AC/DC and DEAFNESS/POSTPONE

Australian rock band AC/DC has to postpone the rest of their US tour after singer Brian Johnson was warned he is going deaf. That is how it ends, when you are the noisiest band on the planet which concerts could not even be stopped by the sound of a nuclear bomb explosion.

The band posted a statement on their website saying doctors had advised Johnson to stop touring immediately or “risk total hearing loss”. They said they would likely perform with a guest vocalist and reschedule the missed shows later this year. Johnson has been the main singer of the band since 1980.

The average rock concert is 115 dB. A pneumatic drill is about 100 db and you can hear a starting plane from hundreds of metres away because its sound is beyond endurance (125 dB).

Any sound that is loud enough and lasts long enough can damage hearing and lead to hearing loss. In general, sounds above 85 dB are harmful, depending on how long and how often you are exposed to them and whether you wear hearing protection, such as earplugs

How noisy is a performance by AC/DC ?

130 dB, so even one hour of standing behind a plane working engine might calm you down after a concert.

Most cases of hearing loss are caused by often being exposed to moderate levels of noise over many years – in a few cases of very loud noise.

You can buy a ticket for the next AC/DC concert without any fears. In contrast to Brian Johnson.