Convertibles are bad for your health - "Experts"

[jocasta]

Driving a convertible car can seriously damage your ears, experts have warned.
Cruising with the top down at speeds of 50-70mph (80-112km/h) exposes the ears to sound levels sometimes nearing those made by a pneumatic drill, they argue.
Long or repeated exposure to this noise of the engine, road, traffic and wind could cause permanent hearing loss, a US meeting of ENT experts was told.
Researchers said convertible drivers should consider wearing some form of ear protection, as motorcyclists do.
The research has been published in the journal Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery.
In the study, noise levels immediately to the left and right of the driver were measured while travelling at different speeds.
At 50, 60 and 70 miles per hour, the noise reached between 88 and 90 decibels - higher than the generally agreed 85 decibel threshold level at which permanent hearing damage becomes a risk.


The researchers repeated the test with a range of convertibles, on the same stretch of motorway, outside of rush hour, and found the same noise levels - around 90 decibels, with a high of 99 decibels.
But they also found motorists can cut the noise by rolling up the windows when driving with the top down.
This simple measure cut the level to 82 decibels.
Experts warned that the damage to hearing builds up gradually and the effects may not be noticed until years later, when it is too late.
Dr Mark Downs, of the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, said: "Noise-induced hearing loss is frequently preventable.
"Regular exposure to noise levels of 88-90 decibels when driving a convertible for several hours a day can lead to permanent hearing loss over time.
"By winding up the windows or wearing basic ear protection, such as earplugs, drivers of convertibles can still enjoy driving whilst protecting their hearing."



BBC NEWS | Health | Convertibles 'bad for the ears'

 

[scumbag]

hmmmmm and what does your stereo give out most days?

 

[verytalldave]

So nothing about standing in the front row at a WHO concert then?

 

[Mactech]

So nothing about standing in the front row at a WHO concert then?

Pardon??

As a former sound engineer I'm aware of the risks. I then have spent 30 years in Motorsport (mostly with headphones on!) and always wear earplugs on the bike.
What I really like is the cathedral quiet in the S Class!

Or maybe it only seems that way 'cos I'm going deaf

Life is dangerous, how 'mollycodelled' do we need to be?

 

[bpsorrel]

My Saab must be very good at insulating noise then, 'cos I'm not aware of any ear splitting noise when I'm cruising even at 70 with the roof down! or maybe I'm deaf also from the years of being a drummer in a band!!

 

[kwakdonut]

'Experts' - just another word for interfering, useless, enjoyment destroying, busybodies!

 

[x332race]

Dr Mark Downs, of the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, said: "Noise-induced hearing loss is frequently preventable.
"Regular exposure to noise levels of 88-90 decibels when driving a convertible for several hours a day can lead to permanent hearing loss over time"

So who drives their convertible several hours every day with hood down?

 

[Sp!ke]

The last few convertibles I've been in were whisper quiet with the roof down even at motorway speeds.

Certainly quieter than driving say a Ford KA.

 

[stevieb15]

I've often wondered who commissions these surveys, in the same way I've always wondered who starts the songs at football matches.
Well, not that often.

 

[Palfrem]

X332 hit the nail on the head - its all about exposure / dose

If you are exposed to >90 dB for 8 hours a day, every day - your hearing will suffer. Fact.

However, a few hours now and again probably won't make any difference at all.

In the same way that if you drink two bottles of Scotch every day your health will suffer. A tot now and again will do no harm at all.


I work in Health & Safety and have spent years trying to promote "sensible safety" with proportional controls for only the most significant of hazards.

It's the usual story of the press just going for the easy life and jumping to spurious conclusions.

 

[Mactech]

My Saab must be very good at insulating noise then, 'cos I'm not aware of any ear splitting noise when I'm cruising even at 70 with the roof down! or maybe I'm deaf also from the years of being a drummer in a band!!

Must be an odd thing about Mercedes Estates and drummers....this is me in a parallel universe...well 1971 actually. By 1973 I had my first Mercedes. A 508 van for all the group gear!
I soon discovered I was much more use at the back of the hall behind a sound desk!

 

[Roger Jones]

"It's the usual story of the press just going for the easy life and jumping to spurious conclusions."

Quite right, and they feed on the gullibility of a general public with no sense of proportion about risk. And then there are the politicians and public servants. One person falls off a stepladder, so legislation is brought in to treat all stepladders as dangerous and to introduce regulations requiring training and qualifications to use a stepladder. More work for lawyers, regulators and their agents. More bureaucratic treacle, more public spending, more debt, more mire. Bleaaagghh.

 

[Friz]

I've already got tinnitus so I'm good to go.....

 

[bpsorrel]

Must be an odd thing about Mercedes Estates and drummers....this is me in a parallel universe...well 1971 actually. !

Wow! co-incidences just keep on rolling!!

Do you play at all now, even just for fun?

I've broadened out to various types of percussion now - but still listen with a big grin to my first few recordings with my first rock band in '71 (another co-incidence!) playing our own versions of Honky Tonk Woman etc!!

 

[manalishi]

I was a researcher at Which? when the first round of over-reaction about 'Walkman' personal stereos and hearing damage came along (late '80s). ISTR that newspapers jumped on that scare story, too.

Face it - newspapers (and even BBC news and ITN) are not there to tell the truth, but to sell a story. And the general public just won't buy balanced reporting.

 

[Mactech]

Wow! co-incidences just keep on rolling!!

Do you play at all now, even just for fun?

No not really. There is a kit still set-up in the games room which my son has used (and left!) but there were so many people much better than me, I was more comfortable at the back! There I was as good as anyone and earned a decent living prior to the kids coming along. So I got a 'real' job for six months, couldn't cope and started doing much the same engineering thing in motorsport. Replace musicians with drivers, roadies with mechanics and managers with ...... much the same really. Look after high tech. kit and go put on a show!

 

[Friz]

I was a researcher at Which? when the first round of over-reaction about 'Walkman' personal stereos and hearing damage came along (late '80s). ISTR that newspapers jumped on that.

That's where I got mine from.

 

[cpw1958]

pardon !!!!!

eh!

 

[prprandall51]

... in motorsport. Replace musicians with drivers, roadies with mechanics and managers with ...... much the same really. Look after high tech. kit and go put on a show!

Don't forget: replace deliberate smashing up of guitar on stage to enhance band reputation = deliberate smashing up of car into crash barrier to enhance team position

 

[Baron_Samedi]

I don't know what all the fuss is about....

Surely, all convertible Mercedes are cruised along the sea front at around 20mph in order that one can be seen

One's hair would look rather dreadful if one hooned with the top down...