Did anybody see the article in the Daily Mirror yesterday reproduced below?
Keep “deaf” off the roads - ditch the convertible.
Scientists say driving an open top car at speeds of over 55mph can damage your hearing. They advise motorists to leave the hood up for long journeys, or wear ear plugs.Tests in five different convertibles showed that drivers were exposed to noise of more than 85 decibels - the recommended work safety level. And while travelling at 75 mph, open top drivers suffered 90 decibels - as loud as a police siren, a pneumatic drill just a metre away, or a motorbike at 25ft. There were also higher noise “spikes” recorded whenever open top drivers passed a lorry. Cars tested at the St Louis University School of Medicine included a Porsche 911, Nissan 350Z and Saab Aero. Convertible drivers also suffer by having to have the radio turned up louder . Study leader Dr Mikulec said: “Long duration driving at high speeds with the top open will increase the risk of hearing damage.”
Speaking personally with a hearing aid in one ear and a perforated ear drum in the other my hearing was shot long before I became a soft top driver. I don’t know what they do in the good old USA but I would never compare noise levels of driving top down with a police siren, definitely not a pneumatic drill a metre away and I’ve never found a motorbike at 25ft to be that loud, not when it’s still got it;s baffles in anyway! The comment on the radio is most definitely true.
There must be lots of long term top down drivers out there who can comment on their experiences and add to the collective knowledge on this serious? issue.
I’m sure I’ve heard this story before, probably on 1st. April !! I’ve been driving for over forty years and have owned a convertible for all but two or three of those years without any ill effects. Anyhow, any deafness would be more than compensated for by the extra enjoyment you got out of life and all that lovely freash air.
I have found that on the motorway, when topless ,the most constant loud noise is from lorry tyres. If you have one each side of you it’s 30 odd large tyres
singing to you. I have considered ear plugs for future long trips.
I have a cure for noise - - go faster, that cuts down on length of noise (timewise) from adjacent loud vehicles - - - - A’hmmm.
Added thoughts on the subject, how come motorway noise doesn’t affect normal car drivers, when houses built adjacent to motorways (further away than cars from noise) have to instal triple glazing for some piece and quiet? (let’s not get into a discussion as to why people buy houses next to motorways - - and airports - - - - -)
A sympthony orchestra at full volume generates 120 decibels - - ever heard of an instrumentalist who went deaf? (Other than Beethoven anyway) Some disco levels equal and even exceed that, have any of you gone deaf? Ever tried to find a really quiet spot? - Where silence is golden? Pedestrians - that includes us at some point - are constantly subjected to noise, on the street, the bus, the train, the supermarket, the pub, at work and yes - even in bed - - trying to sleep. What else is new?
Well another “scientists say…”, I wish I could get a job studying very little (apart from what is common sense), for what is probably a decent grant (better than working for a living), at tax payers expense (etc, etc, etc, etc…don’t set me off…).
I have ridden motor bikes without ear plugs for 25 years, driven convertibles without ear plugs for 7 years, worked in industry where sensibly I have worn ear plugs in press shops/stamping workshops, and my hearing is still reasonable for my age (42…).
The only time I have had problems are nightclubs and gigs but normally the recovery is exponential with a bacon butty breakfast the next day.
Nowt like the wind in the hair, decent exhaust and induction noise.
If dirving a soft top is as bad as being 25ft from a motorbike spare a thought for all the motorcyclists who regularly exceed 65mph and by now must be totally mutton.
I hate to sound all ‘grown up’ but there is a lot of proof that even relatively low levels of SUSTAINED noise can damage hearing, I have a couple of sets of yellow E.A.R ‘ear cheese’ which I keep in the car, we use them all the time at work and are cheap as chips and they work. I noticed tinutis after a long journey with the top down (about 6 hours in all) and that was warning enough for me. I worked for a short time at the Centre for Aviation Medicine at RAF Henlow, there is a whole department there called ‘noise and vibration’ who study aircraft and vehicle noise pollution. If the military is concerned enough to be spending good money then may I humbly suggest we might like to too…
For all those with after-market exhausts and de-cats, it’s only going to be worse
Being a tinitus suffer i do notice that it gets considerably worse after a day of top down driving - does that stop me does it hell lol. The fun far out weighs the whistling i permantely hear.
