Health Update: Not-so-heavy metal

HEAVY METAL is less harmful to the ears than some orchestral compositions, according to researchers from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham. They studied the hearing of members of ManOWar, billed as the loudest rock band in the world, whose PA system can produce noise levels in excess of 135 decibels.

None of the band showed any symptoms of permanent ear problems, although after playing they did suffer feelings of blockage and ringing in the ears which had usually disappeared by the next morning.

The effects of classical music may be worse: in one study of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra 20 per cent of the players had slight hearing defects. Another study of musicians with the Royal Danish Theatre indicated that the problem is particularly acute in the left ears of violinists.

The authors of the report in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine point out that the most damaging sound is 'high impulse noise', not often found in pop music. While there is a small risk of damage in rock musicians, the risk to audiences is probably much less than is usually thought and generally temporary, they argue.