UNAIR NEWS – The rise of the “sound horeg” phenomenon during Indonesia’s Independence Day celebrations each August has become a well-known public entertainment tradition that draws widespread attention. To ensure the August 17th celebrations can be enjoyed safely and comfortably by everyone, the safety and hearing health of residents near event locations deserves shared attention.
dr Rosa Falerina SpTHT BKL Subsp NO K, an otology and neurotology expert at Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR), explained that exposure to high-decibel sound with extreme sub-bass thuds carries real potential dangers, ranging from permanent hearing loss to disorders of the body’s balance system.
Effects on the inner ear and vertigo
dr Falerina explained that the intensity of sound horeg commonly exceeds 120 decibels, equivalent to the sound of an airplane engine. Exposure at this level poses serious danger to the cochlea and the outer hair cells within it.
“Extremely loud sound forces the hair cells inside the cochlea to work excessively, causing them to become stuck or collapse like a deforested landscape. Once these hair cells are damaged and lost, sound no longer has a way to reach the brain,” dr Falerina said.
She noted that ringing in the ears (tinnitus) following exposure to loud sound is actually a natural warning signal from the body. “The ringing is an early sign that the outer hair cells are being disturbed. If the exposure is brief and the person moves away immediately, hearing can still recover. But if the exposure is prolonged and the ringing persists, the hearing damage risks becoming permanent,” explained the Faculty of Medicine (FK) lecturer.
Beyond hearing loss, dr Falerina added that the low-frequency bass thuds from sound horeg can also trigger vertigo. This occurs because the hearing organs and the body’s balance system are located close together.
“The cochlea sits right next to the balance system in the inner ear. An extremely powerful thud doesn’t just shake the cochlea, it also disturbs the balance system, triggering a spinning sensation, or vertigo,” she said.
She added that she had treated a mother and child who experienced hearing loss and prolonged ringing in the ears, even though the sound horeg had merely passed by in front of their house.
Protection measures and safe exposure limits
On the matter of treatment, dr Falerina emphasized that residents experiencing hearing difficulties or severe ringing after an event should not delay seeking medical examination.
“If symptoms appear, see the nearest ENT doctor right away. We need to check the physical condition of the ear, since extreme sound also carries the risk of rupturing the eardrum,” dr Falerina said.
In terms of safe exposure thresholds, sound intensity above 120 decibels can only be tolerated by humans for a very brief period. For sound above 120 decibels, the safe exposure limit is only around 3.5 seconds per day. “If you have no choice but to be at the location, earplugs alone aren’t enough, since they only reduce noise by around 30 decibels. Ideally, they should be combined with earmuffs,” she explained.
Even so, dr Falerina pointed out that ear protection only blocks sound waves entering through the ear canal. Sound waves from sound horeg can still travel directly to internal organs through bone conduction in the skull.
“Extreme sound can still reach the ear through skull bone conduction. That’s why the most effective approach is to maintain distance, limit exposure duration, and keep vulnerable groups, such as infants, children, and the elderly, away from sound horeg locations,” she concluded.
Author: Muhammad Yasir Dharmawan D.
Editor: Yulia Rohmawati
