The annual music festival—curated by the creative minds behind local record label Mothland—takes place over one weekend in February each year. On this particular night of the festival, we find ourselves packed like sardines into the venue side of Casa Del Popolo, the legendary live music space owned by Godspeed You! Black Emperor co-founder Mauro Pezzente and Kiva Stimac.

On stage, KROY—aka Camille Poliquin—is performing, and the room is silent. The crowd is locked into the moment, hanging onto every note from her stunning new album, MILITIA. It’s so quiet you could hear a pin drop—unless, like many music fans, the sound of that pin drop is drowned out by the persistent ringing of tinnitus. Tinnitus is a hearing condition where individuals perceive sounds like ringing, buzzing, or hissing in their ears without an external source. It’s often caused by prolonged exposure to loud noises, and once it develops, it’s usually permanent.

“I was not conscious enough about protecting my hearing at the beginning of my career, and I had a bit of a scare a few years ago,” Poliquin tells RANGE before her set. “I went to have my hearing tested, and that moment made me realize—if something goes wrong, there’s no fixing it. Ever since then, I’ve been a lot more conscious about protecting my hearing when I’m working, at shows, or in any loud environment.”

Thankfully, Poliquin has avoided those dirty decibels up to now, but with 43 per cent of Canadians aged 16 to 79 experiencing tinnitus in their lifetime, she knows it’s not something to take lightly. 

Fortunately, awareness around hearing health is growing, and new devices are making it easier to monitor and protect our ears. Tools like the Noise app on Apple Watch can measure sound levels and notify you if the average sound level reaches or exceeds a chosen decibel threshold, while the AirPods Pro 2 with active Hearing Protection feature can help protect your hearing in loud environments and reduce your exposure to loud sounds. Hearing Protection is active across all three Noise Control modes by default. For musicians and fans alike, these advancements offer a crucial line of defense.

“Hearing health is critical for everyone, but especially for musicians, who depend on their hearing to deliver the best possible performance,” says Rick Neitzel, professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and principal investigator of the Apple Hearing Study. “Prolonged exposure to noise above 85 dBA—common in concerts and rehearsals—can cause lasting damage. That’s why more artists are taking proactive measures, from custom earplugs to noise-monitoring apps.”

Poliquin is an especially interesting case study when it comes to hearing health. In addition to making music—both as solo artist KROY and one-half of the electro-pop duo Milk & Bone—she also works with robots in the lab at Toronto Metropolitan University, developing performances with massive KUKA robotic arms. In this environment, decibel levels can often exceed the safe zone of 70 dBA.

“Tinnitus is a scary word for musicians,” KROY says. “I want to stay as far away as I can from that ringing in your ears.”

“Technology has definitely helped me become more aware of my hearing health. Whether I’m in the lab, on tour, or just walking around the city with fire trucks and ambulances passing by, I use my Apple Watch and AirPods Pro 2 to monitor and protect my hearing. It’s really helpful to be able to check in and ask, ‘Is this too loud for me? Should I be wearing protection?’”

The answer to that question is ultimately yes. Protect your hearing before it’s too late—because you don’t want to miss a single note the next time KROY takes the stage.