Whistles Lead to Hearing Loss
 

From the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/sp...f=sports&_r=1&

I know there are some whistles that are louder than others, out of necessity. Does anyone here have hearing problems that came from constantly blowing a whistle?

I've seen more officials wear ear plugs recently -- some (many?) specially made / custom fit to filter out some of the specific frequencies that cause the most problems.

I'd get the one's that filter out the "coaches yapping frequency." ;)

My wife already says I can't hear as it is so no big loss there.

Funny, as someone who is mildly Asperger-ish I have always been bothered by loud sounds but I have never been bothered by whistles.

And I'm always surprised when a fan, cheerleader, or player gets startled by an unexpected whistle blast from me.

Reminds me of an Irish joke:

Sean and Mary have had a few pints and are driving home from the pub. The constable pulls the weaving car over and asks Sean if he realizes that Mary fell out of the car a few blocks back. Sean replies, "Well thank God, I thought I'd gone deaf!"

Only in football?
 

I notice significant hearing loss immediately after the football games that I do. Maybe cause they're longer sounding whistles? In basketball, they're generally really short blasts. Just a thought.

The football official's hat reflects some of the sound (which the whistle aims up and away from your head) back down and toward your ears.

Basketball officials don't usually wear hats. :)

I was experiencing tinitis (ringing in the ears) last year and saw an audiologist. She found some minor hearing loss in one ear likely due to:

-Trips to gun range
-Lawn Equipment
-Whistles

...severity in that order, according to her. I wear hearing protection for the first two, yet still have some minor loss. I find the horn/buzzer more irritating than the whistles at games.

I found it odd too until I went to a game recently and sat right near the endline. The L did the thing that many do and turn away from the players and then blast the whistle. That hurt the ears quite a bit actually, it was a little surprising.

That's good. I'll share that with my wife and report back on the response.

I can't afford to go to the range any more with the price of ammo these days so I guess I only have to worry about 2 and 3 now.

What?
 

Can you re-type this in a louder font!

Last year had same problem here, tinitis. I had significant hearing loss, end result being a hearing aid in my left ear, and directions from my audiologist to not use a whistle with a dcb above 90.

That said, on the court the hearing aid does help me hear my P better/more easily which is a good thing; but also coaches which can be a good or a bad thing.

Need to make the hearing aids with a remote control for volume... turn them down when you go tableside! :)

What?

Workers Comp???

I was not part of the MichiganHSAA study that the New York Times quoted. I can say this, I do not suffer from tinnitus, but my wife thinks my hearing has diminished over the length of our marriage. I have wondered for the last ten years or so if basketball officials do suffer some form of hearing loss due to officiating basketball after all many rock and roll stars of my generation complain of hearing loss.

MTD, Sr.

It's a little sadistic ,I know, but I always have to fight back the little chuckle on this.

Independent contractor.

I use custom-made ear pieces from Etymotic Research outside Chicago. They're the same company musicians use.

I started using the foam plugs ages ago, but the problem is they cut down all noise, including coaches and players yapping at each other. My E.R. set cut the dBs while allowing me to hear more ambient noise, so yes I do hear the coaches more, but it allows me to communicate better.

As a former DJ and attendee of many loud sporting events in my youth, I had hearing loss long before I started officiating. My first year, before plugs, I held my whistle on the right side of my mouth. Result is my right ear has greater hearing loss.

GET THEM!

Contact an audiologist who can do the foam fittings. My set was $150.

I let my wife think the same thing...the reality is, I've learned to ignore her :D

Are the coaches good practice for wife, or the wife good practice for coaches? :D

I have recently switched to the fox 40 eclipse. I tried the Sonik blast and hated it.

So far I too agree with the fact that the horns are more damaging then the whistle.

Tell The Good Guys From The Bad Guys ...
 

I already wear a black belt. Do you think that it would be alright to wear a black hat as well.

Which model?

Custom from foam molds made of your ear canals. Only takes a few minutes. The molds are then sent to E.R. for casting. (It's a small shop but does work for major stars.) You can select the dB filter you want. Mine are -15.
The website has a list of audiologists they work with.

No wires attached for your iPod. (That's extra.)