[Lithos]

Why do clubs play their music so loud?
I went to a club a few weeks ago and the played the music so loud that you didn't really hear the music. You could hear more "noise" than music. I decided to stay in the club with my friends (dumb mistake).
Okay my main question is:
Are the volumes in clubs damaging for ones ears?

It was a weird feeling when you walk out of the club. Its as if everything sounds duller and everyone shouts at each other when talking, but when I woke up the following day everything sounded normal.

 

[nierika]

My theory on this is the volume is cranked in an attempt to get good detail or bass from a sound system that can't deliver, and it just ends up making it sound worse. With a good sound system you don't have to crank it and you can actually talk to someone next to you without yelling! If you leave the club and everything sounds duller, that is hearing damage. The next day you recover but repeating damage will lead to hearing loss. As a DJ I always keep a pair of Etymotic ER-20 earplugs on my keychain.

 

[Zachiel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lithos Its as if everything sounds duller and everyone shouts at each other when talking, but when I woke up the following day everything sounded normal.

I think thats because your ears automatically turn down the volume when you're exposed to looud sounds for extended periods of time..Takes some time for them to readjust, thats why you're shouting long after you leave.

If it makes you feel any safer, sudden loud sounds are much more damaging than loud music...

 

[Lithos]

I think must get some earplugs, but won't that look a bit strange?
How much protection will it offer?

 

[Tim D]

Thats not necessarily a true generalization. It is like exposure to hot water, obviously the hotter it is, the less amount of time it takes for it to damage you. But being in a club or clubbing frequently can/will still incur damage and the temporary threshold shift kicking in is proof that it isn't a healthy volume.

As for why its too loud I truly doubt it has anything to do with 'fidelity'. First of all, loud music releases endorphins (i.e. a high), and second of all since when do people go to clubs to 'talk'.

 

[roadtonowhere08]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lithos Why do clubs play their music so loud? I went to a club a few weeks ago and the played the music so loud that you didn't really hear the music. You could hear more "noise" than music. I decided to stay in the club with my friends (dumb mistake). Okay my main question is: Are the volumes in clubs damaging for ones ears? It was a weird feeling when you walk out of the club. Its as if everything sounds duller and everyone shouts at each other when talking, but when I woke up the following day everything sounded normal.

That so others do not have to hear all the terrible, terrible pick-up lines being thrown about in clubs

Thank you, loud music!!!

 

[rickcr42]

actually it is all about the dance.

Loud pulsating music you can feel in your bones allows even the inept to take a crack at having a semblence of rhythm.

Alcohol + Loud Music with serious bass SPLs=the guts to ask a babe to dance.

not that they come close to us true artisans of the dance electric

 

[Feanor]

Hey, I got mild tinnitus from clubs and concerts. Looking to buy some etymotics er-20's now.

 

[mjg]

It helps fellas and ladies get into the mood, see my sig for the reprocussions of "the mood".

 

[JeffL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickcr42 actually it is all about the dance. Loud pulsating music you can feel in your bones allows even the inept to take a crack at having a semblence of rhythm. Alcohol + Loud Music with serious bass SPLs=the guts to ask a babe to dance. not that they come close to us true artisans of the dance electric

Exactly.

It has nothing to do with weak sound systems. A sound system that is weak couldn't produce SPLs to begin with. The distortion is because A) Bad or cheap equipment, B) improper operation, and C) because the ears weren't meant to listen to sustained SPLs that high.

There is very bad pro equipment, the wanna be stuff, and then there is the real good stuff. In a club it isn't about high end sound, it's about massive quantities. Sure, there are clubs that have good sound, but like anything else high end in the audio world, you have to search for them. Good professional equipment is very very very very expensive, much more so than home equipment; it is unlikely that many clubs have the budget for it.

 

[dhwilkin]

I remember reading awhile back about some clubs in California that were measured at 100+ decibels. Imagine staying in there for several hours. Pretty much the main reason I never go to clubs, way too loud.

 

[AuroraProject]

Some like to feel the music, personally I like it, helps me get lost in the music. I avoid overly loud music nowadays though, I'd like to keep my hearing thank you.

 

[Shizelbs]

Here is the answer. If the music is that loud, can you talk to people? Not really. So what are you going to do while you oogle ladies and maybe build up the courage to dance and talk to them? DRINK!

Mo' money.

 

[jpr703]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shizelbs Here is the answer. If the music is that loud, can you talk to people? Not really. So what are you going to do while you oogle ladies and maybe build up the courage to dance and talk to them? DRINK! Mo' money.

I'm sure it somehow translates into Mo' money. Every club I've ever been too plays the music way to loud and since they're commercial ventures, there has to be some kind of studies that show louder music = more moolah. For the life of me, I can't figure out why.

 

[chadbang]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zachiel I think thats because your ears automatically turn down the volume when you're exposed to looud sounds for extended periods of time.....

But the problem with loud music at clubs is that drinking alcohol relaxes the muscles in the inner ear that help prevent ear damage. Your ears don't react the same way to a loud stimulus when you're drunk, so loud club music, mixed with booze, can be quite damaging.