Title: Seattle’s Proposed Hearing Protection Ordinance Sparks Debate in Music Community
Seattle Councilmember Dan Strauss is worried about Seattle’s ears. Earlier this spring, he drafted a “hearing protection ordinance” that would require music venues to provide hearing protection for free or less than $1, or risk fines. “This bill is about making sure that people have the opportunity to both enjoy Seattle’s vibrant music scene and protect their hearing health no matter where they go,” Strauss said when presenting the idea to his colleagues in March.
Reactions in the music community have been mixed. Many agree that hearing loss needs to be taken seriously, but some have questioned if a new regulation is the best approach. Additionally, many Seattle music venues already sell or provide earplugs to concertgoers. “It doesn’t really make sense,” said Steven Severin, the owner of several Seattle music venues, including Neumos on Capitol Hill. “Nobody really knows why it happened.”
Strauss’ initial presentation was met with questions from his colleagues and skepticism from some in the music industry. While Strauss declined to be interviewed for this story, his spokesman said last week that the Councilmember might pivot to a hearing-protection education campaign. Still, some musicians and venue owners say the industry, which already operates on thin margins, doesn’t need another hurdle.
On a recent Saturday night at Add-A-Ball, a live music venue in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood, you could feel the kick drum thumping in your chest. Fluung, a local three-piece rock band, was playing an album release show. Drew Davis, the drummer, described his band’s sound as “alternative rock” in the vein of “’90s college rock” but not “modern indie rock.” Distorted guitars. Crashing drums. Booming bass lines. It’s the type of music that sounds best played loud.
But loud noise can also be dangerous. Almost everyone at the show seemed to have small, brightly colored pieces of foam stuffed in their ears. When asked, most people said they brought their earplugs from home. For anyone who forgot, there’s a sign behind the bar advertising them for sale at 50 cents a pair. “It’s so loud that you have to wear earplugs,” said concertgoer James Maltos. Any sound over 85 decibels has the potential to cause hearing damage. Live music frequently exceeds 100 decibels. According to Strauss’ presentation, nearly one in four U.S. adults age 20 to 69 shows evidence of noise-induced hearing loss. The damage is often permanent.
Two years ago, Fluung’s Davis went to see the Pixies and Modest Mouse at Climate Pledge Arena. He forgot his earplugs, and when he woke up the next day, he had hearing loss and a ringing sound in his left ear that he said lasted for seven months. He still sometimes notices it when he wakes up in the morning. Dylan Ramsey, a friend and fan of Fluung, said he has tinnitus from years of going to loud DIY basement shows. He wears earplugs now, but wishes he’d taken his hearing more seriously in his teens and 20s. “You start to lose your hearing and you realize what you had,” Ramsey said. “You take it for granted.”
The music fans at the Add-A-Ball show all agreed: Hearing protection is serious stuff. But many were skeptical of the proposed City Council regulation. Concertgoer Mike Sampson wears earplugs to almost every show he goes to. But he said the earplug bill felt “punitive,” and worried it would burden small businesses. Under the draft bill, venues that fail to provide earplugs for free or less than $1 would be subject to a 30-day warning followed by a weekly $50 fine. It’s not huge, Sampson said, but it’s still another thing for already struggling venues to worry about. Davis, the drummer, thought the whole thing was a waste of time. “My opinion is, like, wear earplugs or don’t,” Davis said. “It’s your responsibility when you’re consuming rock and roll to protect your hearing. It’s not the venue’s responsibility and it’s certainly not City Council’s responsibility. I feel like they have better things to worry about.”
Strauss’ presentation to colleagues in March included a chart showing how dangerous different types of sounds are, with rock concerts listed just behind jet engines and explosives. “I’m someone that uses earplugs when I go to concerts, I didn’t maybe 10 years ago, maybe I should have,” Strauss said. “Sometimes I forget them, so this bill would help that.” During the presentation, a city policy analyst said research has found a lack of awareness about the risks of hearing loss, particularly for young people. Strauss said the ordinance was inspired by a “concerned audiologist” in his district who was worried about people losing their hearing at concerts in Seattle. According to staff research, only two other cities in the country have similar earplug laws: San Francisco and Minneapolis. Some European countries have regulations limiting decibel levels.
Under Strauss’ draft bill, enforcement would be handled by the city’s Consumer Protection division, which enforces regulations on pawn shops, horse-drawn carriages, peep shows, and a variety of other businesses. Venues would be encouraged — but not required — to post signage informing patrons that earplugs are available. Strauss’ colleagues had questions. Councilmember Maritza Rivera was concerned that someone could sue the city if they lost their hearing at a show. Council President Sara Nelson said she was worried about adding more regulations to venues already struggling to recover from the pandemic. Councilmember Rob Saka wanted information about anticipated implementation costs and how “music venues” would be defined. Strauss told his colleagues he was open to feedback and suggestions for how to tweak the bill. He stressed that the goal wasn’t to be punitive, and that his “north star” was to minimize negative impact on business and maximize “positive accessibility for music lovers.”
The draft ordinance name-checked bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam as part of what makes Seattle special. Selena Kane rolled her eyes when she saw that. She moved to Seattle in the ’90s and plays guitar in Trash Panda Go Kart, an “indie-pop raccoon rock” band she started with her wife Zinnia Su. “On a city government level, they like to brag about the art, but they don’t make it any easier to make the art,” Kane said.
Noise restrictions. Musicians priced out. Kane also recalls Seattle’s infamous “Teen Dance Ordinance,” the 1985 law that made it nearly impossible to host all-ages concerts in the 1980s and ’90s. The law was repealed in 2002 after lobbying from local musicians, including Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic, who while testifying against the dance ordinance described Seattle’s music scene as thriving “in the face of a discouraging municipal regulatory environment.” Kane and Su’s band already provides earplugs for free at shows. They see the proposed earplug law as more unnecessary regulation. “It’s not friendly to musicians, adding another expense to already struggling venues by making them invest in ear protection,” Kane said. “There’s a lot of ways that the music ecosystem could be assisted by city government, and this proposed bill is … you could say it’s tone-deaf.” Kane would like to see the city support the music community through things like artist grants, more affordable housing, and universal basic income. She said she’s grateful for SMASH, a local nonprofit that provides free and low-cost health care to musicians — including free hearing screening and custom-fitted earplugs. “Nobody is saying hearing protection is a bad thing,” Su said. “I think there are more urgent things to be thinking about.”
Severin, the owner of Neumos, isn’t worried about the law — he just thinks it’s a waste of time. He says basically every venue owner he knows, himself included, already has earplugs available for free or at low cost. “In general, I don’t want there to be unnecessary statutes or laws if they’re not needed,” Severin said. Severin is a co-founder of the Seattle Nightlife and Music Association. When the city reached out about the earplug law, Severin said the primary reaction from members was one of confusion. “They reached and asked us what we thought, and we were just like, ‘We’ve got a lot bigger fish to fry than worrying about earplugs we already have,’” Severin said. Severin said the live-music industry is really struggling. Venue owners are worried about issues like public safety, rising insurance rates, and lower concert attendance in the wake of the pandemic. Those are the types of problems he’d rather see the city focus on — not earplugs. “Why is this needed if it’s already kind of happening?” Severin said.
Several music fans at the Add-A-Ball show said it used to be considered a little “uncool” to wear earplugs, but not anymore as awareness has increased. Most attendees were wearing the standard foam earplugs, but a few had the more expensive variety favored by musicians. Concertgoer Maltos said he normally brings his own earplugs to shows, but sometimes forgets. He thought Strauss’ proposal seemed like a reasonable idea. “I definitely depend on venues providing earplugs free if not super-cheap,” Maltos said. Keala Milles, the drummer for Letter Bomb, a band that opened for Fluung, agreed. He thought the law could help make venues more accessible for people with auditory sensitivities. “It’s an accessibility kind of thing,” Milles said. “You can buy them in bulk for super-cheap.” Attendees said they were glad that most venues now provide earplugs. Several described previous shows where they had to take matters into their own hands. “I would just go to the bathroom and stick toilet paper in my ears,” said Daniel Greenblatt. “It’s not the coolest thing in the world … but it definitely works.” Live music fan Ross Albertson thinks the bill is a waste of time. Hearing protection is important, he said, but it’s “not a civic issue.” “It’s not the city’s problem, but if they’re going to make it their problem, make it free,” Albertson said. “We’ve got more arts dollars in this county than we’ve ever had before, we could come up with free earplugs.” Jesse Franz, Strauss’ policy and communications director, said in an email that Strauss is still working with stakeholders, and that whatever comes before Council is “likely to look substantially different from the initial bill.” “What we are looking at right now is possibly focusing on more of an education and awareness campaign on the importance of hearing protection rather than an ordinance, like in its current form,” Franz wrote. That might be an easier sell. The music fans at the show all agreed that hearing loss is a serious problem, but many disagreed on how — or if — the city government should try to address it. If there’s one thing the music fans seemed to agree on, it’s that turning down the volume isn’t an option.
