Protect Your Ear from Vuvuzelas

Sports is one of mankind’s greatest conceptions. It gives the latent aggression in man a positive outlet. Incredibly, this did result in times of peace. The ancient Olympics provide one example. During the games, every Greek city participated and none would ever declare war.

Of all the sports in the modern world, football is currently the most popular. Many nations stop every four years to watch the FIFA World Cup, an event that hosts the best teams from around the globe. Spain won the recent 2010 World cup in Johannesburg.

Football has a tradition of overenthusiastic fans. While the latent aggression of players are being channeled positively, the fans aggressions are, sometimes, not. Many fan riots have broken out during or after big games. Many fans were injured or, even, died. In one of the worst riots of all time, Argentina vs Peru (1964), 300 fans were trampled or killed after a referee disallowed a goal.

Unfortunately, football’s history of overenthusiastic fans causing injury continues today. The 2010 World Cup shows a particular example. It wasn’t a riot of fans, it was a riot of sound. If you watch any of the games of the 2010 World Cup on TV, you’ll hear its drone in the background. Thankfully, the sound was filtered for TV. Unfortunately, all the sound couldn't be filtered away. Even more unfortunately, can you imagine the sound if you were lucky (or unlucky) enough to watch it live?

Universally hated outside the host country of South Africa, vuvuzelas made an unforgettable mark in the history of football. Football fans and players expect the deafening cheers of the crowds. No one expected the deafening drone of vuvuzelas. Cheers wax and wane with the excitement of the play; vuvuzelas keep on the monotonous deafening drone forever. A vuvuzela is a one meter long piece of plastic that can sound at 131 dB. It’s louder than a jet engine! New models reduce the sound by 20 dB, which is a relief. Now, it only sounds as loud as 10 pneumatic hammers. Many people have tried to get FIFA, the organization that oversees the World Cup, to ban the instruments from the games. They didn’t. Vuvuzelas still have the power to plague future World Cups.

The sheer continuous deafening noise of the vuvuzela make it a likely cause of hearing impairments like tinnitus. Tinnitus is a sound in the ear that only the sufferer can hear. The sound often originates from the patient's ear or head. It’s usually described as a ringing, a buzzing or a swishing. For many people, tinnitus usually signifies hearing loss. One of the common ways to get tinnitus is through a large explosion-like sound or a continuous noise, just like the ones produced by vuvuzelas.

Tinnitus is hard to treat. Most of the tinnitus treatments, like biofeedback or sound therapy, rely on helping sufferers cope with the impairment. While tinnitus can be treated, it’s better to make sure that you don’t get tinnitus at all. Sporting events cause a lot of noise, even if they don’t feature vuvuzelas. Remember, a crowds' cheer can be deafening. Wearing a hearing protector while watching sporting events will help in preventing tinnitus. If another large sporting event once again occurs in South Africa, definitely remember to bring one!