Business Opportunities Weblog

Selling Earplugs at Concerts

By on November 29, 2012 in Ideas

Photo by 4nitsirk

Hearing loss from exposure to loud music is a serious problem. One study from the University of Minnesota found that after a concert, 64% of the test subjects had significantly changed their ability to hear soft sounds, compared to 27% of the subjects who wore earplugs.

With statistics like that, you think that selling earplugs at a Prince concert would be a slam dunk. One teenager in Canada tried it last month:

My 16-year-old son jumped at the chance to make some quick money, and I supported the venture as a simple public health good deed — protecting the hearing of my fellow concert goers. “Enjoy the music but protect your hearing,” was their pitch line.

But the texts started to arrive not 20 minutes after he and his friends arrived at the concert hall, knapsack filled with the bright orange plugs: “People are laughing at us.” “ Nobody is buying,” followed by “This is a stupid idea!”

Better luck next time.

Photo by 4nitsirk.

hearing loss music

Business Opportunities Weblog editor and publisher Dane Carlson lives in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, just 15 miles from Yosemite National Park. He accidentally became a professional blogger in 2001. He has added 12,203 posts to the site.

Another Idea: How to Start a Concert Promoter Business

  • http://n.a. Cindy Hawkins

    Well, hey..I wish I had fiver for every time I sat next to someone on the R train here in NY, and their earbud music was soooo loud, I could hear it myself! Hearing loss begins early, the two villains being loud music (live or earphoned). Naturally, Doctors bemoan that people are so careless, take their hearing for granted and don’t observe common-sense safety precautions. My friend’s son is 19, and has already lost some of his top and bottom hearing spectrum; he should have had it for decades yet. And more than once Eric has come home from live concerts complaining of ‘ringing and buzzing’ in his ears all through the next day. Earplugs at concerts. NOT A DUMB IDEA…at all!

  • http://www.hearplugs.com.au Jess

    Hi
    Been going to a lot of live gigs over the last few years, just started using HearPlugs, and it’s pretty much eliminated any ringing in my ears the next day. If you’re interested, here’s where i got them from: http://www.hearplugs.com.au
    They’re not cheap ~$20 but i can reuse.

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