INDIANAPOLIS — Attending a Taylor Swift concert can potentially damage your hearing, both in the short term and long term.
Bryan Schuerman, a fan from Detroit, says he wears hearing protection at Taylor Swift concerts, which can hit more than 100 decibels.
“When we got to the middle of the concert, that’s when we started having a little bit of the ringing,” Schuerman said.
Dr. Evan Cumpston, an ear surgeon with IU Health, said he sees the impacts of concerts on your ears.
“Noise at those levels can cause damage to the inner hair cells or inner structures of the cochlea,” Dr. Cumpston said. “It’s important how loud the noise is and how long you’re exposed to it.”
The damage can be temporary or permanent.
“Sometimes you can notice a temporary change in hearing or temporary ringing or temporary difficulty understanding words,” Dr. Cumpston said.
He recommends using hearing protection for you and your kids, such as earplugs or ear muffs.
“The (ear muffs) are definitely a great option for kids if you're having a hard time making sure the earplugs are staying in the ears," Dr. Cumpston said. “All hearing protection works to decrease the amount of energy transferred to the inner ear while still providing comfort and enjoying the sounds you're hearing."
There are a lot of different options at different price points, but Dr. Cumpston said some hearing protection is better than nothing.
“Many concerts range from 95 decibels up to 115 decibels, which you’re getting into the range where it can cause hearing loss,” said Dr. Cumpston.
He recommends using an app to measure the decibels at the concert.
If you experience prolonged ringing, muffled hearing or difficulty understanding everyday sounds, contact your doctor.
Bryan Schuerman bought his earplugs for $15 on Amazon and he recommends other Swifties use hearing protection.
“They worked really really well,” said Schuerman.
Sound level meter apps:
- NIOSH Sound Level Meter App (iOS)
- NoiSee (iOS)
- SLPnFFT Noise Meter (iOS)
- Sound Meter X (iOS)
- Sound Meter (Android)
- SoundPrint (iOS and Android)
