March 3rd is World Hearing Day, an event dedicated to raising hearing loss awareness, and we’re celebrating with our annual review of earplugs at the M3F Music Festival in downtown Phoenix. Blowing out your ears at a music festival is serious business, as most hearing loss is irreversible. The good news? It’s also easily preventable.
How Loud is Too Loud?
According to the National Institutes of Health, any sound above 85 decibels can damage your hearing. A mobile app like Sound Meter can quickly give you an idea if a show is too loud (spoiler – it probably is).
3 Quick Ways to Prevent Hearing Loss
1. Don’t stand too close to the speakers.
2. Give your ears a break from sustained noise.
3. You’ll probably ignore those first two suggestions, but please take this piece of advice to heart — WEAR EARPLUGS.
Protect Your Ears!
We’ve come a long way from foam earplugs and solid hearing protection is readily available online. Investing in a quality set of earplugs is well worth the cost, especially since they’re reusable.
This weekend, I’ll be testing a bunch of earplugs at the McDowell Mountain Music Festival. The Phoenix festival offers a mix of everything from electronic to indie rock to jam bands, so a decent range of noise will be assaulting my auditory senses over the next three days. The brands up for review will be:
Earpeace HD
Decibullz Professional Music Filters
LiveMus!c HearSafe
Downbeats High Fidelty Earplugs
Vibes High Fidelity Earplugs
Eargasm High Fidelty Earplugs
Alpine PartyPlug Pro
