Can You Hear What I Hear?
A few minutes ago, I was busily running back through all of the live comments we missed out on during the weekend, when I came across a short sentence from Scott posted during Friday’s first session. The statement left me completely gobsmacked and admittedly I reacted quite strongly, so much so in fact I thought I needed a full post on the subject.
Quite Loud
This year, Christine and I attended our second ever Formula 1 race, Christine also attended her first F1 test just last week. Occasionally in the past we’ve also been present during a number of F1 demo runs. All of these things are important, because they involve exposure to either a running V8 or a running V10 engine and those things can be quite loud.
How loud? Well roughly speaking, at full pelt a modern F1 engine creates between 120 and 140 decibels of loudness. By comparison a normal conversation measures approximately 60 decibels. According to the UK Noise Association, human hearing can be damaged through sustained exposure from levels over 85db (although it can vary depending on the situation and the individual).
What this means is that standing close to a Formula 1 car whilst it’s running at full speed can very easily cause some form of hearing loss, whether temporary or more permanent. The more frequently you attend races, tests or demo runs and the closer you get to the action, the more damage you’re likely to be doing.
Given this information, it should be obvious that every single person attending a Formula 1 race should use ear protection. In fact on the reverse of this weekends entrance ticket the following advice is provided:
You are advised to wear hearing protection during races…
Although admittedly it’s written in such small text, it’s unlikely you’d ever notice it unless you were specifically looking for it as I just was.
Say What?
Regardless of how much noise an F1 car makes, in my opinion the biggest danger to your hearing at a race is other members of the public brandishing air horns.
I don’t want to come across as a great big party pooper, but air horns are one of the most foolish and annoying inventions ever to grace this earth. They’re loud, obnoxious and entirely pointless and we’re seriously thinking of starting a campaign to ban them from the face of the Formula 1 planet.
I cannot imagine what goes through the mind of any human being who decides to pay good money to make everybody else’s life miserable, but I’m damn sure they must be some pretty sick and twisted individuals.
The above information alone however, shouldn’t be enough to warrant a reaction from me that involves insulting a commentor on this site, so let me give you my story.
I Must be Hearing Things
A very long time ago, when I was maybe 15 years old, I tried out for a band. It was the sort of band that played chart music and as I was playing the Bass guitar it meant the main focus of my attention revolved around the drummer. A small drum kit happens to be quite loud too, approximately 100db or thereabouts.
We practised for a couple of hours in a small room, and at the end of the rehearsal it was announced I was good enough to join the fray and thus I became their new Bass player. However, a couple of hours after our first meeting I noticed a distinct ringing in my ears that wasn’t there previously. It sounded a bit like a very high pitched, albeit distant kettle boiling and to cut a very long and protracted story short, it turns out I had Tinnitus.
If you’re not aware of this phenomenon, you can read the full details on Wikipedia. What I will say though is it’s bloody annoying and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone especially if it can be avoided due to plain common sense.
Say That Again
So, what has this to do with F1? Well a drum kit, played intermittently between much discussion, simply wrecked my hearing, probably for life. A drum kit is 20db quieter than a single F1 engine, let alone 20 of the things running past in close quarters.
Exposing yourself to the noise of these cars is self inflicted noise trauma, and could very likely damage your hearing either temporarily or forever. Repeated exposure produces cumulative hearing loss and if 20 cars zooming past for the best part of 90 minutes isn’t repeated exposure, I don’t know what is?
Self Preservation Society
Protecting yourself at Formula 1 races is simple. You can purchase ear plugs (usually small pieces of foam), or ear defenders (which look like oversized headphones) from any hardware store prior to a race. Additionally some stands sell these inside the venue, although at vastly inflated prices.
Sadly safety equipment manufacturers insist on making both of the above look unsightly (often luminous) due to their usual employment in the industrial trades. I really wish teams would take a proactive stance in this area and start producing branded plugs / defenders so that fans can buy these things along with their caps and t-shirts. It might help take a vast amount of the stigma away that’s associated with wearing these things.
The initial effects of my Tinnitus have subsided a little over time, mostly because these days I am super careful about these things and literally carry ear plugs (plus spares) everywhere I go. Additionally I’ve versed Christine in the dangers and try to carry spares for her too.
I apologise if this post comes across as preachy or condescending. I don’t know why I haven’t tackled it sooner, and I apologise to Scott for jumping off at the deep end. Your comments and experiences, as always are very much welcomed on this subject.
July 7th, 2008 at 11:16 pmChristine said:
Air horns really are work of the devil.
July 7th, 2008 at 11:17 pmDom said:
Can’t really express much of an opinion on the subject seeing as i have never been to an F1 race nor experienced an F1 Car at full race speed (rather embarrassing thing to say, here of all places.) Although organization is something i’m not familiar with i’m 95% confident i’ll end up at a GP next year and i’m glad i have someones advice to bring with me. Thanks very much.
Never met the sort of person who would bring an air horn to any sort of event but surely you must agree an F1 podium celebration would just sound odd without them. Granted, the amount of air horn use this year at Silverstone was stating to drown out James Allen. That can’t be a good sign.
July 7th, 2008 at 11:19 pmScott Woodwiss said:
goodness, i had no idea you had suffered with tinnitus. damn, that just made my comment on friday practice even more inappropriate.
i, as a person, do tend to worry about my health somewhat, and in some cases, too much. i do sometimes get ringing in my ears after listening to loud noises and sounds, and also after having earphones in, but I guess for the majority of people, that’s normal, i guess.
after reading that and finding out what you’ve suffered with, i am now saying right here right now that for any major motorsport event, or place where it potentially could get very loud, I will do my utmost to have a set of earplugs and/or ear defender with me.
i did also leave you guys a voicemail a little while ago, and I apologised there too.
July 7th, 2008 at 11:28 pmJordan Allen said:
Me:
Nice posting. But your argument would have had more weight if you mention that dB, or decibel, is measured in a exponental scale and not a linear scale that most people are used to.
A linear scale is simply a scale where the diffence between the 1st and 2nd units is 1, and the difference between the 99th and the 100th unit is 1. In terms of currency. Counting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 one dollar bills give you $5.00.
The decibel scale is sort of like counting 1000 dollar bills. Yes you can count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 thousand dollar bills, but do you have $5.00 ? no. you have $5000.00.
Scott. Here is the neat thing of the Decibel scale. 20 db is equal to your girlfriend barely whispering in your ear. 120 dB is about the sound of an F1 engine going by. 140 dB is sound of a jet taking off (notice that the ground crew of an aircraft all wear ear protectors) and 220 dB is the shock wave that you can visibility see from those clips of Atomic bombs exploding in the desert. Notice that the sound wave knocks down reinforced concrete builldinss before the actual explosion. Humankind has yet to measure anything beyond 220 dB.
July 7th, 2008 at 11:32 pmme said:
is that the title of the campaign? was kinda going for something more catchy!
fair point. they do sound great on tv. it’s the close proximity for the duration of the race that’s the issue.
someone sits behind you with one and you’re screwed until it’s over. not like you can get up and sit somewhere else.
tis okay, you didn’t know because i never said.
no, that’s not normal. that’s your body, sending you a warning. many people do get temporary ringing especially after watching a concert or similar, but it isn’t meant to be ignored.
very good to hear
tis fine. i broke rule number 3 of our comment policy, so by rights i should’ve deleted my comment anyhow.
next time i’ll wander around in circles for a bit before hitting post!
July 7th, 2008 at 11:35 pmScott Woodwiss said:
having read that, do you think i need to get my hearing checked out, or just be more careful?
i will say i don’t always get ringing, it’s just on occasions when i’ve been listening to loud noise and stuff, mainly when i’ve been listening to music with earphones.
July 7th, 2008 at 11:38 pmSteven Roy said:
BMW at their Pit Lane Park gave out ear plugs to all the adults and branded ear protectors to all the children. Additionally they had ear plug containers all round the venue and every time an engine was going to fire up their staff came round with piles of ear protectors.
They also made an announcement before the F1 car fired up that parents with children under one year old should leave the venue. They would be allowed straight back in as soon as the engine was switched off.
July 7th, 2008 at 11:42 pmRich said:
My work insists on two levels under health & safety - wear ear protection if you have to work continuously with 85db and above (continuous defined as more than three hours), but if noise is more than 100db wear at all times. Most departments have instruments to measure noise level to ensure compliance. You are also not allowed to listen to iPods, computers etc through ear phones for more than one hour continuously without having 10 minute periods of not wearing/listening in-between. Sure this is as much to ensure they are not liable for any damages and prevents any thoughts of compensation. I am slightly deaf in the one ear due to fire-arm be released to close to my ear - one event and permanent damage!
July 8th, 2008 at 12:05 amme said:
okay no probs, i’ll update the post in a bit.
i don’t know in all honesty, but i’d probably mention it if i was visiting a doctor in the near future. it affects people in different ways though and doesn’t bother some people at all.
personally it drove me nuts at first, although i’m used to it now. i avoid high pitched sounds and exceptionally loud noises and the best thing i ever did was switch the stock white iPod buds for in-ear, noise reducing, foam things that mean i can listen to music at a much quieter level.
i’m still working on that one with christine. she listens to what must be several thousand podcasts a week and seems to have the things plugged in her ears constantly.
that’s all it takes isn’t it?
July 8th, 2008 at 12:08 amJeremy said:
Hear hear!
I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t make a joke on such a serious subject but I just couldn’t help myself. As an ex drummer and sometime navigator in a rally car, I know exactly what you are talking about. I support your campaign.
How can the marketing peeps at all those teams (except BMW) miss that branded earplugs opportunity?
July 8th, 2008 at 12:14 amme said:
+1 for bmw.
there were young children in the pitlane during silverstone testing and they shouldn’t have been within 3 miles of the track, let alone crawling on the asphalt.
one renault staff member eventually suggested that a child should be wearing ear protection, but i suspect it was way too late for that.
July 8th, 2008 at 12:19 amme said:
no idea. every pair of ear defenders we saw were either bright yellow (mine included), or bright green.
someone’s missing a trick there.
July 8th, 2008 at 12:21 amScott Woodwiss said:
well i wouldn’t say it bothers me very much since i have 9 times out of 10 gotten used to it when it occurs, and it does die down after, say, a minute or so, and most of the time i don’t get ringing in my ears.
But i have now just started to listen to music at a quieter volume with earphones in. see, if there’s 3 things i worry about the most health and body wise, it’s my eyes, my heart and my hearing. i would say i regard them in that order, but after all this i am going to have a higher regard for my hearing and take care of it. i tend to worry myself silly about them, and I know i shouldn’t but that’s just me.
July 8th, 2008 at 12:23 amSteven Roy said:
I wonder if Dan can sort out branded ear protectors for our pandas.
I know it is a serious matter but I couldn’t resist it.
July 8th, 2008 at 12:29 amFlibster said:
They’re not cheap - but if you’re going to spend more time around F1 you really should invest in a set of these.
I personally would spend a bit (errr…lot) more on these though
Yup. They are expensive - but they will allow you to spend more time around the cars with much less damage. Plus they filter all frequencies rather than just some that the foam plugs filter.
I have used them in the past and they are superb - the moulding process is a little uncomfortable, but it only takes a few minutes.
As you say, Christine wears earphones a lot, get a good set of in ear ‘phones and some custom sleeves. Allws you to turn the volume way down as it blocks a large amount ambient noise out. Works with my Se530’s
July 8th, 2008 at 12:30 amme said:
ahh, okay. if it’s that short a time frame you might be okay (i’m not a doctor!). i’ve heard of people having problems after concerts for several days and then having the noise die down again.
that’s exactly the attitude teams should have isn’t it?
will the drivers wear them too? that’s bound to help as well.
July 8th, 2008 at 12:30 amlou said:
Thanks for posting this ‘me’. Having never been to a Grand Prix or even having heard an f1 car in anger I have never experienced the sheer volume they can produce. This is extremely helpful for next year when I intend to go to the GP.
I am sorry to hear about your Tinnitus and can only imagine how horrible it must be. I have a tendency to get migraines when exposed to load noise for long periods of time, so don’t often put myself in that situation (i.e. rock concerts). So I will be taking on board your advice for the future and I will insure I have at least one pair of earplugs with me when I hopefully go to Silverstone testing and GP next year.
As Goodwood will be the first time I will have heard an f1 car in real life do you advise me taking/ wearing earplugs? It may sound like a stupid question after this post but I thought there is no harm in asking
July 8th, 2008 at 12:34 amAlianora La Canta said:
I saw a kid on the British GP broadcast who appeared to have bright red ear defenders (which I suspect may have been Ferrari-branded), so maybe there is hope for the other teams to pick up on the opportunity. Also, I’m pleased to see that BMW were so thorough in their dealing with the matter in the Pit Lane Park.
Personally, I carry two pairs of earplugs with me whenever I’m out because I have very sensitive hearing. Loud noises hurt my ears long before the 85dB limit is reached (cinemas aren’t meant to play noises over 80dB and I still have to wear earplugs for most of most screenings), and without them it gets difficult to hear speech in noisy environments as well.
Hearing loss is developing into a big problem among young people, though for the majority of those having difficulties it’s because they insist on going into concerts, clubs and discos without ear protection on a regular basis. I can stand concerts with earplugs as long as the band’s tuneful and I’m not near the front, but clubs and discos result in me crossing the street to avoid them.
July 8th, 2008 at 12:34 amme said:
flibster, when i was playing music, those things cost about £1,000. so that price is more than reasonable.
i’m not fond of the idea of having foam and silicon dripped into my ear, but maybe we should do a podcast about this or something? a step-by-step guide to looking after yourself.
July 8th, 2008 at 12:36 amScott Woodwiss said:
well if i’ve ever had ringing in my ears after, say, listening to music, it’s always 99.9% cleared up and virtually gone after a absolute maximum of say 5 minutes. but again, it varies as to how long i’ve listened to music and how loud. but as i’ve said, it doesn’t really phase me at all.
as for the concert scenario, i’ve been to concerts, but not been right at the front, which I assume is what you mean.
July 8th, 2008 at 12:37 amlou said:
I used to be exactly the same. earphones always in listening to music and my 20 odd podcasts especially during revision at Easter, it provided a perfect way for me to encapsulate myself in my own little word. This was put to a stop when my 3 year old ipod stopped playing sound through one ear…. This does create a problem because the volume needs to be higher in order for me to hear the music. Now i mostly listen to music from my laptop and not headphones. I need to get myself a job so i can afford to buy a new ipod.
July 8th, 2008 at 12:40 amlou said:
maybe something like - how to prepare yourself for your first gp weekend…
It would certainly help me 
alternatively a post would be good too 
July 8th, 2008 at 12:40 amScott Woodwiss said:
at the moment, i’m forced to listen to music with earphones, and admittingly not top quality ones, since one of my laptop speakers is out. I can play music without them but, it sometimes makes the broken speaker crackle and ruin the music.
July 8th, 2008 at 12:40 amme said:
christ yes!
it’s not a stupid question by any means, goodwood was also the first time i ever heard a formula 1 engine up close too.
fisi was approaching in a renault and it was set to take a piccy as he popped out from behind the trees but the sheer volume scared the life out of me. i missed the shot by a mile, in fact i didn’t even see the guy, i had to wait for him to come back down again (much more slowly).
f1 cars are louder than anything i can describe (there are louder things, but i’m not sure any are as violent).
July 8th, 2008 at 12:41 amAlianora La Canta said:
lou, you’d be well-advised to take earplugs to Goodwood. There may not be as many cars, but they’re still noisy. Plus they’re using for blocking out air horns and Hamilton groupies.
July 8th, 2008 at 12:41 amScott Woodwiss said:
i think that would be better. if it was all about the potential threat to your ears, i’d probably not stop thinking and worrying about it for a week!
July 8th, 2008 at 12:41 amAlianora La Canta said:
One of my comments has ended up in moderation.
July 8th, 2008 at 12:45 amme said:
ahh, well that’s good to know.
one thing i haven’t mentioned is kangaroo tv. the headphones they supply are rubbish and make matters so much worse. you have to turn the volume right up to hear over the engine sound and damage your hearing twice over.
you need a set of defenders if you’re going to use that device.
July 8th, 2008 at 12:45 amScott Woodwiss said:
i’ve just instinctively found a pair of foam ear plugs in one of our kitchen cupboards. they’re going in my wallet so I always have them with me
July 8th, 2008 at 12:46 amlou said:
Right well i will be getting 4 pairs of ear plugs in the morning (not all for me - i am going with my parents and a friend). Thank you
July 8th, 2008 at 12:48 amme said:
umm, depends on the band too. some rock n’ roll bands insist that louder is better. while pop groups tend to be slightly more sedate.
yeah, don’t wanna introduce paranoia either! a healthy balance would be good.
July 8th, 2008 at 5:05 amCameron F said:
Michelin did it once…..When I arrived at the Indianapolis airport for the 2006 USGP there was a table at an exit and people were passing out little blue pouches containing ear plugs with “Michelin” written on it. That was a nice freebee I got from Michelin for screwing up the race in 2005.
F1 cars are so loud they make my ears itch. The straight at Indianapolis is a tunnel of sound with giant bleachers on both sides of the track.
July 8th, 2008 at 5:10 amAlex Andronov said:
These look like the things that the drivers wear.
noisebreakers
£75 a go but they are things that people use when shooting shotguns and they must be pretty loud.
I notice that they have a headphone attachment too.
July 8th, 2008 at 7:59 amfraggle said:
I can cope with F1 cars. What I can’t cope with is the muppet that usually finds its way and stands just to the immediate left or right in the row behind me and right at the moment I’m taking a photo lets off their air horn. The pain it causes in my ear and the reaction in my nerves makes me cry.. and then i just want to thump them one.
I suppose its the fact that I can anticipate an F1 car and when it will be round next. Whereas I can’t anticipate and react accordingly when some numpty lets off an air horn behind me :o(
July 8th, 2008 at 9:41 amme said:
that’s exactly what we need. it’s not like they can be very expensive to manufacture either.
i like the colour of those, and it’s the “cool” factor that needs the most work.
i had the same reaction on saturday, when a woman behind us arrived with one.
i was going to throw a bottle of warm sticky coke over her, before i realised at least 6 other people were parping in unison and i didn’t have that much cola.
July 8th, 2008 at 10:33 amScott in Italy said:
Definately take ear plugs.
As for listening for music - I listen to a lot and I have been worried over recent years about my own hearing.
Ahead of my move from Australia to italy I bought some of these.
They have a cushion around to seal off the noise and have the little microchip system to cancel out the background noise. I will never make a long-haul trip without them - on an aeroplane, you normally have to turn up the plane’s sound system to the maximum of 25 to drown out the engine noise. with these headphones (and similar ones) a volume of 1 was almost too loud. and you could hardly hear the engine noise - and I wear them at work now too to drown out co-workers
July 8th, 2008 at 10:46 amSteven Roy said:
For anyone wwho has never worn ear protection before it is important that you understand that they block out low frequency sound but do not affect your ability to hear speech. In the past I have worn ear defenders in a noisy environment specifically because it made hearing speech or a radio easier because they block out a lot of the annoying background noise.
It is a bit like driving in sunglasses. They block out the annoying light but still let you see what you need to drive or function in any other way.
As with any safety equipment the way you wear them is every bit as important as the quality of the product.
July 8th, 2008 at 10:46 amme said:
it sounds like a bit of a faff to get this done, but i think we’re going to make a podcast following the whole process through, hopefully it’s straightforward enough that it’ll encourage others to do the same.
sounds perfect. looks like there are quite a few solutions to the issue of noise pollution. we might have to buy a bunch of different products and get christine to try them while i shout in her general direction.
incidentally if you have time, have a listen to this again:
http://www.sidepodcast.com/2008/06/2…ort-of/
what’s interesting in hindsight, is that the microphone used is designed to pick up normal voice conversations. and nothing i could at the track would lower the input volume enough to stop the massive distortion you heard. a f1 car is simply too loud. it’s not a fair representation of how the human ear hears things, but it’s damn uncomfortable to listen to.
July 8th, 2008 at 10:50 amme said:
v.good point. ear plugs come with instructions that must be followed. put them in too far and you can cause just as much damage as not far enough.
defenders are more straightforward, and are the recommended solution for small children.
July 8th, 2008 at 11:07 amshaun said:
Hello sidepodcast,
Well i have just read your article on noise damage to human ears at race events and i think not only should you send this as a letter to Autosport but they should actually feature if as a full blown article in the magazine.I myself payed the price for not waring ear protection when i was a welding engineer from the age of sixteen to twenty-five.Not waring ear protection whilst using an angle grinder did something to my right ear.It feels fine most of the time but if i drop something on the floor of a truck like a pallet or listen to F1 cars live without ear-plugs something rattles about in the inner ear.All day yesterday - despite using ear-plugs at the race my right ear was giving me jip.I’ts the sort of thing guitar player Pete Townsend suffers from as well i think.
Ear plugs should be handed out by the bucket load at GP’s - we have pockets full of them when we are on the gate that we hand out to whoever needs them.Imagine what noise exposure does to a child’s ear?.Now i’m not being a kill-joy : the cars should not be silenced, that’s part of the draw of watching F1 live, but please protect the ears.You only have one chance with them.
Just to lighten things up a bit…airhorns.When i’m working at the race we like people to have a good time.But, when you get people like one particular idiot blowing an air-horn off right in your ear as he passes through the gate…he get’s told in no uncertain terms that if he does it again the airhorn will be shoved up his a*se!!.Ban them, yes!.
Shaun.
July 8th, 2008 at 11:13 amme said:
ouch, and double ouch. even the thought of that makes me wince.
ooh, okay well i didn’t know that, and i wouldn’t have thought to ask. but we’ll certainly keep that in mind because inevitably one day they’ll get forgotten and we’ll have to sit with our fingers in our ears.
absolute agreement from us there. as fraggle said earlier, cars can be anticipated and you generally have time to stop a conversation and cover up.
July 8th, 2008 at 12:37 pmLe BOL said:
Yeah, ear protection is important, I just never seem to get my hands on a pair of ear plugs - I ordered RF1 ear plugs at my local Renault dealership but they never delivered them, not sure why, it was like only available in France or something.
Anyway, Mike Doodson from grandprix.com has seriously damaged his hearing by not protecting his ears in the early years of his F1 journalist career. So, you’d better be careful.
July 8th, 2008 at 1:10 pmfraggle said:
Don’t know about the other gates at Silverstone, but Gate 3 over the weekend certainly had a huge plastic box full of them so fans could equip themselves on the way in. The problem was that by lunchtime on the Friday they’d all gone and didn’t get replenished for Sat or Sun. Which I would have thought was equally important this year as this time round was the re-introduction of the 1 day tickets that had been absent for a good 4/5 years from what I understand.
July 8th, 2008 at 1:19 pmme said:
we didn’t see anything at gate 5, and we were pretty early on friday.
agreed. one set of plugs isn’t enough to last a whole weekend anyhow, especially when it’s muddy and they’re easily dropped.
July 8th, 2008 at 1:38 pmJoe said:
Damn, that sucks Me. At leasy you’ve been to a race though haha.
Out of curiosity, anyone here ever download races? I’ve been downloading last year’s European GP for over a day due to my download speeds being crap, I downloaded Sunday’s race farily quickly though in a few hours.
July 8th, 2008 at 2:05 pmshaun said:
Fraggle,
That’s typical at Silverstone.They run out of everything on the first day.I didn’t even get a rist band because security had run out on the Friday…had to rely on the boss radioing the main gate to get us in, pain in the ar*e.
The GP will be going to Donnington in 2010 - this sort of incompetence is one of the reasons why.There should be more than enough ear plugs.
S.
July 8th, 2008 at 3:19 pmTom said:
on my way into silverstone for the race they had a big box of ear plugs they were giving away at the gate, I have my own pair of ear protectors though, used origionally for shooters.
July 8th, 2008 at 3:24 pmme said:
which gate, and what day(s) tom? sounds like a good time to hand them out, but i’m betting even the big box didn’t last very long.
July 8th, 2008 at 3:27 pmFlibster said:
It feels a little odd, but going to the audiologists to get it done is fine. They put a small bit of foam in your ear first to stop it getting to your ear drum and then they injest the mix in.
It’s not the nicest feeling but it really only lasts 5-10 minutes.
The biggest advantage with the ACS ER range is that they audio filters are replaceable so you can have various levels of blocking, up to a silicon plug to block the majority of sound.
I mainly wear them when I go to gigs now. Motorsport is more difficult now I’m pretty much permenantly on crutches.
July 8th, 2008 at 3:38 pmKathryn S said:
I feel compelled to throw my two cents in on the discussion.
I am the mother of a child apparently born with a hearing loss (wasn’t diagnosed until he was older, but presumably was present at birth). He has been wearing hearing aids since 20 months of age. He is very, very fortunate that his loss is in the moderate range as he is able to function “normally” with hearing aids. If you think the silicone squirted in your ear seems uncomfortable, try holding a less than two year old when they are having it done.
Basically what happens with loud noises is that the tiny hair-like sensors in your cochlea are shocked…and once the damage is done it is irreparable. Our hearing acuity also declines with age, so the combination of loud noises and age is bringing forth a generation of baby boomers needing hearing aids.
The really good news is that the technology for hearing devices has exploded…my son is now in his 20s and the leap forward with each new set of aids has been tremendous. We’ve gone from the awful behind the ear ones, to in the ear ones, to in the canal, to in the canal digitals, to in the canal digitals with 12 channels and noise suppression. Weirdly enough for him wearing his hearing aids at the track work better than most cheap ear protection (he also has the very good protection, too).
The downside is the cost…the last set of aids set us back $3000 per ear…in the US few insurance companies cover aids…I don’t know what National Health does there.
It’s hard to get someone to understand how precious their hearing is…
July 8th, 2008 at 3:58 pmme said:
very glad you did kathryn, thank you very much.
that seems very likely, especially in light of rich’s comment relating to a fire alarm causing him permanent damage just because he was near to it when it went off.
good lord. if that isn’t an incentive for self preservation i don’t know what is?
as an aside, there’s a very prominent f1 figure who sadly now requires two hearing aids, and that man is Murray Walker. i imagine some of his hearing loss is related to age, but i wouldn’t mind betting f1 played a major part in it.
there’s a video by the man here, but it’s a bit of a sales pitch. gives a bit of an insight into the processes involved though.
July 8th, 2008 at 4:32 pmStuart Codling said:
Indeed. There are plenty of people in motorsport who have hearing difficulties. The damage is cumulative because, as Kathryn points out, the receptors don’t heal. The first thing you know about it is when you wake up with your ears ringing, and by then it’s too late…
July 8th, 2008 at 4:58 pmCraig said:
I agree air horns really are the pits - I can only assume people reckon it’s the only thing drivers can hear from the crowd as they go round. Consequently the noise from them is the only thing anyone sitting nearby hears for days afterwards as well!
The thing that gets me about earplugs is that there are so many of the merchandise stalls charging a couple of quid for them when, as has been said above, they should really be free as you enter. Over a hundred pounds for a ticket should see them present you with a couple of bits of foam worth 50p or so!
McLaren have some quite snazzy red earplugs I see on grandprixlegends - and I’ve got a pair of Red Bull earplugs which came in a small replica of DC’s helmet. A lot more expensive than a “normal” pair but they are pretty cool!
July 8th, 2008 at 10:08 pmGaulty said:
I’m not an expert on the subject, in fact only went to my first race at Croft for the BTCC about a month and a half a go. I was quite close to the track, not joking, in the infield, about 3-4 meters away from the track itself. Okay, it wasn’t as loud as it could have been (considering it was chucking it down). I’m guessing still it was above 85db. Perhaps it was because I was underprepared for the race or it was pouring made me just simply forget about them. However now, I seem fine.
Air horns. The most bleeding annoying thing that man could have invented. The worst is at the speedway, say I’m watching my Newcastle Diamonds come home in a 5-1 (lets say Franc and Henry) on there parade lap you go to clap and HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONK. They should be banned end of.
As for ear defenses, what’s wrong for in the stands putting ear defenders on every seat?
July 8th, 2008 at 10:36 pmme said:
really? cool, might have to check them out.
good point, they could be attached to the seat and even have commentary piped through them. could be an issue at silverstone though, where half the track doesn’t have seats.
July 8th, 2008 at 10:39 pmlou said:
They could always hand them out as people go through the gates and collect them as people go out….
July 8th, 2008 at 11:48 pmLady Laney said:
I have to say that I am very pleased to be reading about this, but there definitely needs to be more awareness around the subject in motorsport.
I started learning sign language three years ago. Not out of any personal experience, but out of a fascination for the language. Since then I have involved myself more and more in the deaf community and can’t stress how important it is to protect your ears. Although there are advances being made to hearing devices all the time, you can never completely repair the damage once it is done.
I do have to shamefully admit that, despite knowing better, I didn’t protect my ears while at the Grand Prix this weekend. Despite being given some quite funky McLaren ear plugs, they remained in my pocket the whole time. The ringing in my ears has only just stopped.
I would also like to mention that Tinnitus is not only annoying but can also be incredibly painful. I’m not sure if you have experienced this yourself me?
If anyone is worried about damage then you can do a test over the phone by dialling 0845 600 5555. This obviously doesn’t replace an examination by your doctor but could help to identify a problem.
Anyway, you only get one set of ears in life and if you’re lucky enough to have a good set, look after them! I will be at races from now on anyway!
July 9th, 2008 at 10:39 amme said:
yikes! that wasn’t smart.
who gave you the funky macca plugs out of interest?
thankfully no. it was annoying and uncomfortable (and still is, although less so), but luckily it never actually hurt.
July 9th, 2008 at 11:06 amLady Laney said:
I got the earplugs from Vodafone as part of a prize but I think you can buy them on the McLaren website (haven’t checked). They’re housed in a nice silver keyring and they are attached by a string so are much harder to lose!
In fact, I think quite a few of the teams do sell similar ear plugs on their sites which are team branded.
July 9th, 2008 at 11:36 amme said:
i did a quick search for “ear plugs” on f1.com store and found these:
http://f1store.formula1.com/sto…pid=50362
£16.99 is a bit pricey for two pieces of foam. but even then mclaren was the only team to sell any. will have to have a look around and see what else is out there.
July 9th, 2008 at 11:45 amChristine said:
I have been looking through some of the “non-urgent” stuff we brought back from Silverstone (socks, for instance, fall into the urgent category and were sorted instantaneously).
Honda Dreamfields did provide us with our own ear plugs in a very cool case. I, for one, must have missed them and left them in the tent at all times. Useless.
July 9th, 2008 at 11:54 amDank said:
Shameless plug: yes and you can also get them on eBay for a very reasonable 99p at the moment. Along with the other McLaren freebies *we* received at the weekend!
I’m surprised that not once was I offered a free pair of earplugs during the weekend at Silverstone upon entry. In comparison, at Spa last year I think I ended up with about six pairs of ING sponsored earplugs over the course of the weekend!
July 9th, 2008 at 12:12 pmLady Laney said:
We were offered ear plugs on the Friday at the gate, but you obviously weren’t paying attention!
July 9th, 2008 at 12:27 pmDank said:
Were we?! I don’t recall that at all. I must have been giddy with excitement and stormed through the entrance! I was expecting a free pair in my bag alongside the programme I paid £10 for anyway (daft assumption I guess).
As an aside: does anyone know if bog-standard stereo headphones act as a good defender against high noise levels? Obviously you can’t wear earplugs when listening to the commentary through a radio/Kangaroo TV.
July 9th, 2008 at 12:36 pmChristine said:
But it did come with a free Vodafone flag, didn’t it? Much more useful, of course.
July 9th, 2008 at 1:46 pmme said:
we were paying attention, but were not offered any plugs. we arrived about 9:30(ish) and there were none to be found.
no!
they’re the worst possible solution, because you’ll just turn up the volume to drown out the cars. if you’re listening to kangaroo tv, take your own pair of noise canceling headphones, or, wear defenders over top of the kangaroo supplied phones.
July 9th, 2008 at 1:50 pmSteven Roy said:
Bog standard stereo headphones will not protect your ears. Best bet for kangaroo TV is if it can be listened to with ear plugs under the head phones or if you can get stereo ear pieces that can be worn under ear defenders.