Titanium Driver damages hearing?

lisbon_lions

Interesting Article

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7811143.stm

Playing golf can 'damage hearing'

Keen golfers are being warned by doctors that they could be risking their hearing for their sport.

Players who use a new generation of thin-faced titanium drivers to propel the ball further should consider wearing ear plugs, experts advise.

Ear specialists suspect the "sonic boom" the metal club head makes when it strikes the ball damaged the hearing of a 55-year-old golfer they treated.

They outline the details of this case in the British Medical Journal.

The man had been playing with a King Cobra LD titanium club three times a week for 18 months and commented that the noise of the club hitting the ball was "like a gun going off".

Thin-faced titanium drivers may produce sufficient sound to induce temporary or even permanent cochlear damage
Lead researcher Dr Malcom Buchanan

It had become so unpleasant that he decided to ditch the club, but by this time he had already suffered some hearing loss.

Doctors at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital carried out tests on the keen golfer after he attended their clinic with unexplained tinnitus and reduced hearing in his right ear.

The tests confirmed that his hearing problems were typical of those seen with exposure to loud noises.

'Sonic boom'

The doctors trawled the web for reviews of the King Cobra LD club and said they found some interesting comments.

One player reported: "Drives my mates crazy with that distinctive loud 'BANG' sound."

Another said: "This is not so much a ting but a sonic boom which resonates across the course!"

The doctors decided to recruit a professional golfer to hit shots with six thin-faced titanium clubs from manufacturers such as King Cobra, Callaway, Nike and Mizuno.

All produced a louder noise than standard thicker stainless steel drivers.

The worst offender was the Ping G10 at over 130 decibels.

Lead researcher Dr Malcom Buchanan, an ENT specialist and a keen golfer, said: "Our results show that thin-faced titanium drivers may produce sufficient sound to induce temporary or even permanent cochlear damage in susceptible individuals."

He said golfers should be careful when playing with these thin-faced clubs as they make a lot more noise, and suggested they could wear earplugs for protection.

Crystal Rolfe, an audiologist for the RNID, said: "Exposure to loud impulse sounds over time can cause damage. It is a short, sharp burst of very loud peak sound with this type of golf club.

"Earplugs would offer some protection and if someone was playing regularly with these types of club they might consider wearing them. But this is only one individual case so we need more research."

Dr Martin Strangwood, an expert in sports equipment engineering at the University of Birmingham, said manufacturers engineered the sound of the club to get a "good" sound for the player.

"There has been a tendency to make booming clubs for drivers. But if this were a problem it would be easy to remedy by filling the head of the club with foam to reduce the sound."

He said wearing earplugs was another solution, but said players use the noise as feedback to assess how they are playing and how well their equipment is performing. "So it might not work for all."

Scary stuff, im pretty new to golf so just have one of those box sets (stainless steel). For those that play with the drivers mentioned - what are the sound levels like with it?

Mister Sifter

The sound off my driver is ok i think. It's more the 'Fore!' or the '****' after i hit it that's likely to hurt the ear dreams...

Myksyk

Play a Ping G10. Noise has never been noticed by me or commented on by anyone else. Maybe I'm just not hitting the thing hard enough!

DonkeyPokerTour

"There has been a tendency to make booming clubs for drivers. But if this were a problem it would be easy to remedy by filling the head of the club with foam to reduce the sound."

Does the guy who is quoted above know the first thing about drivers? Ping etc spend many many man hours working out how to lower and move back the cg to get optimum launch angle and lowest spin rate and the guy says "I have a simple solution, stick some foam in there". We'll see how he gets on when he goes and talks to the company's.

As for the overall artical, as the state its just one case so its not a thrend yet. Although the thoughts of people taking out Ear Muffs when someone is about to tee off is quite funny!

lisbon_lions

Mmmh, I dont know, getting a pro player to hit off a few balls under lab conditions and the sound effects recorded - does not seem like much margin for error there.

ShriekingSheet

I'm not surprised. It's an extra loud noise off that particular Cobra driver though. And you don't need to be a long-drive champ to make it really smash. Sounds like hitting a rock with the back of a frying pan.

There's a few guys in our place with them. Different type and level of noise to anything else such as the Ping or TM etc. On a calm day, with drivers being hit all over the course, the Cobra one would actually make you turn around to see what the noise was - and the guy could be 400 yards away.

gnolan

I hit a Callaway FTI, really deafening in the left ear, more so in the range than on the course.

1stuey1

i have a king cobra and when connecting right it really is a very sharp sound and does make me take notice of it..

thewing

Same here - terrible sound off it...

billy3sheets

What? What?

bogmanfan

I just got a Nicklaus driver and I've noticed it's quite loud. At the range it was almost uncomfortably loud, with the sound bouncing around off the concrete. As someone who already has ear problems from music, I might pop in my earplugs next time I'm up at the range. Didn't notice it too bad while out on the course though...

kagni

I play an older model Cobra and in general Cobra's seem to be louder than other drivers. It sounds like a bomb going off when I hit it in a stall at the driving range.
Don't notice it as much out on the course.
The Ping G10 I had before that had a more muted sound.

For me a louder sound does make me feel as if I hit the ball further, I wonder if some manufacturers deliberately make their drivers to be loud for this reason.