Loud Music and Hearing Loss

Two thousand years ago, the loudest noise your average cave clan could expect to hear was a thunderclap (or, and this is pure adolescent speculation on my part, a brontosaurus fart). Today, kids think it's "cool" to stand in front of huge honkin' speakers pumping out over 125 dbs of sound at concerts. Afterwards, they can't hear anything for several hours (not counting parents, which they can't hear anyway) except a loud ringing in their ears. A lighter version of that ringing is what Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich will hear for the rest of his life: he's lost some of his hearing due to repeated exposure to loud music. These days, Metallica and many other bands wear earplugs to dampen the sound when they're playing onstage, and Ulrich advises young concertgoers to consider doing the same. Host Craig Jackson explains the various levels of sound (measured in decibels) generated by a home stereo, car stereo, personal stereo, and concert, while an animated demo shows just what happens to the inside of the ear when it's confronted by loud noise, and a physician advises viewers on how much sound they can safely be exposed to before damage occurs. Will kids "turn that thing down" or wear earplugs? Dunno. But at least they'll know why they should. Recommended. Aud: E, I, J, H, P. (R. Pitman)