The story so far: Noisy celebrations have now become a part and parcel of urban as well as rural Indian life. As vehicles packed with powerful new speakers known as DJs are available at lower prices and the competition to play high-volume music has reached all parts of the country, it is posing a challenge to body and soul.
the conditions match those of celebratory events in India where sound pressure levels cross 90 A-weighted decibels (dBA) or more for prolonged periods, sometimes days While the researchers focused on recreational events. At a festive event in Hyderabad on Friday (September 18 2026), a reporter measured the sound level and recorded it at over 108 dBA using an app developed by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. In contrast, a normal rock concert has sounds that range between 110-120 dB, where artistes wear protective gear for their ears. The decibel meter is a logarithmic scale where a 10 db increase means a 10 times increase and another 10 dB means an increase of over 100 times.
A new research paper published in Scientific Reports in January 2026 uses the term ‘subclinical hearing damage’ to identify the effect on hearing due to high-level amplified music at recreational/celebratory events. A greater awareness about the long-term damage to hearing due to loud music is the only available option. These sound levels have been known to cause noise-induced hearing loss. There have been piecemeal, localised bans and community-enforced limits on DJs in urban areas. Even police action is challenged by social and political forces.
