Pearl Jam give out free earplugs at concerts

Rock band Pearl Jam are doing their bit to raise awareness about hearing loss from music venues and headphones by giving away free earplugs. They have teamed up with Musicares and Ten Club, a community built up around the band who have a history of looking out for their fans.

Pearl Jam are encouraging fans to visit the Musicares table to pick up a pair of the limited edition PJ X Musicares earplugs at their upcoming concerts. They will be asked for a suggested donation for the plugs which come in a Pearl Jam and Musicares branded case and will be available for a limited time only on their U.S tour. They’re also being asked to take photos with the earplugs and post them on their Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #pjcares.

Jeff Ament the band’s Bassist, said “Don’t be careless and lazy at loud rock shows or cranking tunes through an old Walkman like I was thirty years ago (but boy did it all sound good)”. The statement continues “Wear hearing protection or you’ll end up with a 1.5k ring in both ears every night when you go to bed or worse when you are trying to enjoy the serene quiet of an empty desert or forest, again like me.”

This certainly wouldn’t be the first time rock musicians have tried to raise awareness about hearing loss. Pete Townshend helped set up Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers (H.E.A.R) in the 80s. Brian Johnson of AC/DC was recently told to stop touring by his doctors or “risk total hearing loss”. Given the World Health Organisation now warning about the damage caused by loud venues like bars, clubs and concerts, maybe this is the beginning of fans to taking earplugs with them when they go out.