Digital dance music followers usually tend to put on listening to safety at reside occasions than followers of different genres, in accordance with a brand new examine revealed in The Laryngoscope, the main medical journal for advances within the prognosis and therapy of head and neck issues.
Performed by researchers on the College of Southern California’s Keck Faculty of Medication, the examine discovered that 70% of EDM attendees used listening to safety in comparison with 59% of different concertgoers. EDM followers are additionally practically twice as seemingly to make use of high-fidelity earplugs, which protect sound high quality whereas decreasing quantity.
The examine, nonetheless, alerts an inflection level for rave tradition. It claims that digital music followers attend extra reside occasions for longer durations, reporting better post-event tinnitus and bother listening to others resulting from extended publicity.
Tinnitus, a persistent situation for which there’s at present no treatment, is the notion of sounds—like ringing, buzzing or hissing—within the ears or head with out an exterior supply. It is rampant amongst digital music producers, together with superstars like Martin Garrix, Thomas Bangalter of Dank Punk, and Alesso, the lattermost of whom not too long ago suffered a lot that he needed to cancel performances en masse for the primary time in 14 years of touring.
In response to the examine, EDM occasions usually function sound ranges reaching 136 decibels, nicely above OSHA’s 85-decibel threshold the place listening to injury begins. To that finish, attendees have been extra involved about listening to injury and believed extra strongly within the effectiveness of safety, whereas followers of different genres seen listening to safety “as unnecessary or harmful to music quality.”
The analysis additionally highlights the effectiveness of listening to safety at reside reveals. Aside from ear ringing, signs after use have been “significantly lower” amongst attendees of EDM occasions. The examine additionally means that EDM followers usually realized about listening to safety by means of social media and peer suggestions, suggesting the neighborhood’s interconnected nature helps unfold security practices.
You possibly can learn the complete examine, titled “Safe Sound: Highlighting Electronic Dance Music Attendees’ Unique Hearing Protection Practices,” right here.
