Noise and Hearing

Nothing motivates like sport does. It unites players and spectators the world over. Few would dispute that noise plays a vital part in that, adding a sense of thrill and participation between the fans and the players. Certain sports are inherently noisy while others take place in crowded arenas where excess noise can lead to a range of repercussions, from discomfort and pain to psychologic harm and long term hearing loss. The ambient noise inside most stadiums hovers above 85dB(A), with frequent deafening outbursts in response to the flow of the contest. Controversy over noise surrounds many venues, such as Adelaide oval where the average peak volume is regularly over 120dB(A). This has led to incidents where crowd noise drowned out the siren causing players to ignore it and play on. As a consequence, the siren volume has been raised, adding even more noise to our country’s loudest stadium. The present world record for loudest crowd noise was broken in 2017 at the Arrowhead Stadi