I normally keep my blog posts to writing and other creative pursuits. This one is going to be a bit different.

The ITV series Mr Bates vs the Post Office has been enthralling watching. The writing has been excellent, as has the acting. Many have said it is extraordinary a TV drama has brought about action in government and (hopefully) un-mired a twenty-year scandal.

But this is the purpose of story telling. As Dame Mary Beard said on Broadcasting House (Radio 4, 14th January 2024): ‘The arts and culture sector should be telling us a new story which opens our eyes to things we didn’t want to look at, that changes our minds, that is part of democratic debate.’

So here is a story.

Back in August 2023, my husband went to a pop concert at the Spa in Scarborough. The sound levels were so high, he had to leave. Unfortunately, even the short time he was there has caused permanent tinnitus – a distressing and incurable condition. Following this, he researched the issue of noise levels, contacting (among other people): the Spa management; Scarborough Borough Council (which owns the Spa); the event company which brought the concert to the Spa; the Health and Safety Executive (HSE); local councillors; the local MP; local prospective MPs; local and national media; the Health Minister….

He discovered he following:
~There are no legal requirements on sound levels for audiences in entertainment venues, only HSE guidelines.
~The Spa said it wasn’t their responsibility as it was an outside company bringing in the concert. That company said they were acting within HSE guidelines, but refused to show measurements for that night. The Scarborough Borough Council did not routinely measure levels and had not done so for that concert.
~Even HSE guidelines are much higher than the figure audiologists say is safe for hearing.
~No-one seems remotely interested that (if HSE guidelines are followed) people’s hearing is routinely put at risk by entertainment venues and that people are not warned of this (so that they can make up their own mind what they want to do).

When I put something about this on Facebook, I was accused of supporting a ‘nanny state’ and curtailing people’s freedom (presumably to harm themselves). Firstly, new technology means that the capacity for loud concerts has increased incrementally, whereas the physical make-up of the human ear has not changed. Secondly, concert attendees are not being given the information to allow them to make informed decisions. Thirdly, we allow our governments to make laws to keep people safe from themselves, eg on seat belts, on drunk driving, on smoking. Finally, hearing loss costs the NHS over £400 million a year.

As with ‘Mr Bates’, my husband has been told he is ‘the only one’ to have suffered. Is this true? The TV series showed how making change came through creating a groundswell of opinion from gathering and telling stories. This is what we’re now trying to do in connection with how sound intensity is regulated at gigs. If you have a story about noise levels at an entertainment venue and hearing loss/tinnitus, please go to:

https://sites.google.com/view/tooloud?usp=sharing

and tell it.