Sound Damping Can Save Your Hearing

Don’t you just love putting on a set of headphones and blasting music at full blast? Admit it, you know you do. We all do. Unfortunately, although the music does sound great at high volumes, the damage that it can do to our hearing is extreme, and permanent. It is really not even a very good idea to go to a concert of any kind without wearing ear plugs or some other type of hearing protection. Have you ever walked out of a loud concert with your ears ringing? This is tinnitus, and the ringing can be permanent, depending on how much damage has been done. This is one of the reasons why it is so important to use sound damping material such as Sorbothane as often as possible.

Playing In the Band

It’s no secret that loud music can do some real damage to your hearing. Many of the most popular musicians are suffering from hearing loss, due to many years of listening to and playing extremely loud music, and now are actually warning young people about the hearing problems it can lead to. Rock musician/singer Ted Nugent has been quoted as saying, “the only reason I have a right ear is to balance my face”. Pete Townshend from The Who (a band that holds the record for being the loudest band in the world in concert) has suffered extreme hearing damage, which is said to have been caused by the noise from too much explosives in Keith Moon’s drum kit. In fact, in recent tours, and in the studio, Pete Townshend actually has been playing mostly acoustic guitar to help save what hearing he has left. With the exception of the explosives, a lot of Townshend’s hearing damage could have been prevented if they had only used a good sound damper in the studio.

Paul Stanley from KISS has significant hearing damage from years of loud music, and now works with the House Research Institute, a non-profit organization that is working to prevent hearing loss in teenagers. If these musicians had only known then what we all know now, they would have taken steps like using sound damping materials to protect their hearing. Many of today’s musicians are doing things to protect their hearing, including wearing ear plugs while performing and recording in the studio, and using quality sound dampeners.

It is really important to use sound damping in recording studios, not only to protect your hearing, but also to get the absolute best sound quality. You may notice that many amplifiers will vibrate, and this causes a lot of noise that musicians just don’t want to hear. When they use Sorbothane pads under their amplifiers, they work as a sound dampener by eliminating a lot of those vibrations.

It is totally up to you whether or not you decide to use sound damping in the studio and on stage. Remember, if you do, you will actually be doing your hearing a world of good, and you won’t experience the hearing loss that many other musicians have in the past.

Want to learn more about Sorbothane’s solutions? Download our Standard Products Guide.