Music festival attendees need to protect eardrums

ESCONDIDO – When people attend music festivals like the recent Kaboo Festival at Del Mar, many show up prepared to protect themselves against skin cancer but neglect to protect their eardrums from what the American Medical Association calls American’s fastest growing medical epidemic, permanent nerve hearing loss.

Permanent nerve hearing loss and tinnitus has increased 30 percent in young adults under age 25 since 1990. Nearly 20 percent of 12- to 19-year-olds now show evidence of noise-induced hearing loss. The good news is it’s predictable and preventable.

Similar to dermatologists who raise...