Here is Center for Disease Control's information on hearing loss and loss prevention. It contains this information on concerts, as well as a lot of reference links:

Intensity, or loudness, is measured in decibels (dB). A person with hearing within the normal range can hear sounds ranging from 0 to 140 dB. A whisper is around 30 dB. Conversations are usually 45 to 50 dB. Sounds that are louder than 90 dB can be uncomfortable to hear. A loud rock concert might be as loud as 110 dB. Sounds that are 120 dB or louder can be painful and can result in temporary or permanent hearing loss.

Here is a link that might be useful: CDC Article on Hearing Loss

Ginny, try a Google search using "rock concert" and "hearing loss" together, each enclosed in quotation marks. I got a lot of referenes this way.

Also, you might try "Pete Townshend" and "hearing loss" the same way. He's the rock musician who lost his hearing from years of loud concerts. There's a lot of information out there on this.

Years ago my husband (a scientist) measured the sound emanating from big speakers at our daughter's middle-school dance, and found the levels to be potentially damaging. Not that it made any difference to the schoool administration...

My cousin has permanent hearing loss and tinitus from years of loud concerts. It's a shame that people don't realize how serious this is.

I'll give you my son's phone number....but he might hear it ring.
There are soft, comfortable ear plugs that tame the noise.
Linda C

Linda, I think that's what she's looking for. Something to convince them to wear plugs. You know kids - ever invincible and immortal and think nothing will ever happen to them.

BTW, popped into this thread because tonight at DD's dance class, they were giving a hip-hop class to 3rd and 4th graders in the room next door. And the music was louder than a lot of clubs I used to hang around in my (much) younger days. What I'm saying is, it was so loud in the reception area that no one could hear each other speak even when we yelled. I cannot imagine how loud it was in the actual rehearsal room.

I spoke to the dance center manager, and said I didn't think it was healthy for 3rd and 4th grade ears to have the music so loud.

She told me she would go in and turn it down a bit but she never did. I think a lot of people think it's a joke but it is really harmful.

Now THIS is weird. Just went to read the online news and came across this article. Says that loud music has resulted in four people having collapsed lungs....

Here is a link that might be useful: Loud Music Can Cause Lung Collapse

My son has a permanant hearing loss in the high decible range. Certain phones he doesn't hear at all....bird calls are non existant. He played in a rock band in highschool.
If she thinks it's not cool to wear ear plugs ask her how cool it is to cup your ear and say "eh? didn't hear" at age 20....or hearing aids at 30.
Actually it's probably better for 3 graders than for older kids....as the villii are more likely to recover.
They say if a sound causes discomfort, it's injuring your hearing....but also long periods of lower intensity sounds can caues hearing loss also.
Linda C

My 17 year old son played the drums for over a year, practiced daily and went to loud concerts. Not anymore. He has hair cell damage in one ear. It drives him crazy.
He has no hearing loss per say, just a weird buzz, crackle in that ear. He was told that loud noises such as concerts, drums and such can make the tiny hairs in the ear lay down much like grass when you walk on it. If you don't stand or walk on the grass again it will slowly start righting itself and eventually be standing up again.

The best way for someone to not "walk on their hair cells" is to stop exposing oneself to loud noises or to wear protective ear plugs. There are all kinds available in drug stores and from ear doctors. There are even special ones that can be custom made for musicians.

I took him to an Audiologist who suggested wearing ear plugs every day until the problem corrected itself. After months of no improvement, I took him to an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor. An MRI of the brain was done on him thinking the problem might be related to a tumor or aneurysm since it was only affecting one ear. Thankfully his brain looks fine. We will now investigate custom ear plugs from an audiologist.

I hope this helps your daughters realize the seriousness of loud music, I know my son is pretty bummed by the prospect of having this irritating problem in his ear all the time. By the way, I was a nightclub DJ back in the 70s and 80s. Our legal limit for both records and live bands was 110db. I had a decibel reader and had to keep harping on the lives bands to keep the levels down. They hated me for it and contiued to push the limits all the time. Your only defense it seems is to protect yourself by wearing good ear plugs.

Jodi-

WARNING....Young People and Hearing Loss
Make sure you tell your children to keep down the music.
Researchers are now seeing a wide increase in noise-induced hearing loss. Young people are now loosing the ability to hear higher frequencies, evidenced at times by mild ear-ringing or trouble following conversations in noisy situations. This is occurring because of the wide and all-day use of portable music players, cell phones and rock concerts. Ilene,webmaster,http://www.firsthearingaid.com

Here is a link that might be useful: Hearing Loss Information and News