Like most gym classrooms, this group exercise room is all hard surfaces, making loud volumes feel even louder. But research has shown that higher volumes in fitness classes do not actually make people work out harder.
Heart Health and Hearing Health Are Not Mutually Exclusive By Lauren McGrath
“In my six years as a physical fitness instructor, I’ve never heard anyone complain about this.” That’s how the instructor replied after I reiterated my request to both lower the volume of the music in our group exercise classes and to use a microphone for his speech. These measures, I felt, would make classes both safer and more accessible. This instructor’s Sunday evening, one-hour core and lower body workout had just concluded, and the decibel meter on my iPhone—that I kept hidden stealthily in my tote bag—reported a maximum of 106 decibels (dB) and an average of 78 dB. I estimated that this average was at least 10 dB lower than the previous week’s class, and was pleased, but I still believed a conversation was warranted. A level of 106 dB is enough to cause permanent hearing damage in minutes. With this information, I approached the instructor directly about some of the noiserelated concerns I’d developed during my first few months as a member of my gym, which I’d recently shared with the gym’s owner by email. I had written to the owner the week prior, just after attending the same class. Though I didn’t take any decibel measurements that time, I would not be surprised if my ears were exposed to an average of 90 dB for 60 minutes. During my private cooldown stretch, I actually felt pain in my ears. Not ringing, but noticeable pain. After more than four years working for Hearing Health Foundation (HHF), equipped with plenty of knowledge about hearing health and hearing loss, I wasn’t surprised in the slightest by this outcome. I hadn’t been wearing hearing protection—I didn’t anticipate my need to!
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