Concert-Goer Sues, Claims Hearing Loss

Claiming that she suffered acoustic trauma after attending a concert by flamboyant rock star David Lee Roth last December, a 24-year-old Canoga Park woman filed a lawsuit Thursday against the singer and the Forum, saying she should have been warned that the music would be excessively loud.

“I feel very handicapped,” said concert-goer Linda Duke, who claims that she has suffered hearing loss, dizzy spells and continuous ringing in her ears since Roth’s performance at the Inglewood arena. “I can’t even vacuum without headphones on. . . . I have to roll up my car windows to muffle the sounds of traffic.”

The Los Angeles Superior Court complaint, one of the first of its kind, asks for unspecified damages. A similar lawsuit filed last month against the heavy metal rock group Motley Crue is pending in Florida. Neither Roth’s managers nor officials from the Forum would comment.

Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred, who filed the action on Duke’s behalf, warned that such suits could become commonplace “unless rock stars start becoming more responsible and unless they take steps to prevent the hearing damage that can result.”

Known for his high-volume music and his high-living persona, Roth is backed by the standard hard rock contingent of electric guitars, huge amplifiers and drums.

Not a Roth Fan

Although Duke said she had heard of Roth before his Dec. 20 concert, she said she was not a fan and attended mainly at the request of a friend. She sat near the back of the huge arena.

“During the concert, the music was extremely loud and went far beyond the decibel level of noise that is safe for the audience,” Allred alleged.

Duke said she and her friend tried to leave midway through the concert. “The aisles were packed. People were pushing right into us while we were sitting in our seats. There was a fistfight in the aisle. Somebody threw beer. We were drenched and we couldn’t even get out to wash the beer off. . . . There was no way we could leave,” Duke said.

Immediately after the program, Allred said, her client noticed that her hearing was diminished. Duke’s ears rang, cracked and popped and sounds were muffled.

Duke’s doctor, Allred said, subsequently diagnosed the problem as acoustic trauma that resulted from the rock concert. Eventually, the attorney said, Duke may lose her hearing or suffer chronic vertigo.

The lawsuit charges Roth and the Forum with, among other things, negligence, battery and failing to warn concert-goers of possible hearing damage.