15th January 2026
Throughout most of human history the loudest noises to which we were subjected would have been those of the natural world, such as a thunderclap or a barking dog, but none of these would have been a continuous source of sound for a long period of time. However, with the development of sound amplification systems it has become a far noisier world of sustained high-volume sound, one in which it is very easy for damage to be caused to our delicate hearing organs, the ears. Problems with sound systems and their effectiveness were the subject of this talk by Club member, John Thurstan, who related his experience of trying to achieve an acceptable sound system in Holy Trinity Church in Chesterfield.
As John explained, setting up a public address system should be quite simple. A microphone receives a sound which it converts into an electric current. This is then amplified, sent to a loudspeaker where it drives a paper cone which moves the air and makes the sound we hear. Alas, this is where problems arise because the quality of this sound depends on where the listener is sited; out of doors, or in a room with sound absorbent soft furnishings, or in a concert hall, or – worst of all – in an echoey church. It follows that the more reflecting surfaces there are in an indoor space, the more the amplified sounds will ‘bounce’ around and interfere with each other, resulting in a blurring effect for the listener. These difficulties can be overcome by careful siting of loudspeakers and the correct use of the microphones, but often only after a considerable amount of trial-and-error experimentation.
In his professional career, John had spent many years working in hospital ENT clinics and had thereby acquired a wealth of knowledge and experience in the workings of the human ear. For the second part of his talk, he described the physiology of this remarkable piece of equipment, and he showed how easily it can be damaged. He also explained how our hearing naturally deteriorates over time, but he stressed that we should avoid exacerbating this process by our own actions in overloading them with loud sounds. As he pointed out, ‘Taking your ears to a pop concert is like weighing an elephant on the bathroom scales.’ Surely, a sufficient warning to take great care of your hearing?
John Thurstan and Paul Davies
