I recently danced in a showcase with my instructor. She's a pro. I'm the amateur. We knew our choreography, and we had performed it previous without a flaw. Well, some flaws arose during the night of the performance, and I accept the responsibility for that. That's life, and I'll forge ahead. But I found I couldn't concentrate due to the volume of the music. I wasn't nervous or scared this time. It was loud enough to cause minor pain to my ears. Many of us have asked time and time again to have the volume turned down to no avail. Is it me? Because if it is, I'll suck it up, get some ear plugs, and stop complaining. Have any of you had a similar experience?

Thanks Anonymous 1. I'm going to get some ear plugs as a back up plan.

Hi mdmarkum, Im a competitive dancer in Ireland, and here its the oppsit the music volume is TOO LOW! at least in the Old-Time Classical Sequence catagory.

This can be a real problem. If I go to a pop concert, I forget street-cred and stuff my ears with cotton wool. At a recent Queen tribute concert, my chest was throbbing with the intensity of the music. I found the reason when I went to buy a CD, the sound engineer was DEAF! What he thought was comfortable listening was downright dangerous to the audience.

At a recent Tango workshop there was a box on the wall which measured sound levels and showed a red light when the box thought the level was excessive. I was told that this was a local government regulation and the box recorded the number and the times of peak sounds. Fines were levied if too many peaks were recorded.

I am not sure if private functions ware covered by the same regulation, but think a school in this area would most certainly be penalized, even if they were in their own premises.

On a slight tangent, we just spent a hot evening dancing in a room where the heating was controlled by the deputy principal who wanted to sit inactive in front of the audio kit in his shirt sleeves. He set the comfort to suit himself. "Better to be warm rather than cold" was his response to complaints.

I should check local regulations to see if there are sound limits. Maybe you should see if you can borrow or buy a sound meter (Radio Shack?). Perhaps a colleague who was in the audience could complain of hearing dullness or headaches following the event?

Don't put up with it, Dancing should be a pleasure and you do not want to damage your hearing.

Speak up for a lower volume. Loud sounds, even those of good music, adversely impacts hearing -- and too loud sounds can make it difficult to think and otherwise function, too.

Continuing exposure to loud sounds has prematurely impaired the hearing of far too many.

One should be able to hear what a partner says in a normal voice when the music is playing. Otherwise the music's too loud.

Speak up. It's your hearing (and that of others) at risk. It's your thinking and functiong (and that of others) at risk.

And if the volume is not turned down to a satisfactory level? Fire the person/place. What does it mean to fire in this context? A core part of firing someone is that you no longer pay them. So, if the music continues too loud, cease hiring (paying money to) that person/place. Of course, tell them why you're firing them, nicely but clearly. Your money has power. If necessary, use it.