threat to hearing.
"A lot of young people are going to have permanent deafness from using
iPods, similar to those who go to nightclubs regularly," said John
Tonkin, an ear, nose and throat surgeon at St Vincent's Private
Hospital. "There is significant danger because the noise level is about
the level of 120 decibels . it is very near the pain level."
The chief otologist at Prince of Wales Hospital, Thomas Kertesz, said
temporary hearing changes were common after people were exposed to high
decibels of noise at clubs or concerts.
"There is no question that people who go to clubs frequently, spend
eight hours near the speakers, fuelled possibly by alcohol and drugs
that mask the discomfort they may be feeling from the noise, can come
out with hearing damage," Dr Kertesz said.
However, he said the level of exposure to harmful noise in clubs was
nowhere near that of the industrial exposure many people face at least
eight hours a day, five days a week.
Dr Kertesz called for tougher regulations requiring venue owners and
concert promoters to publicly disclose decibel levels. This would allow
clubbers and concert-goers to make informed decisions about the risk to
their hearing.
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