Long-term hearing damage caused by the pump-up-the-volume cacophony from opening whistle to final horn is becoming a can-you-hear-me-now problem for the world of sports. The noise for change from concerned constituencies is growing louder when it comes to protecting the hearing of fans who are screaming their heads off at venues throughout the country.
“People think it’s cool or funny or whatever, but there is increasing evidence that if your ears are ringing, damage is happening,” said M. Charles Liberman, a professor of otology at Harvard Medical School and the director of a hearing research lab at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.
The Seattle Seahawks boast that their fans caused a small earthquake after a touchdown at a 2011 home game. The team shouted from the top of the Space Needle about their crowd’s record 136.6-decibel noise level last September after an effort orchestrated by the fan group Volume 12.
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Say what? The Arrowhead Stadium crowd achieved new heights in noise last Monday night.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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In a Kansas City Chiefs game against the New England Patriots at Arrowhead Stadium last Monday, the pandemonium peaked at 142.2 decibels, a current world record for an outdoor stadium. Last season, when the Arrowhead bedlam reached a mere 137.5 decibels, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said he could “feel the ground shaking” and later heard ringing in his ear not covered by his headset.
Other sports are following the NFL’s lead. The roaring from the home crowd at a Sacramento Kings game reached 126 decibels in setting a record for an indoor arena on Nov. 11, 2013.
Fans are being audio-bombed, programmed, prompted and prodded to get Loud!, Louder!, LOUDER!, LOUDEST!! Vocal outputs are measured by all manner of scoreboard supergraphic noise meters. Vocal chords are strained to set world records. Is anyone considering the damage done to the sense of hearing by the race to break the sound record at sports events everywhere?
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Drew Brees protected his young son’s ears during the raucous Super Bowl celebration in 2010.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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Specialists say hearing safeguards like noise-reduction headphones are critical for young ears in the deafening world of many sports events. Hearing loss from exposure to loud noises can be cumulative and irreversible. I’m reminded of a photograph from a few years ago of Super Bowl-winning quarterback Drew Brees holding his small son during the raucous postgame celebration with the little guy wearing his noise-reduction headphones. Stadiums and arenas are being creatively constructed to maximize crowd noise. The debate on which teams artificially enhance their home fans’ lungs with speaker sound continues.
Making noise for the home team and razzing the visitors is an inalienable right for all card-carrying leather-lunged sports fans. The difficulty in attempting an actual non-shouting conversation with your seatmates is also a right that fans are starting to speak up about with a louder voice.
Even before the days when stadium speakers could put a part in your hair, I thought we should try a “quiet inning” when I was with the Oakland A’s — and it was booed loudly, very loudly. Those who are in charge of the volume control need to consider a middle ground so fans can use their middle ears.
It is time for team management and venue operators to start listening to the experts and concerned fans before they can’t hear them at all.
Andy Dolich (andy.dolich@gmail.com) is managing director of U.S. sports practice for Odgers Berndtson and has held team executive posts in the NFL, NBA, MLB and NASL.
