Three of them said: no way.

"They outright refused to wear earplugs," said Opperman, a medical resident at the University of Minnesota.

Eventually, he was able to persuade enough people to go along with the experiment. This week, he released his findings: that ear plugs can reduce hearing damage at concerts.

But the news, he admits, may fall on deaf ears.

"There seems to be a very, very strong resistance in the concert-going community to wearing earplugs," he said.

Opperman, 32, decided to do the study after spending years in music clubs himself. He designed an experiment to send recruits to (unidentified) heavy metal, pop or rockabilly concerts, with half wearing earplugs. He tested their hearing immediately before and after.

But two people dropped out when they found out they had to wear the earplugs; another bolted right before the show.

"They gave up front-row seats to a sold-out performance," he said incredulously.

In the end, 29 volunteers, aged 17 to 59, complied. The study found that 64 percent of those without earplugs had a "significant" temporary hearing loss; compared to 27 percent with earplugs. One person said the earplugs even improved the sound.

Musicians wear them, Opperman said, so why not audience members? "We have to change concertgoer attitudes to protect themselves," he said.

By Maura Lerner, Star Tribune