Damage to our ears due to being exposed to loud volumes of noise is a growing concern, a Lincolnshire GP has told CityVibe @5.
Social noise levels in the UK have tripled since the 80s, leaving us exposed to more noise in our daily lives than ever before. Whether it’s in a pub, club, through your headphones or even in your car, most of us are exposed to music.
Awareness of the issue seems to be limited and Dr. Brynnan Massey thinks the way to beat it is to complain:
“What I’m keen to see is that if you go to the cinema or you go to the pub and it’s so loud you’ve got to shout to talk to the person next to you, complain!”
Spokesperson of the Royal Institute for Deaf people, Emma Harrison told CityVibe@5 that she thinks the government could do more to help.
“We keep on talking to the government about taking more action on protecting peoples hearing and they did make some changes to laws but that was for people in the work place, such as factories, but in terms of going out and having fun, the government don’t want to be seen as a kill joy”
Tinnitus can damage hearing which you can live with for the rest of your life if enough damage is done. Listen to the ear piercing clip below to experience what it might be like to have the condition.
How to prevent hearing damage, by Emma Harrison:
Celebrities on tinnitus:
Bloc Party: Front man Kele says: “If it’s important to you, and you want to continue to be touched by music for years to come, you must safeguard that future enjoyment.”
Embrace: Danny McNamara says: “The first six months I had tinnitus were awful. I’d go to bed with the radio on just to drown out the constant high pitched ‘test card tone’ in my head. If you haven’t got tinnitus for God’s sake take care of your ears before it’s too late.”
Allister Whitehead says: “People do get tinnitus and take it from me I know a lot of people who’ve got it. It is the last thing you need in your life and you never get rid of it.”
