Tag Archives: Festivals

Hearing festivals in all their glory

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It is the festival season and what better way to celebrate music and enjoy great atmospheres, but the sounds emitted can have a serious effect on your hearing. It has been featured in the Music Festival Survival Guide that earplugs are one of the essential items for you to take with you in your backpack.

Here are some reasons why:

Screaming fans

Yes the band you are seeing are amazing musicians, yes they maybe heartthrobs, but is it necessary for all the screaming? If you are lucky to be close to the main stage as well, not only could you be damaging your hearing with the volume of the screams but also the noise coming from the speakers.  Musician earplugs could help you have an excellent time at the festival as it will decrease the level of sound, but still allowing you to have a conversation with your fellow festivalers.

Techno music at 5am

People sometimes like to party into the early hours of the morning and that can mean the campsite could get extremely loud. If you like to up at a reasonable time to see your favourite bands that are starting fairly early in the day, sleeping earplugs could be the solution. With the help of these earplugs they will allow you to drift into sleep and have a good night’s rest without having to put up with the disturbance outside.

Spectators thinking they can form a band themselves

After hearing their favourite bands playing, some spectators become inspired and believe that they too can become the greatest rock band in the world, whereas a matter of fact they are pretty rubbish. Simple noise reduction earplugs could help you block the sounds of dreary vocals pretending to be Rod Stewart whilst still allowing you to hear the professionals and hear the conversation your friends are trying to have.

The Healthy Guide to Summer Festivals – Advice from singer and songwriter Victoria Bee Bee

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Attending festivals this summer isn’t just about who the headline act is and what to wear. For festival and gig-going pro’s there are a few things they take into consideration to get the best out of the experience and to avoid any nasty side-effects of too much dancing or loud music. One of the UK’s most exciting new singer songwriters Victoria Bee Bee, who has supported the Stereophonics, Sister Sledge, Bill Wyman (from the Rolling Stones), and sung with Paul McCartney and at Glastonbury, offers her experience in to what health essentials people should pack this summer.

Top 5 Health Essentials from singer Victoria Bee Bee:

  1. Ear protection – earplugs save your ears from high sound levels without blocking the music. The best come with different filters for different levels of music from pub music, live gigs and for performing DJ’s. They are also essential if you need to sleep at a festival.
  2. Plasters – serious dancing leads to serious blisters so don’t let them stop you from dancing away.
  3. Disinfectant hand wipes – it’s good to feel clean when you’re dealing with some dirty bathroom facilities and then usually eating with your hands (the number one route to tummy bugs and you don’t want those at a festival!).
  4. Paracetamol – so gentle it can be used for most ailments, headaches, tummy aches, and other aches and pains. Read the packaging first and never exceed the stated dose.
  5. Sun cream – burnt faces aren’t funny and can seriously ruin your enjoyment. A sun cream with high SPF should be put on before the sun shines as you can get burnt on grey days as well.

Victoria Bee Bee, who’s new single Breathe has just been released, said: ‘The number one item on my list is ear protection. Earplugs are now so discreet and they are a totally accepted part of attending gigs. Most are played at well over 85 decibels, the level that does damage to hearing over time. If people’s ears ring after listening to music, then they’ve done serious damage. I don’t see the point in damaging your ears when you are young, because when you are older you won’t be able to hear the music you love.’

According to the World Health Organisation, exposure to excessive noise is the major avoidable cause of permanent hearing loss worldwide. For more information about protecting hearing when attending music festivals and gigs, visit www.earplugshop.com or join www.dontlosethemusic.com – a campaign to raise awareness about protecting hearing.

Victoria’s single Breathe, co-written by James Johnson, was released on 23rd June 2008 by the record label da Vinci Brothers, distributed by Active / Universal. Visit www.victoriabeebee.com for more information.