EDINBURGH clubbers are damaging their hearing due to some of the highest levels of dancefloor noise recorded in the UK.
The Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID) measured the decibels at club nights in five major cities for a recent survey.
A drum and bass night in the Capital was the loudest, at 110 decibels - almost a quarter above the recommended level.
The charity also interviewed clubbers and found that 90 per cent had experienced some hearing loss. Others reported permanent damage as a result of repeated exposure to dangerous noise levels.
RNID spokesman Allan Daziel said: "There is a particular danger in Edinburgh, which has a high number of drum and bass nights. These clubs can dangerously exceed the maximum recommended noise levels and, because the effect is cumulative, by the time people realise they have a problem it will be to late."
The RNID survey comes ahead of regulations which will require entertainment venues to make earplugs available to their staff.
The charity is also calling on clubs to turn down the volume to protect staff and customers.
The safe limit recommended by RNID is 80 decibels, and continued exposure to louder noise is considered dangerous, with the possibility of hearing impairment or permanent damage.
The survey - of clubs in Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast, London and Manchester - also measured the noise levels in "chill out" rooms, where clubbers are supposed to be able to escape from the loud dancefloor.
Again, the drum and bass night in Edinburgh, which was not named by the charity, registered the highest level, 96.3 decibels.
However, Simon McGrath, who runs the regular Xplicit event at the Bongo Club, said most staff and clubbers were well aware of the dangers.
"I wear earplugs when I go to these events," he said, "and most of the staff will do as well, because it is more comfortable for them. I don't think Edinburgh is any louder than places in England, and that is what clubbers want. I don't think they would like to have the music turned down."
Industrial employers are obliged to notify staff if they are likely to be exposed to noise levels above 85 decibels, and offer hearing protection. If noise levels are likely to top 90 decibels employers are obliged to make sure that their staff wear hearing protection.
Legislation to be introduced next year will mean these regulations also come into force for entertainment venues.
A council spokeswoman said: "The council's health and safety officers will be working closely with music and entertainment premises in the run-up to these regulations coming into effect to make sure that they understand their responsibilities and to monitor compliance."
'I had no idea that I was damaging myself'
DANCING the night away to live, loud music in nightclubs, Paul Hunter never imagined it would do him any harm.
HEARING AIDS: Paul Hunter
"My own preference at the time was for live music clubs, rock and roll, things like that," he said. "They would be small venues, typically about 100 people at the most, and it was incredibly loud, but you never thought anything of it.
"Even at the end of the night when your ears were ringing, it didn't seem too bad."
Now the 35-year-old sales advisor, who is married and has two children, has to wear two hearing aids at work.
He said: "It started early. By the time I went to university I had trouble hearing lecturers and in clubs all I could hear was background noise. Over time it has got worse, and now I need two hearing aids.
"I had no idea that I was doing this kind of damage to myself, and I think people need to be more aware of the kind of long term effects they can suffer."
THE FACTS
Zero decibels is classed as the threshold of hearing for a healthy young adult, while a normal conversation has a level of around 60-70 decibels.
Sounds above about 100 decibels tend to be uncomfortably loud and can lead to severe ear damage if heard for a long time.
The noise from a drum and bass nightclub event can be around 110 decibels - roughly the same as the levels made by deafening factory noises, thunder or a rock concert.
At 140 decibels - the level of an air raid siren, jet plane take-off or a gunshot blast - you could lose your hearing if there is prolonged exposure to the noise for a period of time.
At 180 decibels, or equivalent to a rocket launching pad, scientists say permanent hearing loss is "inevitable".
