1987 Volume 1987 Issue Supplement09 Pages 1-5
Eighteen young adults were investigated as to their hearing level before and after exposure to loud sounds at a rock concert, and were also questioned with respect to cochlear symptoms.
They were divited into 3 groups of 6 subjects each. Group 1 heard the music near the stage, Group 2 in the middle front row, and Group 3 in the middle row.
Four of six persons in Group 1 showed a threshold shift of more than 20 dB especially in 4 KHz in the left ear,2 of them recovered in 2 hours, and the rest recovered in 12 hours. Significant threshold shifts of 4 KHz in Groups 1 and 3, and of 4 KHz and 8 KHz in Group 2 were observed.
The cochlear symptoms generally diminished within 30 minutes after exposure to loud sounds. All Group 1 subjects complained of cochlear symptom.
No correction was seen between those with hearing shift of more than 10 dB or 20 dB and those with cochlear symptoms. Thus, hearing damage induced by loud sounds at rock concerts is mainly a temporary threshold shift around 4 KHz.
