Competition volume

[vhcook]

I've gotten to the point where if I am planning to be in the stands for more than a minute or two, I wear hearing protection. Downloaded a dB meter app on my phone at Arkansas, and the levels were always over 85 dB and frequently up to 100 (which appeared to be the saturation point on my phone's microphone, since it never registered over 101, but pegged there for quite some time). Kansas City was a little better, but still over 85 dB at all times when the music was on.

It's just a smartphone app, not a properly calibrated meter, but I could feel the absence of the sound when I left the arena at both events.