Hearing Loss from Vuvuzelas

[SoCalAud]

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[rEliseMe]

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I was just wondering about this lately. The same applies to football games throughout the seasons. At the Superbowl, most of the players on one team wore custom-fit and custom-attenuation hearing protection which I was very happy to see. The problem is that those stadiums are nearly as loud during most games, so once a week these players are exposed to four hours of 100+ dB noise. I'm surprised more attention hasn't been paid to more frequent events like those!

 

[SoCalAud]

I was just wondering about this lately. The same applies to football games throughout the seasons. At the Superbowl, most of the players on one team wore custom-fit and custom-attenuation hearing protection which I was very happy to see. The problem is that those stadiums are nearly as loud during most games, so once a week these players are exposed to four hours of 100+ dB noise. I'm surprised more attention hasn't been paid to more frequent events like those!

I think we should go to these games and volunteer to give out ear plugs! And maybe educate the teams about the importance of protecting their hearing.

Some people have questioned about how these players would hear. Well, from my experiences with sports (swimming, waterpolo, and softball) I managed to still kick some butt without my hearing aids in. I think they just need to be a little more visual than usual.

 

[Audie2014]

I think we should go to these games and volunteer to give out ear plugs! And maybe educate the teams about the importance of protecting their hearing.

Yes! At my undergrad institution, NSSLHA went to basketball games to hand out earplugs along with little slips of paper with a few facts about hearing loss. The NSSLHA members made sure to explain to everyone that ear plugs don't really "muffle" what you're hearing--they just "turn down the volume." I really think we should all start doing more of this. Prevention of HL is probably the most significant thing we can do!

 

[SoCalAud]

Yes! At my undergrad institution, NSSLHA went to basketball games to hand out earplugs along with little slips of paper with a few facts about hearing loss. The NSSLHA members made sure to explain to everyone that ear plugs don't really "muffle" what you're hearing--they just "turn down the volume." I really think we should all start doing more of this. Prevention of HL is probably the most significant thing we can do!

Perfect idea, Audie2014!!! I'm going to introduce this idea to my NSSLHA chapter soon.

 

[Dustbug10]

I think the most pressing concern is how annoying it is. I have not watched a World Cup match because of it.

 

[rEliseMe]

I didn't know you were aided, SoCal. Mind if I inquire about type and severity?

The great thing about hearing protection these days is that it can be custom-attenuated (ie. musicians' earplugs, etc.). I really like Audie's idea about handing out earplugs. I wonder if I could get my NSSLHA chapter to do that. Games at Boise State register on a seismograph! Those players and fans could use some protection.

I think we should go to these games and volunteer to give out ear plugs! And maybe educate the teams about the importance of protecting their hearing.

Some people have questioned about how these players would hear. Well, from my experiences with sports (swimming, waterpolo, and softball) I managed to still kick some butt without my hearing aids in. I think they just need to be a little more visual than usual.

 

[rEliseMe]

I think the most pressing concern is how annoying it is. I have not watched a World Cup match because of it.

LOL! You could mute the television.

 

[SoCalAud]

LOL! You could mute the television.

rEliseMe, I was going to say that, too, but I was afraid to come off as rude.
Dusty, you can turn on the closed captioning as well. May be fast, but it's not as annoying as the vuvuzelas.

About my hearing loss, when I was 3 years old I was diagnosed with a bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (later we found out I was born with it. There's a long story about that). At the time my hearing was mild to moderate, and over time it has went down to moderate to severe. My left ear is my good ear and my right ear is...well..my bad ear.

 

[PinkShark21]

The director of my program is an acoustician and has surveyed noise levels at many sporting facilities. He once shared a story with us that one new hockey arena was built to attenuate noise to help protect the players' and fans' hearing. As it turns out, people didn't like the stadium since it wasn't loud and creating the intended atmosphere. So - they ended up having to put noise generators in the stadium to get people to go to games!

Same thing goes with a newer model of Harley Davidsons. I guess they have a new engine style that is effectively fast and much more quiet, but people wouldn't buy them because they did not have that same "Harley sound." The company had to put computer chips in the engine to simulate the loud sounds of previous models.

The world is crazy I say!

 

[rEliseMe]

Haha, I'm happy to take the fall for you, SoCal! I actually use captioning 24/7. My loss is very mild right now, but it's in the perfect spot to hinder my comprehension of consonants, so I miss a lot if I don't have captions.

Yikes, SoCal. I can't believe they waited until you were 3 to check it out! (Good argument for UNHS.) How did that affect your early language learning, or were you resilient? You definitely have the upper hand in terms of writing about that in your essay. It's always a benefit to be able to identify with your clients.

My loss isn't significant enough to really discuss, and my family history was never really a big deal so I can't say it's why I'm interested in audiology. I was actually an interpreting major until I found out about my loss. Knowing it would get worse, I decided to abandon those plans. I stayed in the same subject area and found that my interest in audiology actually trumped my interest in Deaf culture!

rEliseMe, I was going to say that, too, but I was afraid to come off as rude.
Dusty, you can turn on the closed captioning as well. May be fast, but it's not as annoying as the vuvuzelas.

About my hearing loss, when I was 3 years old I was diagnosed with a bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (later we found out I was born with it. There's a long story about that). At the time my hearing was mild to moderate, and over time it has went down to moderate to severe. My left ear is my good ear and my right ear is...well..my bad ear.

 

[rEliseMe]

I agree, PinkShark. That's ridiculous. How are we supposed to make progress when people enjoy destroying their hearing?!

... they ended up having to put noise generators in the stadium to get people to go to games!

... The company had to put computer chips in the engine to simulate the loud sounds of previous models.

The world is crazy I say!

 

[SoCalAud]

Yikes, SoCal. I can't believe they waited until you were 3 to check it out! (Good argument for UNHS.) How did that affect your early language learning, or were you resilient? You definitely have the upper hand in terms of writing about that in your essay. It's always a benefit to be able to identify with your clients.

Before I was officially diagnosed at 3 years of age, my parents took me to see our family doctor for multiple evaluations because they knew there was something wrong. Our old phyician kept saying that I looked healthy. My parents were young, they were 24 at the time, so too young and inexperienced to mount much of a defense against medical avuncularity. Finally at age 3, he gave us a referral to the House Ear Institute in Los Angeles and we did all the possible hearing tests there were.

Linguistically, I was a few years behind other children my own age, which was a serious problem given that I was about to turn 4 years old. If a child gets to the age of four without having acquired fluent and natural diction, chances are slim that he or she ever will. Therefore my parents enrolled me into a special program just for hearing impaired children - through the school district, so I was pretty much enrolled in a crash program to cram those few years worth of language development into me in...jeez I think in about seven to nine months.

I really wish someone would have told my parents about John Tracy Clinic in Los Angeles because I heard it was great program for children with hearing loss. I really encourage you to check out House Ear and John Tracy Clinic, they are both full of great information about hearing loss.

 

[rEliseMe]

Wow, that's quite a journey, SoCal. I'm sorry you had to go through that but at the same time those experiences help shape who we are, and although my interaction with you has been limited, you seem like a mighty fine person to me. I will check out that program, for sure!

 

[BigAl]

SoCal you bring up a very good point. I wonder if EAR or any other ear plug manufacturer would fund something like this, I'm going to bring this issue up with my SAA and look into this further.

 

[SoCalAud]

Okay, I think I have to be honest right now. Since I am a HUGE baseball fan and watched the Angels vs Cubs game this last weekend, wearing ear plugs at the bar really didn't make the experience fun at all. All the yellin' and screaming...I just love it! (sometimes). Okay, enough said. I'm a hypocrite now, folks! And the Cubs really really kicked our butts! Yes, I'm a Angels and Dodgers fan! NO DIRTY LOOKS!!!

 

[rEliseMe]

Haha! You're not alone, SoCal, trust me.

...wearing ear plugs at the bar really didn't make the experience fun at all. All the yellin' and screaming...I just love it! (sometimes). Okay, enough said. I'm a hypocrite now, folks!