A look at the use of earplugs for nightclubs and festivals

By:Damien Cabral

Dancing into the wee hours with your besties at a nightclub. Seeing your favorite bands playing live at a festival, surrounded by like minded people dancing and having fun. There’s no buzz quite like it.

Except the buzzing in your ears after you leave the nightclub or festival, otherwise known as tinnitus.

There’s one easy way to stop this from happening: by wearing earplugs. But not everyone does. We wanted to find out more about how music lovers perceive hearing protection, so we took to the streets of Belgium to find out. Belgium is home to some of Europe’s biggest music festivals, including Tomorrowland, Rock Werchter and Pukkelpop – so Belgians seemed like the perfect audience to ask about hearing protection at festivals and nightclubs.

Why does loud music cause ringing in the ears?

Ringing in your ears – otherwise known as tinnitus – is a common after-effect of going to nightclubs, watching live concerts and attending festivals. That’s because one of the most common causes of tinnitus is noise-induced hearing loss, which can occur when we’re exposed to loud noises.

There’s a risk of hearing damage when exposed to sounds of 100 decibels for just 15 minutes without protection. Considering that festivals are usually around 97 decibels, it could take just 30 minutes before you sustain hearing damage. Nightclubs are even louder, at 100 decibels, meaning it could take only 15 minutes for your hearing to be damaged. And rock concerts are the loudest of all, at 104 decibels – meaning hearing damage can happen within just 7.5 minutes!

Is it any wonder, then, that most of us leave nightclubs and festivals with ringing ears?

Why does loud music cause ringing in the ears?

Is it any wonder, then, that most of us leave nightclubs and festivals with ringing ears?

Nights out and ringing ears

Half of Belgians think that the music is too loud at nightclubs, festivals and concerts – but 6 out of 10 people we asked actually said they liked it when the music is loud, seeing it as being part of the experience.

It’s perhaps no surprise, then, that half of all Belgian consumers experience ringing ears after going to a nightclub or to see live music.

Worryingly, almost half of people surveyed (45%) think that ringing ears after attending a concert, nightclub or festival is normal. It might be common, but that doesn’t mean that it’s normal – and you shouldn’t have to put up with it!

Why don’t people wear earplugs?

Just 7% of Belgians always use hearing protection when they go out, and 23% never wear hearing protection. Alarmingly, the use of hearing protection is especially low in the younger generation, with just 15% of 15-25 year olds using protection compared to 34% of 26-35 year olds, and 40% of 36-45 year olds.

So, what’s stopping people from wearing earplugs when they go to these events?

One of the key reasons is that Belgians simply don’t think earplugs are comfortable to wear, with 52% expressing this opinion. This is especially true for 15-25 year olds, with 58% of this age group saying they don’t find earplugs comfortable.

Another issue is that Belgians believe earplugs negatively impact their experience. Over half (54%) of Belgians surveyed indicated that they miss out on the full music experience while wearing earplugs. Again, this is a sentiment that particularly resonates with younger consumers, with 58% of 15-25 year olds agreeing with this statement.

Finally, just under half (45%) of respondents said that they think earplugs are ugly or unsexy. Once again, younger consumers strongly identified with this, with 50% of the 15-25 age group agreeing that earplugs are unattractive.

This was backed up by the fact that 48% of Belgians would consider wearing earplugs more often if they looked more like accessories. This was common across all age groups, genders and regions of the country. So, looks do matter!

Choosing earplugs is confusing

One of the barriers to buying earplugs is that consumers are unsure what to look for, with 63% of 15-25 year olds saying they have no idea which earplugs are optimal for nightlife and half of all consumers admitting that they don’t know what makes an earplug effective.

Typically, music venues hand out foam earplugs. It’s great that they’re offering some form of hearing protection, but they’re not the ideal solution. Foam earplugs tend to muffle sounds – so it’s no wonder that 4 out of 10 Belgian consumers say that this type of earplug negatively impacts their music experience.

What’s more, 44% of those surveyed say that foam earplugs are ugly, and half of our respondents say they’re not comfortable to wear.

So, when there’s a choice of wearing foam earplugs or not using any hearing protection at all, unfortunately a lot of festival-goers and nightclub lovers opt for the latter.

Loop earplugs are different

Luckily, we’re here to help! Loop has a solution for nightclubs, festivals and concerts: Loop Experience earplugs.

These earplugs are specifically designed to reduce the noise without diluting the experience – so you can still hear every guitar riff, drum solo and beat without compromise. They combine a patented acoustic channel and mesh to filter sound waves which keeps the sound quality clear, but with up to 18 decibels of noise reduction (and you can even get an extra 5 decibels of noise reduction with the Loop Experience Plus).

They’re also super comfortable to wear, and they’re made to look good, with a choice of cool colors, including limited edition drops and seasonal collections, to suit your style. So there’s no need to worry about unsexy, uncomfortable earplugs that ruin your live music experience.

Are you ready to start protecting your ears and start enjoying a better music experience? Get Loop Experience in your life!