Traveling the hour and a half to Cuba, MO, for the Shepherd’s Lantern haunted house, attending a party in St. Peters or going trick-or-treating with your kids are all fun ways to celebrate Halloween. While trick-or-treating doesn’t usually kick up dangerous noise levels, the other two options can leave your ears in want of some peace and quiet.
Ghosts, goblins and ghouls should be the scary part of Halloween—not hearing loss and tinnitus. Let’s take a look at a few ways you can limit your noise exposure for a safer, but still fun, spooky season.
Turn Down the Music
Noise is cumulative; if you have your music at max volume, people will yell to hear each other, further increasing the overall noise. If you’re hosting a Halloween party, aim to keep the music below 85 dB. You can also consider setting up a room for dancing with slightly louder music, and other rooms with no or low-volume music where people can talk.
If you’re attending someone else’s party, you can either ask the host to turn down the music or find a quiet space when you feel overloaded with sound. A good rule of thumb is that if the music feels sharp in your ears or you have to yell to be heard, it’s too loud.
Wear Earplugs
Earplugs are your hearing’s best friend in noisy situations. They soften the force of sound as it enters your ears, reducing its negative impact. Carry a pair of earplugs for dancing at parties or going to haunted houses. A pair of shallow silicone plugs will gently lower the volume while still letting you hear the music and be scared by the haunted-house shrieks.
Limit Your Haunted House Visits
If you love haunted houses, you might be tempted to go as much as possible during spooky season. In addition to wearing earplugs, consider limiting your haunted house visits to a few times a year.
According to a 2011-2012 study, an estimated 6% of adults under the age of 70 in the U.S. have hearing loss in one or both ears believed to arise from noise exposure. If you notice muffled voices or ringing in your ears lasting more than a day or two after a Halloween party, contact Midwest ENT Centre today to schedule a hearing test with one of our specialists.
Sources
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. (2025). Noise-induced hearing loss. https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/noise-induced-hearing-loss