LETTER Listen up, young people
For most of my life, audiences showed appreciation to performers via various levels of applause. An outstanding performance was greeted by a standing ovation. When the performance was not so good, polite applause was offered. For a live broadcast of a performance, a lighted sign would inform an audience that it was time to applaud.
Performances by bands, orchestras and individuals were presented in a fashion that was clearly heard by members of the audience and were not offensive to one’s hearing.
Times have changed. Today, performances are offered at decibel levels, that if sustained for a long period of time, will impair one’s hearing. Audience appreciation consists of screaming, shouting and making as much noise as possible. This includes TV productions.
My suggestion to young people is this: Upon attaining the age of 50 or thereabouts, invest in companies that manufacture hearing aids because I project demand for those devices will skyrocket.
Clarence M. Spicer
Washington