In a few days the humpa beats will be pounding out of the speakers again, but a ringing in your ears afterwards is no longer cool. More and more carnival associations are also aware of this and are taking measures. For example, free earplugs will be distributed for the first time this year in the carnival tent in Uden. “It costs a bit, but we are happy to pay that,” says Sjoerd ten Cate, spokesperson for carnival association De Knoerissen.
Starting on Friday evening, around 2,500 carnival revelers will go crazy in the tent on the Markt in Uden for five days. There will be a large barrel in the cloakroom where everyone can get free earplugs. “That is not because we play extremely loudly, on the contrary,” says Ten Cate. “But where the sound is too soft for one person, it is too loud for others.”
“We are aware that many young people have already contracted tinnitus.”
No free earplugs will be given away during the parade in Uden. “Outside, the noise goes in all directions and everyone can take a step back. But that is not possible in the tent,” says the Knoerissen spokesperson. “We are aware that many young people have already suffered tinnitus, a permanent ringing in their ear. We don’t want anyone to feel bad about being inside. This is a small extra cost for us, but we are happy to pay for it.”
In Eersel, the municipality has provided free earplugs to all carnival associations. “In this way we want to encourage hearing damage to be prevented during carnival,” a spokesperson explains. For the time being it will remain that way, so no earplugs will be handed out during the parade or in the tent.
“This fits in with the desire of many to play more traditional Oeteldonk carnival music.”
In most other places in Brabant, free earplugs are not distributed, but extra attention is paid to hearing damage. For example, earplugs are for sale in many tents, such as at the Bavaria Bierhal in Eindhoven. There are also decibel meters in many places, such as in the party tents in Oss, Nistelrode and Schaijk. “This way the DJs do not overwrite the maximum volume and otherwise we can address them about it,” explains Maarten Hendriks of the carnival association in Schaijk.
In Den Bosch, the sound in the Uilenburg entertainment area will be turned down a lot for the first time this carnival, at only 85 decibels. According to the municipality, this is not so much to prevent hearing damage, but to counter complaints from local residents. You will no longer hear house or dance music, because that requires a higher sound standard. But according to the municipality, most people in Den Bosch do not mourn that. “This fits in with the wish of many to play more traditional Oeteldonk carnival music,” says spokesperson Annelies Kok.
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