Good, it's about time.
I've been to too many clubs where I've had to leave because I was
literally in pain from the sound levels (a particularly dynamite Dave
Clarke set was once ruined by this. To be fair I think the staff did keep
turning it down but slowly but surely the volume levels crept back up...)
or after attending my hearing has been severely limited for not far off
the whole of the following week.
Earplugs are always a potential but it can be difficult practically as I
find they have to be put in / taken out very often (for talking to people,
ordering from the bar etc).
The best clubnights I've been to have been where the sound is down
reasonably low (to the point where you don't need to raise your voice much
to carry a conversation) but has exceptional clarity (basically bordering
on having your home system up loud but spread over the area of the dance
floor) as opposed to the systems that are so loud that there is distortion
or complete loss of of mid range frequencies ('do you know what song this
is?' 'no idea, all I'm hearing is a bass thump and hi hats, could be
anything'.
As an aside, I really hope this applys to bars as well. Too often I've
been in a bar at the magical time whereby it goes from being a bar with
music playing in the background at a comfortable level to a bar/mini-club
with music playing at club levels. Which necessitates a hasty exit
otherwise you can't actually talk to the people you're with.
Or maybe I'm just getting old :)
Kev
> UK CLUBS TO TURN IT DOWN
> It's not everyday that DJs are told to turn the music down, especially
> not by politicians
> but now 365Mag can reveal that has just happened. The UK government is
> set to
> reduce the level of noise in British clubs by up to 5% from April 2006
> with a law that is intended
> to protect the hearing of those in the music industry.
> When the new levels are passed by parliament in the Spring, employers in
> clubs and
> venues will be expected to protect their staffs hearing with a reduction
> in volume and
> a decrease in time spent exposed to excessive noise. Lawrence Waterman,
> President of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH)
> says:
> "We need to help employs who work in the music industry to understand
> the risks of noise exposure".
> According to UK Heath and Safety statistics, around 170,000 people
> suffer from work related tinnitus,
> deafness or other ear-related problems.
> DJs who suffer from damaged hearing are Rocky from X-press 2 fame,
> Laurent Garnier and Tall Paul,
> who consulted a specialist in the late 90s, only to be told he had done
> irreparable damage to his hearing.
> This law raises the question of the use of ear filters once again. DJs
> such as Roger Sanchez, Jeff Mills, Laurent Garnier,
> Sander Kleinenberg and Erick Morillo all use custom-built earplugs to
> protect the ears from those
> dangerous high frequencies coming out of the monitors. Maybe the
> familiar ringing in the ears
> the next morning after a club-night could about to become a thing of the
> past for those on
> the dancefloor too after purchasing these plugs, or is that 'whistling'
> sound simply an integral part of a good night out?
>
