An evaluation of hearing damage risk to attenders at discotheques : project report / Department of the Environment.

  • Great Britain. Department of the Environment.
Date:
1979
Catalogue details

Licence: Open Government Licence

Credit: An evaluation of hearing damage risk to attenders at discotheques : project report / Department of the Environment. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    ie Introduction From time immemorial dancing to some kind of music has been an integral part of man's social behaviour, whether it be as unsophisticated as tribal percussion or as sophisticated as modern electronic technology can achieve. The modern discotheque can be seen to have its more immediate origin from the dance hall era of the 1930s and 1940s which offered on stage dance band entertainment with little or no amplification. Subsequently the requirement for live entertainment has become less important with the advent of cheap and reasonable quality records and tapes. The - present day disc jockey has taken the place of the latter day impressario. Discotheques as such are a phenomenon of about the last 15 - 20 years. Many of them made the transition from dance hall to discotheque quite naturally as fashions changed, but some were purpose built to cater specifically for discotheque music only, with no provision for live performances. Today we are witness to a revival of interest in disco attednance, this being borne out by the rise of a star such as John Travolta and the prevalence in the record market of disco sound recordings. The current trend has firm support from many commercial interests such as record and tape recording companies, sound system manufacturers for both commercial and private use, radio, television, the entertainment companies who specialise in discotheques and of course the musicians and their sponsors. The disco has developed from the one room affair to a very complex all round entertainment centre. In most discos today there are restaurant facilities, split level dance floor, bar areas, observation areas, revolving or adaptable stages so that both live and disco music tastes can be catered for and there are often smaller ancilliary discos within the premises for specialist tastes. Great care is taken over lighting, layout anddecor and sums of £250,000 are not unusual for the establishment of a new disco. It has been estimated from a recent commercial survey (Osbourne Shircore 1977) that at least 80% of the population above the age of 15 years have attended a disco at some time in their life. ; Another development has been that the number of musicians within performing bands has greatly decreased from about 20 to 3 to 6 and amplification systems have compensated for the lack of sound intensity produced. The type of music itself has radically altered and has brought with it a totally new style of dancing. The greater sophistication of the type of equipment that both live performers and disco jockeys use seems to have gone hand in hand with an increase in the noise level that they have achieved and levels of up to 122 dB(A) have been reported. The demand for high sound levels appears to come from the public as well as from the musicians or DJs and seems to give physical and aural stimulation much along the lines of the tribal rhythms mentioned earlier. It is not the purpose of this study to investigate the psychological reasons why people attend discos, although