Having now attended 2 FIRST events as a parent - I wonder if Woody and Dean have considered that they are promoting hearing loss in exhorting the events be "loud". I'm not talking about team cheering - I'm talking about both the music and, especially, the announcing at these events.
Now don't get me wrong - I'm the guy my family is always telling to turn the stereo down. I love techno, think the soundtracks at these events totally rock. But the decibel levels in the audience are neither safe - nor meet OSHA standards.
Let's take an example from the following link on Hearing Loss as it relates to noise levels from the OSHA website:
OSHA Standards
In this article we're presented with the OSHA standards for preventing hearing loss. I would estimate that at the 2 venues I've attended, and especially at the Philadelphia Regional where - despite numerous people complaining that the event was too loud - they kept the levels dangerously high - well over 120db.
The article states that a typical rock concert is at around 150db. I'd estimate that in the bleachers - especially under the speakers - the noise level was pretty close to this - continuously from 9am at event start to 4pm at event end. In order to be able to hear announcing over the loud music, the announcers voice was broadcast at an even higher rate - to the point where the speakers were distorting the sound (which can cause even more hearing damage).
According to OSHA - anything over 2 HOURS of exposure at 100db or more is unsafe - and it takes even less time to lose hearing as you increase the volume. The charts and calculation show that PERMANENT HEARING LOSS results from continuous exposure over a 6-7 hour period for several days in a row (as we're subjected to in the stands at most events). Since my father, and both my uncles, have suffere occupational hearing loss I can tell yout that it is no fun at all to spend the latter 1/2 of your life with hearing aids and not being able to hear discussions or carry on conversations with other people in a crowd.
At 100db for a 6 hour period (which I would again estimate is WELL UNDER what we're subjected to) you are exceeding the occupational TWA (Time Weighted Average) of dangerous noise levels by 3 times - for 2 days straight or longer.
According the CDC (
Center for Disease Control), "if you've been exposed to noise where you must raise your voice to speak to someone at arm's length you've been exposed to a hazardous amount of noise" and "if you leave an event, workplace or venue an have a ringing or muffled sound in your ears you've been exposed to a hazardous amount of noise.
FIRST is an organization which prides itself on safety. We make sure every pit has MSDS sheets on hand, emergency plans filed, pits maintained and kept safe, tool training, safety seminars, safety glasses in the pit area, gloves on our lifter team, etc. Our team even has gone to the effort to be sure that as many mentors, chaperones an teachers as possible are trained on CPR, First Aid and AED operation. And then we go out to cheer our team on and end up exposing ourselves to dangerous levels of noise for hours at a time.
Hearing loss is not a joke. And you can't tell what damage you're doing to your ears until much later in life. I applaud teams like Moe and 341 that hand out earplugs. Bur realistically they shouldn't have to. I just believe that they should not be necessary and that FIRST as an organization should be looking out for the safety of our childrens, mentors, FIRST staff, chaperones and volunteers hearing - as much as they look out for the safety in other arenas.
It's perfectly reasonable to have fun, boppy music at a decent level, and enthusiastic announcing. But if people are plugging their ears in the stands, and taking time to talk to a FIRST representative about the sound level - it's time to consider just backing off from the dials that go all the way to 11
Cheers and thanks for listening to me,
Lee Drake, concerned parent and FIRST sponsor
Please note that these are my personal opinions - I don't consider myself a noise abatement expert, nor am I speaking on behalf of my team. I'll be wearing earplugs - and continuing to believe they just should not be necessary.