Toning down the vuvuzela

The first to try it out will be the journalists in the stadiums to assist them to focus on their work, stay connected to the overall atmosphere in the stadium and engage in regular verbal communication, while being protected from dangerously loud noise levels.

Reaching ear-splitting levels

As part of its Hear the World initiative, the experts at the company helped start the debate about the risk of hearing damage from the vuvuzela when they conducted sound measurements, which found that it reached an ear splitting 127 decibels (dB) - louder than a lawnmower (90 dB) and a chainsaw (100 dB). Continuous exposure at just 85 dB puts us at a risk of permanent noise induced hearing loss, and when subjected every working day to 100 dB or more, hearing damage can occur in just 15 minutes.

Recent measurements at big games have shown the combined noise of the crowd and their vuvuzelas to exceed 130 dB almost constantly. Even at a South African Premier League soccer match that took place before the World Cup, measurements conducted by the University of Pretoria indicated peaks of 137 dB, and an average of 100 dB over the match, when there were only 30 000 fans in attendance.

Prototype may go commercial

The company first analysed the precise sound emitted by the vuvuzela and then decided on which dynamic hearing protection system to use as the base for the prototype. Its digital signal processing capabilities provide a versatile platform for experimentation with a multitude of digital filters. It works by damping impulse sounds the moment they occur, and as long as the surrounding noise is within safe limits, the system is fully transparent - ie, it will not alter the ambient sound and communication capabilities of the user.

If this prototype proves successful, and vuvuzelas take off in stadiums around the world, mass production might be an option going forward. To learn more about the product that the prototype is based on, visit Phonak's hearing protection devices