14 DAY TRIAL // Recent medical investigations showed that the extremely loud noise made by the new-generation titanium head golf drivers may have an unwanted impact on the golf players' ears, which could even lead to partial or total loss of hearing. The discovery was made by ENT specialist, Dr. Malcolm Buchanan, from England's Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
He published his finds in last month's issue of the prestigious British Medical Journal, writing that the “clank” noise made when the driver hits the golf ball can be as high as 130 decibels, 20 decibels higher than the maximum human pain limit, which is at about 110 dB.
Buchanan based his report on a 55-year-old man who came to see him complaining of tinnitus and reduced hearing in his right ear, following 18 months of playing golf three times per week with his new golf club. The scientist concluded that the damage the patient had in his ear was similar to that caused by exposure to very loud noises, a common problem among professional DJs, who work in a very loud environment for years.
In his experiment, Buchanan asked a professional golfer to hit a golf ball three times, and to use six titanium-faced drivers in the process, alongside six stainless steel-faced ones. A measuring device was set near the balls, in an attempt to measure the number of decibels each shot generated. The new-generation drivers proved to sound louder than all but one of the stainless steel ones, producing noises similar in intensity to gunshots.
"Our results show that thin-faced titanium drivers may produce sufficient sound to induce temporary or even permanent cochlear damage in susceptible individuals," says the paper. Buchanan adds that he will monitor noise levels at the 2009 British Open, and that he may afterwards recommend golf players to wear protective ear padding, to reduce damage on their ears.