Can loud sporting events hurt babies' ears? - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

warrrreagl · 09-26-2004, 04:52 AM

My brother-in-law insists on taking his 9-month old daughter to SEC football games. The basic problem is that he and his wife have only two tickets and are too lazy to find baby-sitters. All the rest of us believe that one of them should stay home with the baby, but their solution is to buy an extra ticket outside the stadium for the baby and squeeze in.

As a music teacher, I am always concerned about people's hearing, and I feel in my gut that this cannot be good for a baby's ears. SEC games are always monumentally loud.

Does anyone know? Is this bad for a baby's ears?

farcryer · 09-26-2004, 07:57 AM

Wow- what a lucky baby!

I'm just kidding, but I wouldn't think it's terribly bad for the baby's ears. I don't know for sure, but here's my take. Sure it seems loud, but I've been to some pretty loud events with tens of thousands of people and never felt "uncomfortable". We're pretty tough, and even a baby is going to need some heavy dBs for good periods of time for real, noticeable hearing damage. Unlike concerts or shows like that where people stack amplifiers and fire them at the audience for the express purpose of blowing their minds out, the noise from a game is undirected, ambient, rather low frequency dull roaring. Also, it's not like the baby is exposed to this every day, nor for long periods of time. Most people who suffer noticeable hearing damage/loss are people who put themselves at risk every day. Navy flight crews, people who work in factories/machine shops, etc. At the game, sure it might roar at a touchdown or a big play, but it rolls off fairly quickly. The baby is also going to lose some hearing just as a product of aging as well. You probably didn't even notice, but the frequency response of our ears rolls off over time. Most adults can't hear over ~15k. You could put little earmuffs to help a bit, but I would say just keep pressuring for a babysitter just out of principle (who drags their tiny ones to a football game?).

If you want to be more scientific about it, just get a sound level meter and have them take it to a game. They're not terribly expensive, you could probably borrow one, and it might give you a more accurate idea of just how bad things are. Plus, having *relatively* (assuming you use it correctly) scientific proof makes it all the more fun to rub "I told you so" into the ground.

DJ Happy · 09-26-2004, 11:36 PM

When we had our baby, the nurses said that any noise that required us to raise our voices in order to be heard was too loud for the baby and was not healthy for it. I don't know how loud SEC games are, but if you have to shout in order to be heard, then it's probably too loud for the baby.

On a separate note, why do they need a ticket for a 9 month old baby? Surely babies should be let in for free? It's not like they'll be sitting on their own seat or anything. Or even enjoying the game.

09-26-2004, 04:52 AM	#1 (permalink)
warrrreagl pinche vato Location: backwater, Third World, land of cotton	Can loud sporting events hurt babies' ears? My brother-in-law insists on taking his 9-month old daughter to SEC football games. The basic problem is that he and his wife have only two tickets and are too lazy to find baby-sitters. All the rest of us believe that one of them should stay home with the baby, but their solution is to buy an extra ticket outside the stadium for the baby and squeeze in. As a music teacher, I am always concerned about people's hearing, and I feel in my gut that this cannot be good for a baby's ears. SEC games are always monumentally loud. Does anyone know? Is this bad for a baby's ears? __________________ Living is easy with eyes closed.

09-26-2004, 07:57 AM	#2 (permalink)
farcryer Upright	Wow- what a lucky baby! I'm just kidding, but I wouldn't think it's terribly bad for the baby's ears. I don't know for sure, but here's my take. Sure it seems loud, but I've been to some pretty loud events with tens of thousands of people and never felt "uncomfortable". We're pretty tough, and even a baby is going to need some heavy dBs for good periods of time for real, noticeable hearing damage. Unlike concerts or shows like that where people stack amplifiers and fire them at the audience for the express purpose of blowing their minds out, the noise from a game is undirected, ambient, rather low frequency dull roaring. Also, it's not like the baby is exposed to this every day, nor for long periods of time. Most people who suffer noticeable hearing damage/loss are people who put themselves at risk every day. Navy flight crews, people who work in factories/machine shops, etc. At the game, sure it might roar at a touchdown or a big play, but it rolls off fairly quickly. The baby is also going to lose some hearing just as a product of aging as well. You probably didn't even notice, but the frequency response of our ears rolls off over time. Most adults can't hear over ~15k. You could put little earmuffs to help a bit, but I would say just keep pressuring for a babysitter just out of principle (who drags their tiny ones to a football game?). If you want to be more scientific about it, just get a sound level meter and have them take it to a game. They're not terribly expensive, you could probably borrow one, and it might give you a more accurate idea of just how bad things are. Plus, having relatively (assuming you use it correctly) scientific proof makes it all the more fun to rub "I told you so" into the ground.

09-26-2004, 11:36 PM	#3 (permalink)
DJ Happy Psycho	When we had our baby, the nurses said that any noise that required us to raise our voices in order to be heard was too loud for the baby and was not healthy for it. I don't know how loud SEC games are, but if you have to shout in order to be heard, then it's probably too loud for the baby. On a separate note, why do they need a ticket for a 9 month old baby? Surely babies should be let in for free? It's not like they'll be sitting on their own seat or anything. Or even enjoying the game.