Could You Speak Up Please?

FNBF* Bob, of Utah skiing fame, is not now nor has he ever been a golfer.  

But he is seeing a hearing specialist for a longstanding case of tinnitus, and received the following information from his doctor:

Play Golf and Lose Your Hearing? 

That’s the possibility presented in the British Medical Journal by Dr. Malcolm Buchanan in his 2008 article. His research found that the constant use of thin-faced titanium, long-distance drivers without ear protection might result in hearing loss over a period of time. 

When a titanium golf club makes contact with a golf ball, it produces a whip-like action that causes the club head to vibrate quickly as it hits the ball, creating a sound of as much as 128 decibels, far above the safe limit of 110 decibels. The sound has been compared to a sonic boom. 

The study began with a 55-year old man who came to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital with hearing loss. He had been playing golf with a titanium club three times a week for 18 months. He commented that the noise of the club sounded “like a gun going off.” 

An examination determined he had tinnitus and reduced hearing in his right ear, and that these hearing problems were typical of those seen with exposure to loud noises. After ruling out other possible causes, they considered the possibility that the damage was caused by the noise of the titanium club hitting the golf ball. 

Buchannan, a golfer himself, had heard stories about the titanium clubs from other golfers. He decided to do a research project that involved using a decibel measuring device to determine the level of sound created when golf balls were hit by both titanium and stainless steel-faced drivers. 

The research team hired a professional golfer to hit three-balls with each of six different thin-faced titanium clubs from manufacturers including Nike, Mizuno, Callaway, Ping, and King Cobra. This also was done with the older generation stainless steel-faced drivers. 

The results showed that every one of the six titanium clubs produced sounds greater than the safe limit of 110 decibels. The stainless steel clubs, in contrast, produced considerably lower decibel readings within the safe range. 

Recently, golfers have been advised to wear ear-plugs when teeing off.

Theresa has told me repeatedly that I'm losing my hearing, at least I think that's what she was saying.  Must be the percussive sound that my titanium driver makes when striking the ball, which I'd ballpark at 150-160 decibels.