Is the cinema too loud? Are movies damaging your hearing?

I would say so. Being armed with a decibel meter, I can in fact prove it!

85 decibels (dBA) has been regarded as ‘safe’ for a number of years. That is to say ‘safe to listen to for 8 hours’.

80dBA is the new 85. We are catching on to the fact that hidden hearing loss is a thing. I expect it will come down further in future, as research into the numerous ways hearing can deteriorate continues.

So, many theatres calibrate their sound weekly to an average of 85dBA. Problems with this are:

1. 85dBA is not what I would consider safe in the first place.

2. 85dBA is certainly not comfortable. It’s like having someone shouting in your ears. Maximum safe levels should not be a target. Comfort counts too.

3. Calibration weekly is not the same as on the spot testing to check calibration was successful.

4. Frequency matters. Human ear canals amplify certain frequencies vs others. 85dBA output is not equal to 85dBA received.

5. Audience size matters. I’ve been to cinemas full of people and not had issues, I’ve been to showings with only five people in and had huge issues. I would like to think they calibrate knowing that bodies absorb sound energy, but I’m not so sure.

6. The dynamic range of the films is greater now, with massive variation between the quieter sounds and the very loud. There’s a lot of sustained >85dBA in an action film.

7. They play the trailers even louder, on purpose. Why? They have a captive audience, staring at a 30m screen? Idiocy.

8. Individuals differ in their tolerance and their hearing history and ability.

Imagine the immersive experience of this during the trailers… shudder!

I do wish sound engineers would put thought into comfort as well as showing off what they can achieve with the latest standard. Movies are becoming no clearer for Dolby Atmos or whatever the latest version is. If they worked on making a soundtrack where dialogue was crisp and sounds were lifelike, that would be awesome. Not on making bass reverberate in your chest wall!

If you’ve been to a screening that is loud enough to hurt your ears or give you tinnitus, please complain to the manager. If your screening was uncomfortably loud in any way, please advise the manager. Until they start looking into it, they won’t find out that there are issues with sound levels.