Anyone who has been following the news recently knows that hearing damage among young people is increasing significantly. In anticipation of the recent advice issued by the Health Council, SugarFactory has reviewed its noise plan and is introducing a decibel limit.
To combat both noise pollution and hearing damage, SugarFactory asked its technical partner Bazelmans AV to issue advice on possible noise restrictions during events. This involves random noise measurements being taken once an hour.
The peak in decibels
The noise measurement is carried out on the basis of three parameters, with three different maximum noise values being issued.
The first is the dBA LEQ 15 measurement, which measures the average value over a period of 15 minutes. This has been set at 90 dBA (decibels) for SugarFactory. The second is the dBA LEQ 60 measurement, for which Bazelmans AV has set the average number of decibels over an hour at 95. The peak limit that the former sugar factory wants its clients to adhere to has been set at 100 dBA. The peak limit is the maximum value that the sound pressure may reach and is not linked to a time measurement.
More and more young people with tinnitus
A worrying 54 percent of 12- to 18-year-olds in the Netherlands are at risk of hearing damage. Around 10 to 20 percent of the population already suffers from (some form of) tinnitus. To reduce this percentage, the Health Council recommends lowering the maximum sound level for amplified music from 103 to 100 decibels. For the time being, this is only a recommendation, but the House of Representatives is discussing possible interim measures to prevent hearing damage.
A note lower at SugarFactory
At SugarFactory, they are actually pleased that more attention is being paid to (excessively loud) noise. "As an organization, we were already seeking advice on noise restrictions," says Denise Schimmel. "Now that this topic is receiving wider attention, clients and suppliers will also have a better understanding of our noise restrictions. An event should be enjoyable for everyone and not cause any complications afterwards."
Want to know more about the noise restrictions at SugarFactory? Denise Schimmel is happy to tell you more about the reasons behind them and the plan they have drawn up with Bazelmans AV.
