During the concerts in the Stadspark on July 6 and 7, the German metal band Rammstein is allowed to turn up the volume knob further than is normally allowed. They may produce 103 decibels instead of 100. ENT doctor Myrthe Hol of the UMCG warns of the consequences.
“It sounds like ‘only’ three extra decibels, but the intensity of the sound is twice as much.” To explain the difference between 100 and 103 decibels, department head Hol refers to how a sponge works: “If you hear a little more noise one evening, that sponge will fill up. If you give your hearing some rest the next day, that sponge will empty. Then such an evening does not have to cause damage immediately. But at 103 decibels, that sponge fills up twice as fast.”
If the sponge does not have time to deflate again, hearing damage can occur. That happened to Max van der Kleij during a concert in Vera last year: “I was in the front for two hours with very bad earplugs. At home I found out how loud the noise was.” After three days, the buzz was still there. “Then I thought: yes, this is permanent.”
Permanent damage to cilia
Hol explains how hearing damage is caused by noise. “The sound enters the auricle. Then it travels through the ear canal to the eardrum and then to the ossicles. We have three of them: hammer, anvil and stirrup,” she says, pointing her finger at an anatomical model of the ear. “The stirrup converts the sound vibrations into a movement of the fluid, particularly in the cochlea.”
A model of the organ of hearing
The doctor takes the plastic cochlea from the model and shows the different twists and turns of the organ. “The cochlea consists of a path that goes up: the high tones are received at the beginning and the low tones at the very tip. Because the high frequencies come in first, they cause damage first. The cilia in the cochlea then break off and they can no longer recover.”
A constant beep or hiss
You can experience various complaints with hearing damage. “You may be less able to understand what is being said, especially if there are multiple sound impulses, such as at a party. It is also more difficult to determine which direction the sound is coming from. And others experience tinnitus: a constant beep or hiss”, explains Hol.
Max is especially troubled by the noise. “You notice it especially when it is quiet in your environment, for example when you are alone in the office or lying in bed.” The hiss is present precisely then, because there are no other sounds to distract it. “That is quite heavy. You miss the time when you could still hear the silence.”
Earplugs and tricks
But it’s not the end. It will be better.” Max himself has found several tricks to reduce the noise. In order not to incur further damage, Max has bought special earphones with interchangeable dampers. “This is the strongest – at 22 decibels,” says Max, taking a gold filter from a box. “If you’re going to Rammstein, I recommend that one.”
Max has an earplug set with different filters
The ENT doctor also emphasizes the importance of good earplugs: “One earplug is not the other earplug. And one ear canal is not the other ear canal. There are many different types.” From the ENT association research has been done into the different types of hearing impairment and looked at what the best earplugs are.
“It is already necessary to wear hearing protection at 80 decibels,” says Hol. The Health Council and WHO recommend a maximum noise level of 100 decibels with earplugs. “As an ENT professional association, we recommend that you adhere to those guidelines. The lower the noise, the better,” concludes the department head.
2023-07-05 11:02:00
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