Going to the game? Pack earplugs and lose the vuvuzela, WHO says

Sports fans risk having their hearing ruined by vuvuzela trumpets and deliberate attempts to increase stadium noise and they need to start seeing earplugs as something cool, the World Health Organization said on Friday. Shelly Chadha, a WHO expert on preventing deafness, said some U.S. sporting crowds consider breaking noise levels as an achievement, and cited a 136.6 decibel world record claimed by Seattle Seahawks fans in 2013. Asked if they should be banned, Chadha said: "Yes, well, vuvuzelas are certainly something we can live without." Around 1.1 billion young people are at risk from hearing loss, the WHO said, in addition to about 180 million who have already suffered preventable damage to their hearing. As well as sporting events, there are risks to hearing at nightclubs and from listening to smartphones, and the solutions include volume limits, noise-cancelling headphones and earplugs, which can reduce noise levels by 30 decibels, turning the roar of a fighter jet into little more than a hair dryer.

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