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Anybody worried about hearing loss?

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Batman, Dec 10, 2007.

  1. Batman

    Batman Well-Known Member

    I was thinking about this a couple weeks ago while covering a high school basketball game. There weren't even that many people there, no more than a couple hundred, but it was one of those old gyms where the noise just bounces off the roof and right back down. Once the crowd got going a little bit, it felt like a jet engine in my ears.
    So has any study ever been done, or has anyone ever heard of reporters suffering permanent damage from covering games? I'd imagine years of bands, football and basketball games have to take their toll. It might even be worse for guys on college beats.
    Not sure I would go so far as to wear earplugs to games but becoming deaf is a concern that's popped into my head every now and then.
     
  2. Jake_Taylor

    Jake_Taylor Well-Known Member

    I was at a KU-MU game in Allen Fieldhouse a few years ago and I had trouble hearing for a day or two. I got to imagine those guys that have covered every game there for 20 years might have some permanent damage.
     
  3. 2muchcoffeeman

    2muchcoffeeman Well-Known Member

    When I was still in newspapers, I started taking earplugs to basketball games when I knew the pep band would be loud.

    Except for the part where some parent buttonholed the publisher at Rotary to say I was hurting the kids' feelings, there weren't any problems.
     
  4. SixToe

    SixToe Well-Known Member

    What? Can't hear you.

    My hearing has declined due to loud music and other damaging noises.

    Protect your ears and hearing. Wear plugs or muffs.
     
  5. HandsomeHarley

    HandsomeHarley Well-Known Member

    I'm starting to.

    I have really bad tinnitus in both ears. The right ear is louder than the left. The weird thing is, they have different pitches.

    Drives me apeshit in the middle of the night when I lie awake.
     
  6. joe

    joe Active Member

    Hearnes at Mizzou in the late '80s when Kansas would come was as loud as I've ever heard anything. KU No. 1, Mizzou No. 3, tickets were going for $500 or more, and I had A section, right behind the Antlers. So loud that sound was replaced by the throbbing of your eardrums, one giant roar, lasting for what seemed like forever.
    Oh, and Mizzou won.
     
  7. Diabeetus

    Diabeetus Active Member

    I thought this was going to be about how loud people listen to iPods or other music players.
     
  8. deskslave

    deskslave Active Member

    At least hearing loss would enable you to more easily drown out the jackass behind you screaming for a 3-second call.
     
  9. mike311gd

    mike311gd Active Member

    I'm more worried about my hearing leaving because of my going to concerts and standing next to the speakers rather than a crowded gym.
     
  10. John

    John Well-Known Member

    If I covered the NHRA I'd be worried.

    I once did a column on one of the guys that worked the starting line and he was nearly deaf. Our phone interview was rather comical since I had to yell all of my questions.

    I can't imagine what his lungs look like after inhaling all those fumes for about 20 years.
     
  11. TrooperBari

    TrooperBari Well-Known Member

    Going deaf positively terrifies me. I'd much rather go blind or lose my sense of smell.

    Can't say I've had too many problems with crowd noise at events I've covered, though. The worst I've had was semi-pro indoor football, but that team no longer exists.
     
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