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The serious effects of excessive Amplification at public events

by Rabbi Jeff Forsythe

My cousin, at 29 years of age, told me he is experiencing loss of hearing…. A neighbor asks people, “What?” for failure to hear clearly…. Another is under doctor’s orders to always wear earplugs because everyday sounds are painful…. Another cannot sleep without a prescription sedative because the ringing in the ears is too loud to let him rest or relax. These things really happen in our community – all due to loud amplification. All of these people are no older than middle age.

Thirty six million Americans have experienced significant hearing loss. About fifty million have ear-damage. Of these, ten million have life-impacting suffering and two million are debilitated. Ear-damage might come slowly and imperceptibly; but one day, symptoms will be noticeable, and life will never be the same. The pity is that much of it could have been prevented. It was artificially, unnecessarily and prematurely caused due to exposure to damaging levels of noise.

In the past, hearing losses started creeping up between the ages of 40 and 50. Now, hearing loss in children is up due to noise. In the 1980’s, 3% of grade school children had hearing dysfunction. It is up to about 13% for school children, and worse for teenagers.

How the Damage Impacts

People do not get used to noise. As long as the noise continues, the negative effects on emotions, health and ability to function do not subside. Noise is invisible, but nevertheless a serious threat to the inner ear. Ear damage from exposure to noise is described by audiologists as coming with “three p’s: painless, progressive and permanent.” In the early nineties, scientists examined people living in primitive conditions in Sudan and discovered that there existed virtually no deterioration of hearing in elderly people! This tells us how much our inner ears are assaulted by the proliferation of noise in industrialized nations, where we constantly hear loud music, machines (jackhammers, trains, airplanes, sirens), and traffic.

The more frequent, prolonged, loud, near or high-pitched the noise is, the more damaging. Hearing loss can come from one extremely loud sound, or repeated exposures to hazardous loudness levels. Annoyance from noise can be sufficient to contribute to stress; to cardiovascular, psychological, digestive and other health damage and physiological disorders; and can cause negative impact on social behavior, learning ability and career achievement. Inner ear damage from noise is increasing. The only hope is prevention.

Vertigo (dizziness) can come from ear damage. This can make the person feel like the room is spinning around or like objects are twirling around each other, often accompanied by a terrible nauseous feeling. The person must sit or lie down. He cannot function or walk and, if he tries to, he can fall and be seriously injured.

An illness (such as a virus or high blood pressure) can make an ear condition and its symptoms more severe, painful or intense. The worsening of the condition can possibly be irreversible. For example, (1) a virus can cause tinnitus (a disorder characterized by hearing disturbing sounds – see sidebar) to get louder and hearing to get worse in a damaged ear; (2) tinnitus can cause anxiety, and anxiety worsens tinnitus. If anxiety is not medically treated, this can become an ever-worsening “vicious cycle” of more tinnitus – more anxiety, etc.

The Jewish Dimension:  Simcha Time

Since the “culture” of deafeningly loud amplification became widespread, just about everybody in the Jewish community is vulnerable to suffering serious damage to the ear’s structures and normal functions – especially through simchos, as mentioned. But this danger is not restricted to simchos. This can apply anywhere that there is loud amplification – for example: concerts, conventions, in restaurants, listening to music through head phones (close to the inner ear) above soft volume. Simchos – weddings, vorts (engagements), Sheva Berachos or bar mitzvas – however, are the most common events in contemporary Jewish life at which there is, almost predictably, dangerously loud amplification.

Compound this with the cumulative effects of repeated participation in simchos where dangerously loud music is played, pounding ears for several hours. Each time, a person’s internal ear structures can become further weakened. Even if noticeable damage is not yet done, damage may be coming gradually, or susceptibility to serious damage can increase every time. If damage has been done, conditions can be made much worse with every exposure.

The musicians have vested interests in playing loudly. The youth consider loudness “laibedik” (lively) and are likely customers when they will make their own chasunas, if they are impressed with the noisy band.

Yet young people are every bit as at risk and subject to progressive harm and deterioration as anyone. No one who would be aware of the potential consequences would agree to subject himself to anything damaging, especially permanently. After all, by halacha standards, anyone who permits something damaging done to himself is considered to be out of his mind (Choshen Mishpat 421:12). People generally do not realize how harmful noise is until it is too late. Ear doctors interviewed for this writing report a constant flow of patients who complain of ear trouble after they had attended a simcha with loud amplification. Often their ears haven’t been the same since.

Jewish practice should be determined by older people, not by the young. The Gemora (Megilla 31b) tells us “If mature people say, ‘Destroy,’ and youth say, ‘Build,’ destroy and do not build, because destroying by the mature is constructive.” Yielding to youth violates our Mesora (tradition) of being guided by the mature, wise and learned elders of each generation. When the youth say to “build” a celebration through loud music, this can literally destroy.

Dealing With the Threat

If the Jewish community would recognize the intrusion of dangerously loud amplification as a serious matter, they would surely deal with it vigorously. After all, it is not a trite question. Some people might be prepared to simply leave a function if their ears start to hurt or ring. In fact, there are people who equip themselves with earplugs, available at any drugstore, for wearing at simchos to reduce sound by at least 22 decibels (the higher the decibel-reduction number, the better).

There’s nothing wrong with hosts being pro-active when planning a simcha, and making a point of hiring musicians who will agree to lower the decibel count at their events. After all, they would do well to see to it that their guests suffer no harm at their affair. Incidentally, we should take note that a 30-piece symphony orchestra can be less threatening to the ear than a one-piece band that is electronically amplified, with its sound blasting forth from outsized speakers that can blow out one’s eardrums.

In general, people – even those with excellent hearing – would be well advised to have their hearing periodically checked by an ear doctor or audiologist, especially if they frequent simchos, concerts, or other loud events.

The Rama (Choshen Mishpat 155:20) says that the halacha’s safety criteria are to be determined by experts in their respective field. A frum ear doctor, who has experience with the difficulties of treatment and with patients’ long-term suffering in noise-induced ear-damage cases, determined that for the sound-volume level to be safe, people in conversation ten feet apart should be able to speak in a normal tone and hear every word clearly and no one present at the function should have any pain or discomfort. Obviously, then, amplification should be carefully monitored at all functions – social and organizational.

Rabbi Dovid Feinstein shli'ta, said that strong effort should be put into prevailing upon musicians, caterers and baalei simcha (hosts) to stop loudness that is at damaging levels. If all the individuals who are bothered by noise – or who recognize its dangers – would speak up, effective methods of reducing harmful noise would be possible.

It is a constant obligation to save others from harm and to warn about causes of damage. Indeed, the Shulchan Aruch assures us: “All who are cautious in all of these things [and avoids casing injury or damage to others] will receive wonderful blessings from Heaven” (Choshen Mishpat 427:10).

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