Wailers and a famous reggae artist stick to the philosophy that music is better louder and best when the neighbors are bothered by it. Fans of dance music, on the other hand, swear that being close to the music is best, and some prefer to sleep inside speaker boxes. As one listens to loud music more often, he loses more than the peace with his neighbors.
They may be boom boxing their way to deafness, even as the neighbors ask that the volume be reduced. Deafness of the perpetrator is not what the police try to prevent, but it is keeping the peace for the greater community. All listeners in the area, whether the one playing or bystanders, are negatively affected by the volume, in terms of temporary hearing loss that can last from a few hours to a few days. There are no information campaigns warning the public about the ill effects of really loud music.
Personally, I think more should be done to inform the public. What we do is go on the radio to talk about it when we can. Our activities for the year have been halted, to prioritize action to improve the economy. Today, higher, undistorted volumes have been made possible with digital technology, resulting in increased probability for mass hearing loss.
Another contributing factor is the rise in nightclub patronage. While no research has been done locally, Britain, Canada and the United States have either launched new campaigns or have on going public education campaigns educating persons about the dangers of loud music, as well as other loud noises exceeding the 85 decibel limit. Results of research by the Royal National Institute for the Deaf in Britain were reported by British broadsheet, the Guardian, in which two out of three youths 18 30 routinely go to clubs and three out of four of them suffer ringing in their ears after.
Less than half understand that ringing is the first step to real hearing damage, and only two fifths understand that even lower stages are incurable. In most cases the ringing noise disappears within 24 hours, but prolonged and repeated exposure to loud music can result in permanent tinnitus or hearing loss. Now, clubbers and music lovers are taught about these ill effects through the group's "Don't Lose the Music" program.
Being conducted in the US and Canada are like programs. Education campaigns borne of research on the effects of loud music are run by the American Tinnitus Association in the US. These have been replicated in Canada. Locally, the experts say that they have treated many young persons for the disease, with music being a major contributor to hearing loss. A prerequisite to an epidemiologic study is an experimental one to prove that hearing loss can be caused by loud music.
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