In March 2020, live music events disappeared due to Covid-19 precautions. This had a significant impact on musicians, event organisers and people who enjoy going to festivals, gigs and clubs.
Live music events are happily now taking place again, with a full summer programme of festivals happening around the UK.
This means it is vital that we make more people aware of the need to protect themselves from tinnitus and hearing damage at live music events. The problem is that having been restricted so much over the past couple of years, will people want to think about protecting their hearing?
Musician and DJ Anne Savage is an incredible BTA supporter and an Ambassador for our tinnitus prevention campaign, Plug’em. We asked Anne how the pandemic had impacted her and how she felt about getting back to live:
As a full-time musician and DJ, obviously my live gigs stopped overnight. Initially I thought it might improve my tinnitus due to less exposure to loud music, but the stress and uncertainty surrounding the impact of the pandemic on the future of night-time industries – for example venues going out of business – actually made it worse at times.
I am thrilled most venues are back open and I’m happy to be working again, but I worry about large crowds and contracting the virus even though I’m double-jabbed. I also have concerns for my fans, clientele and all young people as they return to festivals and nightlife. They may place less importance on hearing conservation – that message seems to have got lost amongst the other medical and pandemic-related worries people have had to contend with.
So now, more than ever, it is crucial to get across the importance of protecting your hearing to avoid tinnitus and other noise-induced hearing damage.
Information and support
If you want to know more about how to protect your ears at live events then visit Plug’em. And if you have questions or are worried about tinnitus, please do get in touch with our Tinnitus Support Team on 0800 018 0527 or by joining a web chat with us by clicking the icon on screen.
Photo by Hanny Naibaho on Unsplash
