City of York Council imposed a 10pm curfew on fireworks this week after complaints from residents of "deafening" noise. But does their big bang theory ring true? JO HAYWOOD talks to a hearing expert.

"I COULDN'T hear myself think. It was like the Blitz or something. And when it was all over, my ears were absolutely ringing."

Vanessa Bellwood-Collier is not alone in her opinion about fireworks. She lives alongside York's Knavesmire and, after the fourth of six firework displays held on the site last year, she decided to set up a petition. Within two hours, more then 50 people had signed up.

When the signature count reached 135, she sent the petition to City of York Council calling on it to do something about the regular "deafening" displays, which she claimed were prolonged and frightening, particularly for young children and pets.

This week the council acted, imposing a 10pm curfew on all displays staged on authority-owned land, including Knavesmire but excluding events on Bonfire Night and New Year's Eve.

This is in addition to legislation introduced nationally last year which makes it illegal to let off fireworks between 11pm and 7am, and for retailers to sell fireworks that are louder than 120 decibels (the equivalent of a jet aircraft taking off 100m away).

Those who break the curfew, which is later at certain times of year (midnight on Bonfire Night and 1am on Diwali, Chinese New Year and New Year's Eve), face a fine of up to £5,000 and six months in prison.

But some detractors claim these curfews are irrelevant: a deafening bang is a deafening bang whether it happens at 9.59pm or 10.01pm.

"The curfew is all well and good," said Mrs Bellwood-Collier, former sub-postmistress of Albemarle Post Office (it closed at the end of last year), "but it doesn't do anything about noise levels.

"One of the main problems now is that it has become commonplace to celebrate everything with a firework display. And when people have fireworks they want the loudest they can have. It's not that I'm against firework displays, it's just that I think the noise levels are unacceptable."

She was mainly concerned about the effects loud firework noises had on her border terrier, Twiggy, but she said many of her former customers who signed the petition did so because they believed the displays were putting their children's hearing at risk.

This view was reiterated in a number of letters to the Evening Press this week, all of which claimed the timing of display was irrelevant.

South Bank resident Juliette Robertson called for a complete ban, citing "the real threats posed to every child who lives in the vicinity; those of deafness and tinnitus".

Fellow letter writer Steve Douglas also agreed that the curfew was meaningless if it was not imposed in tandem with noise restrictions.

"Such decibel peaks endanger the hearing and nervous systems of babies, small children, pets and wildlife," he said. "The sound levels are outrageous, and shake the foundations of houses anywhere within a kilometre radius of the Knavesmire's stands."

These are obviously heartfelt views, but are they well-informed? Susan Outhwaite, chief audiologist specialising in hearing recovery at York Hospital, believes they are.

"The noise from firework displays can definitely cause pain and discomfort," she said. "A sensitive ear can suffer hearing problems after being exposed to a single loud noise, while others, depending on their proximity to the noise, can suffer a progressive, escalating problem."

Mrs Outhwaite likened this progressive damage to the effects of frequent nightclubbing or listening to loud music in the car. These regular bursts of noise cause a "threshold shift" in the ear, meaning lower decibel levels can damage the ear as time progresses.

"With fireworks, it could be that the noise causes a certain level of damage and then a partial recovery takes place, but it is rarely a full recovery," she said. "The next time the person is exposed to the noise there is further damage and a slight recovery, and on and on. There can be a spiral of damage, recovery, damage, recovery, but it always ends with damage."

Our ears are very unpredictable. Someone who enjoys shooting, for instance, can go on several shoots without any problem and then suddenly find themselves with a hearing problem. And there is a certain amount of psychology involved too.

"I know I'm particularly sensitive to noise because I know the damage it can do," said Mrs Outhwaite. "Like us, our ears are all very different. There is now way of predicting how a loud noise will effect us until it happens, but these people the firework campaigners are absolutely right to be worried.

"If the display is a relatively long way from their home, they may find they have some discomfort. But if the display is right on their doorstep my heart really goes out to them."

She explained that while a degree of hearing loss was a possibility, people were more likely to suffer from tinnitus (see panel).

"Trying to function normally with constant noise in your head can be extremely debilitating and can lead to serious psychological problems," said Mrs Outhwaite.

"It can be devastating. And there's nothing you can do about it; you just have to learn to live with it."

There were 30 major firework events in York last year. This year - the 400th anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot - there are likely to be many more. Is there a way we can enjoy the spectacle without risking our hearing?

"The maximum decibel level for fireworks is set too high. It must be lowered," said Mrs Outhwaite. "At 120 decibels you will certainly cause an impact, but it's way too high. It's just wrong."

Updated: 09:37 Friday, January 21, 2005