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Ever since the World Cup kicked off last week, the sound of the vuvuzelas (plastic trumpets) has not stopped! Resembling the incessant drone of invading airborne armies of insects swarming across the African plains, the issue has raised concern amongst fans and players alike, as they are often unable to hear above the noise with anxieties expressed regarding the likelihood of longer term hearing damage.
We know that city centre roads are busy, noisy places. But behind tightly rolled up car windows, noise levels may be barely audible, even more so when masked by air rushing past when speeding along urban main routes and motorways.
It is estimated that, worldwide, there will be more than 700 million people suffering from a hearing loss of more than 25 dB by 2015. In the developed world alone, the number of hearing-impaired people will reach 215 million. Of those, some 90 million will be Europeans, although in developing countries, the number is twice as large.
We regularly hear of individual cases of permanent hearing damage caused by a complete failure to implement Health & Safety precautions which would have prevented an unexpected incidence from causing severe injury or worse.
There are currently 9 million people in the UK who suffer from deafness or are hard of hearing, i.e. one in seven of the population, rising to one in two for those over 60, yet there is no known method to reverse existing hearing loss.
