[WhollyViber] Loud Music Lung Collapse Warning

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Misty

http://www..com

 

Loud music lung collapse warning

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3614180.stm

 

It's not just damage to hearing that clubbers should worry about

Loud music can do more than damage your hearing - it can also cause

your lungs to collapse.

 

Experts writing in the Thorax detail four cases where loud music

fans experienced the condition, known as a pneumothorax.

 

One man was driving when he experienced a pneumothorax,

characterised by breathlessness and chest pain.

 

Doctors linked it to a 1,000 watt " bass box " fitted to his car to

boost the power of his stereo.

 

A pneumothorax occurs when air gets into the space between the lung

and the membrane that covers it when small breaks occur in the lung

wall.

 

It is thought the intense pulses of low-frequency, high-energy sound

causes the lung to rupture because air and tissue respond

differently to sound. We're flagging this up so that doctors can

ask the right questions.

 

Dr John Harvey, Southmead Hospital

The usual risk factors for collapsed lungs are smoking, illness that

has weakened the patient, chronic obstructive lung disease or use of

drugs that depress alertness or consciousness, such as sedatives,

barbiturates, tranquilizers, or alcohol.

 

In a minority of cases, the oxygen supply to the vital organs is

seriously diminished and the patient's life can be put at risk.

 

A pneumothorax is treated by inserting a tube called a chest drain

to allow air to escape from the chest cavity.

 

Concerts

 

In a second case detailed in Thorax, a 25-year-old smoker saw

doctors after experiencing a sudden severe pain in the left side of

this chest while standing next to a loud speaker in a club.

 

A third man, a 23-year-old non-smoker, experienced a collapsed lung

while attending a pop concert, where he was standing quietly near to

several large loud speakers.

 

In the final case outlined in the journal, a 23-year-old regular

smoker had suffered pneumothorax on several occasions.

 

During a follow-up consultation, where doctors were talking to him

about what could have led up to each incident, he revealed that on

two of the four occasions, he had been attending a heavy metal

concert when he became ill.

 

Dr John Harvey, of Southmead Hospital in Bristol, who wrote the

Thorax report, with colleagues from Belgium, told BBC News

Online: " I don't think we'll stop people going to clubs, but we may

be able to advise them not to stand next to loud speakers or put a

bass box into their car. "

 

Dr Harvey added: " A typical district hospital might see about 50

patients a year in casualty.

 

" We can't estimate how common loud music is as a cause, but it is

probably quite significant.

 

" The condition is three times commoner in men than in women, and a

proportion of sufferers may have been clubbing or standing next to a

bass box at a pop concert. "

 

Dr Harvey added: " Both my Belgian colleagues and I have seen cases

and the more we mention it, the more people say 'I had a case like

that'.

 

" So we're flagging it up so that doctors can ask the right

questions. "