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I wrote a post a while back titled “Euphoria and Music”, where I illustrated that music and sound can mimic a drug-like euphoric feeling. In this post, we’re going in another direction on a different beast: high decibel Sound, and its effect on the human body and mind, and maybe psyche. The invisible power of sound waves and how they affect the world around us is unbelievable. Science has shown how sound waves can be used to create inaudible sounds, move objects, break up objects, and even shatter them. Even underwater, sound produced by the Sperm whale, in the form of a “ping”, can blow out a person’s eardrums or potentially kill them with decibels reaching 236 or possibly even higher if they are too close to the whale. On the flipside, sound can also bring healing to the human body. But as we explore the phenomenon in this post, we’ll take a closer look at the impact of ‘sound intensity’ measured in decibels (dB), the intensity of loud music, and sound, and its impact on our health.
Using the logarithmic scale, we can measure the intensity of sound as a unit of energy per second as it travels. This scale helps us establish the loudness of sounds as measured in decibels (dB) units. An example would be a whisper that comes in at around 30 dB, or two people having a conversation would come in at about 60dB, and the typical rock concert, the kind that leaves you with ringing ears the next morning, about 120 dB or even higher, if you’re at a Maiden concert.
A little ear anatomy here, if you will. If we take a look at what’s inside our collective heads and go deep behind the eardrum and into the cochlea, we will see fine, tiny hairs. It’s these tiny hairs that get damaged due to prolonged exposure to loud sounds above 85dB that cause hearing loss. Outside of a battlefield or demolition site, the culprits tend to commonly be the exciting rock concerts or those incredibly sound-defining, bass-boom dropping, headphones cranked to infinitely high volumes that do the damage. The result is an instance of temporary or permanent hearing loss, a condition known as NIHL, (noise-induced hearing loss). This tends to be an increasingly common condition among younger people, with frequent exposure to loud music played through personal entertainment devices and live music events.
“Talk about rattlin’ some bones! High-intensity sounds can cause vibrations throughout the body and can affect various organs and tissues,…”
Going beyond the hearing loss part, let’s get into the effects of loud sounds and their physical effects on the human body. Talk about rattlin’ some bones! High-intensity sounds can cause vibrations throughout the body and can affect various organs and tissues, given the fact that our bodies are mostly made of about 75% water, yikes! Now go below, say 20 Hz, like in the infrasonic sound range, these frequencies can ruin a party, causing nausea, headaches, and dizziness. But these low frequencies, when they penetrate the human body, also create oscillating pressure systems, wreaking havoc on internal organs as well.
The power and impact of loud music are profound, even on the psychological makeup of the human mind. Providing a sense of euphoria and enhancing moods, like the jagged edge of a double-edged sword, it is with excessive loudness that stress is placed on the human body, which can produce anxiety, leading to the release of the stress hormone cortisol. This is the body’s threat response to extremely loud sounds, which can be triggering. The heart rate goes up, blood pressure goes through the roof, all of which can contribute to adverse health issues in the long run.
Most people are aware that listening to loud music, on ‘the regular’, can be harmful, given some people’s attitudes and habits. Headbangers and gangbangers beware, many will continue to abuse their lobes in the pursuit of the social and emotional benefits. Given all the education, all the warning labels, and all the awareness slogans about safety and listening practices, people will continue to alter their state of being to be bathed in loud music and the pursuit thereof.
From the psychological to the physical aspects of loud sounds, music, or whatever the source, it is good practice to be mindful of sound intensity and duration when engaging in social gatherings, enjoying music, using a power tool, or other equipment on a big project. Having an awareness of the environment and taking protective measures, like wearing ear protection of some form, at a concert or small venue, is good medicine to keep volume levels moderate and in check. Also, taking a break from high-decibel environments is good in helping to mitigate some of those heavy adverse effects, “jacking” your body, dude.
But hey, who am I to give advice? I’m an old crusty hypocrite. I have tinnitus from years of playing my guitars and music at volumes exceeding 11! I can’t help myself, it just always sounds better, super loud, feelin’ the sonic waves wash over my body. Back when I was a kid, in L.A., I used to hear this saying over the radio on KLOS, “Go ahead…make friends with your neighbors…crank it up, and break off the knob!”
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