www.switched.com/2009/01/06/golfers-at-risk-of-going-deaf/ (http://www.switched.com/2009/01/06/golfers-at-risk-of-going-deaf/)

Chuck, you know this is totally false.

Sorry, I could't hear that... ;)

Chuck, you know this is totally false.



Don't be so quick to dismiss, Bob.

Here's a link to the actual research article by Dr. Malcolm A Buchanan published in the British Medical Journal (http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/337/dec17_2/a2835?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&ful ltext=golf&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HW CIT).

I wasn't. And I still dismiss it. Mini sonic boom indeed.

Of course hearing is damaged by repetative loud noises. Especially in the higher pitches. I make a lot of noise so I know a lot about hearing loss.

I don't know, 110 to 130 dB for one sharp instant approximatley 12 times per a four hour period, three times a week. OSHA requires hearing protection for any continuous noise (8 hours) of 85 dB or more. For 115 dB or greater they require hearing protection for any exposure. Note the word any. See OSHA hearing guidelines (http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=standards&p_id=9735)

I just now discovered this thread. When I saw the title of the article, the first thing which jumped to mind were the number of golf courses near airports. I've played a couple of courses where I wish I had ear plugs due to the noisy jumbo jets passing overhead.

My brother lives near Tacoma Washington and when I fly out to visit him and his family, I often play the Seatac disc golf course right near the airport. The course is literally right underneath the final approach to the north/south runway. About every 10 minutes the noise of a landing plane is deafeaning and conversation is impossible for about a dozen seconds while the plane flies over. About a minute after that, a strange whipping noise will be heard from the jet engine washout. (This washout apparently produces unnatural wind currents and course pro Herm the Lefty has reported that discs have traveled very unusual distances because of them. This seems unlikely to me since the planes are still several hundred feet up, and I've also heard that Herm likes to tell tall tales)

I would imagine that the noise is also still deafening at the Glen Acres Country Club and Rainier Country Club ball golf courses which are only a few blocks north.

My brother lives near Tacoma Washington and when I fly out to visit him and his family, I often play the Seatac disc golf course right near the airport. The course is literally right underneath the final approach to the north/south runway. About every 10 minutes the noise of a landing plane is deafeaning and conversation is impossible for about a dozen seconds while the plane flies over. About a minute after that, a strange whipping noise will be heard from the jet engine washout. (This washout apparently produces unnatural wind currents and course pro Herm the Lefty has reported that discs have traveled very unusual distances because of them. This seems unlikely to me since the planes are still several hundred feet up, and I've also heard that Herm likes to tell tall tales)

I would imagine that the noise is also still deafening at the Glen Acres Country Club and Rainier Country Club ball golf courses which are only a few blocks north.

Sea tac is my home away from home away from home. The jet wash does create a fair amount of wind and I have had a few shots act in odd ways because of the turbulance. The tops of trees move in all directions and there is no way to read the wind because it swirls. I am possitive, even without hearing the story, that Herm stretched it but it is likely based on some sort of truth.

As for going deaf from ball golf, maybe, maybe not.