How Loud Is Too Loud?
A handy (and surprising!) guide to safe sound levels and how to know when to turn down the volume in your life…
Flare's Festival Tips
At last – festival season is upon us and we can finally head to gigs and concerts again to enjoy the wonder of live events.
Here’s our top tips to looking after yourself and taking care of your ears at a festival.
1. Stay hydrated It’s so easy to forget to drink enough water at a festival - especially when there’s so many other things on offer. Most festivals have taps around the festival site with free water to fill up your water bottle with. We love the chilli bottles.
2. Protect your ears Like being close to those speakers? Turn down the volume but still enjoy the detail of music with the new-generation Isolate Ear Protector.
Isolate not only protect ears from hearing damage, but also help improve audio quality when listening to overly loud / distorted live music. Designed to enhance musical experiences when worn at concerts or beneath headphones, they simply turn down the volume, without the ‘muffling’ sound associated with traditional foam plugs. Chat with a friend in the crowd but block damaging volume? Result.
The latest edition features a new lightweight, low visibility slimmed down stem, making them even easier and more comfortable to fit with no loss of acoustic performance. We’ve also enhanced the replacement tips with a new spherical tip in hypoallergenic foam for maximum comfort. These small but powerful earplugs are certified to European personal protective equipment standards (PPE) and effectively reduce sound levels by 32-33db (about the level of a soft whisper).
Available in precision turned titanium, high-end aerospace aluminium or lightweight, translucent ABS thermoplastic.
3. Meeting point Some festivals are huge and very easy to get lost in. Couple that with poor phone signal due to the amount of people and getting carried away in a mosh pit and suddenly you’ve lost your friends. It’s always a good idea to work out a central location to meet at in case you lose your mates after being distracted by some great music. Agree a meeting point that you’ll all head to if you can’t find each other.
4. Give your ears a rest If you don’t want to block too much sound but want to take the unpleasant edge off loud noise, pack a pair of Calmer or Calmer Secure (with built in lanyard). These clever non-electric silicone buds work by channelling sound into our ear whilst minimising distortion, reducing the ‘unpleasant’ audio frequencies known to cause most stress.
You can still hear every sound, but the unpleasant edge is taken off sharp noises. Brilliant for loud / distorted music. And if you’re taking the kids, don’t forget to pack a pair of Calmer Kids too!
5. Wear your most comfy footwear! (And if you’re in the UK… always ALWAYS pack your wellies!). On average you’ll rack up at least 20k steps a day at a festival. Don’t choose to break in new footwear at a festival. No one’s got time for blisters when your favourite band is a 2 mile walk away. And don’t forget the extra socks for wellingtons.
6. Standing in a bad spot?
Standing too far from the stage to hear anything well? Try earHD. Just think of them as 'glasses for your ears.' This unique, passive device uses revolutionary technologies to capture and focus sound directly into your ears whilst reducing unwanted ambient noise. They enable you to hear higher definition sound from where you are facing, without increasing the volume - letting you focus on what's important.
7. Get some sleep Sleeping on a festival site is never easy. Block your neighbour’s night chatter, snoring, or all-night partying with a pair of Sleeeps.
Lightweight, discreet, and supremely comfortable, Sleeep is Flare’s most effective sleeping earplug yet. Using spheres of super-soft memory foam fitted around an engineered metal body to fit perfectly into the wearer’s ear, Sleeep adapts to all sizes and shapes so that unwanted sound is blocked.
Sleeep comes in three varieties, Sleeep Pro (Titanium), Sleeep Dual (Aluminium and Clear) and Sleeep - All models offering different levels of look and finish.
Sleeep Dual (Aluminium) and Pro come with standard and large upgraded hypoallergenic replacement tips. Two memory foam tips (one on each end) provide extra comfort. While one end creates a prefect seal, the other is used to provide a soft cushion against your ear. Great for side sleepers.
8. Don’t lose it! Accessorise in style with our extended range of capsules, lanyards and hard cases. Available in a range of shapes, sizes and colours, you’ll be able to keep your Flare tech safe and ready for use.
9. Don't get sunburnt. Sorry to sound so 'naggy' but we really don't want you to burn. Get yourself a decent SPF and go crazy. Being in a mosh pit, sleeping on the floor and washing are all hard enough without worrying about sunburn.
10. Most importantly - HAVE FUN! It’s been a while since we’ve all be able to go to festivals and enjoy the beauty of live music with like-minded people, so relish the moment and enjoy!
