Study Finds Loud Golf Clubs Can Damage Hearing
Of all the mind numbing, ear drum bending, noise pollution that bombards us, who would have thought that the impact of a flattened composite on a one and half ounce sphere could hurt your hearing?
A British study has found that some golf clubs can cause hearing damage.
" That ping is high volume, that’s what hearing loss is about in 21st century America, " explained Kathlyn Maguire, an expert and an advocate on hearing loss.
She says the study on tinnitus and reduced hearing in golfers conducted at Norfolk and Norwich Hospital in England, makes sense.
20 years ago impact of wood on ball generated a healthy click on the range. Now it is something akin to a small sonic boom
Recent tests at Florida’s North Palm Beach Country Club with director of golf Mike Gray measured decibel levels on impact.
"They design them to be louder, its more exciting. If it sounds louder, it feels like it will go father" said Gray.
Time and again the impact pinned the meter past 130 decibels.
80 decibels equals the noise level in close proximity to a jackhammer.
On the range the tiny sonic booms were swept away by the wind but the British study was food for thought.
"Its kind of annoying to hit a drive that loud," said one golfer.
"If I hit it in the fairway, I'll go with it regardless," chuckled another.
The study recommends wearing earplugs.
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