Ringing the Changes

Listen up. It’s on the rise – more and more are succumbing to tinnitus from live music. Isn’t it time people took notice? By Alex Copley

The builders getting to work on your neighbour’s driveway at an ungodly hour. A toddler bawling their eyes out on the bus home from work. The ear-splitting motorbike of a wannabe Hells Angel. Some noises are pretty infuriating, right? Yet, for most people, all calm and serenity is restored after a bout of bothersome ear shredding. In fact, once returning to a Zen-like state, they’ll have probably forgotten about the whole ordeal. But what if that incessant, hellish noise never went away? Welcome to life with tinnitus.

Though commonly regarded as a disease, tinnitus is actually a symptom which affects the ear – one of the most delicate components of a human’s anatomy. Dubbed the ‘invisible condition,’ it is a person’s internal perception of sound when no audible sound is actually present. Once a shatteringly loud sound destroys the microscopic hair cells of the inner ear, that’s it; the damage is irreversible and incurable. What ensues is nothing less than a life sentence of torment. Most sufferers are subjected to a high-pitched ringing sound, others may endure a perpetual series of whistles and clicks. The truth is, every sufferer’s affliction can be different.

In the majority of cases, noise exposure is a frequent cause of tinnitus. One of the biggest threats is harmfully loud music at gigs and festivals. Experts acknowledge that hearing damage can occur when sound surpasses 85 decibels, and with a typical gig registering at around 120, the perils are salient. Some outdoor festivals have even been known to reach 137 decibels – nearly as loud as a jet plane taking off at close range. Though its onset can be the result of a singular event, tinnitus is usually the consequence of cumulative damage over time.

For Adrian Smith, tinnitus manifested after years of touring as a musician. “It was May 1988. I still remember waiting for the high-pitched tone to fade from my head and wondering why it refused to go away,” recounts Adrian. “A few weeks later, after the familiar mellow tone had transformed into the harsh metallic buzz that it is today, I went to see my doctor who told me I had an incurable condition called tinnitus.”

Adrian began making music in the 70s, first as a solo electronic music artist and later as the singer and guitarist in a post-punk group. He then went on to form electro-band Click Click with his brother – playing extensively across Europe to a cult following. It was around this time when the unsafe listening practices began to settle in. He says: “Click Click had a reputation for having the loudest onstage monitors in Europe, probably because we used backing tapes and the technicians hadn’t yet developed those little headsets that bands like Radiohead use.” As a keen gig-goer, Adrian was also regularly subjecting himself to the aural onslaught of live shows ranging from the likes of zany experimentalist Frank Zappa to Brit psych-rockers The Groundhogs.

After six albums and five singles, all released between 1988 and 2014, Click Click finally decided to call it a day. Now aged 60 and father of three grown-up kids, Adrian happily resides in Luton with his wife and their beloved pooch. However, he continues to live with the burden of tinnitus – a stern reminder of his reckless listening habits.

“If I spend a long period on a computer or if I’m stressed or tired, the tinnitus increases; also, of course, if I’m recording with headphones I can expect to suffer for a while,” explains Adrian. At times, the ringing from tinnitus is so loud that he struggles to distinguish sounds in a noisy environment. “Don’t try to talk to me in a busy pub; I won’t hear a word you say,” jokes the affable ex-rocker.

When talking about his affliction, Adrian remains vehemently positive. While the condition is often linked to depression, stress and sleep problems, the 60-year-old refuses to let it get the best of him. However, he concedes that this can be incredibly tough at times. Having been plagued by insomnia due to tinnitus, Adrian is now learning to block it out when trying to sleep. He explains: “It involves working on a novel that’s never written down; instead it’s kept it in my head and worked on mentally. All I’m actually doing is concentrating on something other than the noise in my head; the complexities of working out a plot and narrative help me to block out the tinnitus.”

He’s even tried electro-stimulation therapy to alleviate the infernal buzz that haunts his ears. “The treatment involves sticking needles in your ears while having your fingers and toes wired up to a low voltage generator,” says Adrian. “It’s really quite pleasant, and the tinnitus actually fades for a while. It’s not a cure, but it’s definitely a temporary relief.”

Alleviation aside, what every sufferer really covets is the magic remedy; the cure for tinnitus. In the UK, it’s estimated that 10 percent of the population suffers from tinnitus. That’s more than a whopping six million people all perennially searching for the antidote. Unfortunately though, that won’t be coming anytime soon, if at all. To truly combat hearing damage at music events, the key is prevention – and this is done by undertaking safe listening practices. An aid which offers the most pragmatic of benefits is earplugs. Yet, more often than not, they are completely dismissed by live music revellers.

Of course, Adrian regrets not realising how much damage he was doing in his younger days. However, he also berates just how little was done to raise awareness at the time. “My attitude at a gig was the same as everyone else: ‘bring it on!’ I’ve never been to a gig where ear protection was an option.” He admits that if warned of the perils of loud music, things could now be a lot different for him. But what really angers Adrian, after all this time, is that hardly anything has changed towards improving the public’s perception of safe listening.

“I think there’s a general lack of awareness; full stop. Young people don’t think about damage to their hearing, they’re having too much fun to worry about such things – and I can’t see any earplugs on the concessions stands or today’s promoters adding a disclaimer to the bottom of a gig or festival poster to warn them. ‘Rihanna may damage your hearing’? Never going to happen. It’s just not cool.”

And that’s the sad reality. While cases of tinnitus and hearing damage from live music rocket, hardly any venues offer protection or guidance for patrons. What’s more, key players in the government and music industry are simply not striving to raise public awareness.

So, what does Adrian suggest? For one, he reckons venues should do more to inform the gig-goer – proposing something as elementary as providing earplugs and displaying clear warnings. Adrian acknowledges that the onus of care is on the punter, but they need to be made aware of the dangers before taking full responsibility. He says: “Ultimately the health services should be putting as much effort into warning young people about hearing damage as they do about diabetes, drugs and alcohol.”

He also thinks that if hearing loss organisations like Action On Hearing Loss and the British Tinnitus Association (BTA) had a bigger voice, the government may just back them. “At the moment, the government can’t even get a decent Keep Britain Tidy campaign going, and tinnitus appears to be a lot further down their list of priorities than dropping litter.” Outlining one idea he thinks could help, Adrian suggests: “A television ad campaign aimed at younger viewers would help immensely. Maybe the BTA could crowd fund such a project.

 

Audio: Examples of what tinnitus can sound like 

Mark Baker is an ambassador for the BTA. Tinnitus crept up on him after years of gigging and performing infectious indie-pop under the guise of We Take Polaroids. He recalls: “The classic high-pitched drone, which we so classically notice after a night out DJing or from a live band, became something which never went. I almost felt a kind of claustrophobic sensation. A sense of not being able to get away from it, almost as an entity.”

Now, Mark is always equipped with his custom-made earplugs to ensure no further harm is inflicted, but the initial damage is something he will never be able to atone for. It constantly irks him. “I notice the problem most when I'm stressed; it's dreadful. I always hear it alongside the TV and other daily goings on.” Mark adds: “I am aware some people have bass tones in their tinnitus, which must be particularly awful.”

Over time he has noticed the sheer number of people who simply take hearing damage for granted because they do not recognise the potential dangers of certain social past-times. After all, this was a mistake he made himself. “What a lot of people don't grasp, is that it isn’t necessarily a gigantic sound system which does the damage,” Mark explains. “Of course it has a damaging effect over periods of time, but I really felt it was the smaller clubs, poor sound systems, pub bands and sub-standard monitors which did most of my damage.”

While Mark ardently champions the BTA by talking with sufferers to help them deal with the symptom, other contemporary musicians have also opened up about their tinnitus. High-profile names such as rapper Plan B, Britpop legend Liam Gallagher and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin have all expressed anguish regarding their affliction. The latter revealed to Action On Hearing Loss his years of torment after listening to blaring music as a teenager. For Martin, like many, “looking after your ears is unfortunately something you don't think about until there's a problem.” He laments not taking evasive action by considering the pitfalls of deafening live music. Now he wants young gig-goers to avoid the same fate as him – urging more people to wear ear defenders at concerts.

Although superstars like Chris Martin have hit the headlines talking about tinnitus, public awareness still seems to trough. Mark believes this is because there are few, if any, campaigns that highlight the problem. He thinks it’s time for governing health authorities to direct every ounce of effort into informing gig-goers about hearing health. He’d also like the government, working alongside venues, to mandate free earplugs for all patrons. Mark says: “I've been to some insanely loud shows in my time. How about some simple, cheap plugs which squash into your ear. So many more people would wear them if they were readily available.”

Mark then offers another viable solution: a sound level which must be universally acknowledged and strictly adhered to by every music venue and festival site. If implemented, under law and with stringent checks, this could ensure that audiences could safely enjoy music for longer – with a lower decibel level causing less impact. “Just an idea,” Mark concludes.

As chief sound engineer for DHP, who own a host of venues in Nottingham, Bristol and London, Dave McVea has a huge responsibility on his shoulders. Firstly, he must ensure that every single gig runs smoothly, without any technical hitch. But he also places a priority on keeping things safe. “We try to be responsible and have the decibel meter available so that we’re not going too loud,” the engineer says. “We keep it an acceptable enough level to give the music an impact, but not to rip people’s heads off. I think you don’t need to go any higher than 105 DB.”

Dave is in a rather unique position because he himself has had tinnitus for 20 years. Trying to specify what caused his symptom, he says: “It’s very hard to nail that one down because since the early 70s I’ve been going to concerts – and then I end up working in the industry for nearly 28 years. I’ve worked for many bands and venues, so it’s just something that’s accumulated over the years.”

He describes the noise as a “permanent hiss-like white noise” and it’s something he just can’t shake. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re awake or asleep – it’s always there,” Dave says. “It’s hugely affected me in later years in that I’ve been less confident in trusting my ears on the job.”

These days, Dave uses special plugs when he’s hard at work or enjoying a concert – just to conserve whatever’s left of his annihilated ears. The notion of wearing protection was pretty much non-existent in his day and it’s something he always bemoans. His advice for today’s gig-goer: “I know the young ones wouldn’t want to hear this but they really should pop in some hearing protection.” He also urges people to take breaks from the assault of loud music whenever possible.

Dave, who highlights a glaring naivety in young audiences, says: “There’s a bit of an ‘it will never happen to me’ type of attitude. You might hear a bit of ringing in your ears after one gig and it goes away, but then over the years you start to realise that the damage is done.” He attributes this ignorance to a lack of education and thinks hearing health is a serious topic which should surely be incorporated into the national curriculum. Dave adds: “It’s also something that’s not made a big deal of in the media.”

During his career, he admits that some bands, which he won’t name, “want everything turned up to 11.” However, Dave strives to keep the music at a safe level because he has first-hand experience of just how harrowing hearing damage can be. “It tries to defeat the purpose of what we’re doing, but most bands will listen when you make sense of it to them,” he explains. “You don’t have to compromise your sound to be more careful.” Though Dave ensures that all DHP venues stay below 105 decibels, there is a concern that other sound engineers are refusing to follow his suit. “I know of engineers out there that like to go louder with certain bands, but I really don’t believe there’s a need,” he says.

In 1989, a law was introduced to protect UK employees exposed to dangerous noise levels. The amended Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 puts a duty of care on employers to provide workers with hearing protection when sound surpasses 85 decibels. DHP strictly adheres to this legislation and Dave thinks similar regulations should be introduced so live music audiences can access earplugs free of charge. This is an extremely valid, and plausible, point. If law-makers have the power to protect all employees, surely the same powers can be exercised for the benefit of vulnerable gig-goers across the nation.

From working with countless tinnitus sufferers, Professor Deborah Hall knows a thing or two about the symptom. Stationed at Nottingham’s hearing unit for the National Institute for Health Research, she leads research projects on neuroscience and tinnitus. “Our work is primarily focused on trying to find new ways of assessing or treating hearing related problems to improve the quality of services that the NHS provides and the quality of people’s lives,” Hall explains.

She’s seen for herself how traumatic the affliction can be. Hall, who has been awarded by the British Society of Audiology for her services to the science, says: “Some people are very stoic and just get on with it. However, for a small proportion of people it is really bothersome and occasionally you do hear of tragic stories where people have committed suicide because their tinnitus is so bad.”

Sufferers are also putting more and more pressure on medical services – with around 300,000 new cases going through the NHS system every year. So, where do we actually stand in finding a cure? “We’re nowhere near that at the minute,” states Hall. “There are multiple challenges to finding a cure because tinnitus has lots of different causes. There’s a lot more funding being put into research on tinnitus presently. Funding always spurs on new discoveries, but we’re still looking for clues as to exactly how to develop effective treatments for different types of tinnitus. Ask me the question again in ten years and I might give you a different answer.”

With the current outlook of a cure bleak, Hall puts a huge emphasis on preventative measures like earplugs – the “first line of defence.” She’s seen the symptom plague so many live music fans; something they love can ultimately cause them chronic suffering.

It is extremely sad to see this torment increasing, blighting the life of each new case, when prevention can be that simple. Those in the know agonise over the perpetuation of such ignorance. So now is the time for change. Awareness is pitifully low and people need to be informed. So listen up. And this time hear and act.

This feature was written as part of the dissertation of my print journalism degree at Nottingham Trent University. 

Below is a mock-up image of the article in the Guardian Weekend magazine.