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Old 09-26-2004, 07:57 AM   #2 (permalink)
farcryer
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Wow- what a lucky baby!

I'm just kidding, but I wouldn't think it's terribly bad for the baby's ears. I don't know for sure, but here's my take. Sure it seems loud, but I've been to some pretty loud events with tens of thousands of people and never felt "uncomfortable". We're pretty tough, and even a baby is going to need some heavy dBs for good periods of time for real, noticeable hearing damage. Unlike concerts or shows like that where people stack amplifiers and fire them at the audience for the express purpose of blowing their minds out, the noise from a game is undirected, ambient, rather low frequency dull roaring. Also, it's not like the baby is exposed to this every day, nor for long periods of time. Most people who suffer noticeable hearing damage/loss are people who put themselves at risk every day. Navy flight crews, people who work in factories/machine shops, etc. At the game, sure it might roar at a touchdown or a big play, but it rolls off fairly quickly. The baby is also going to lose some hearing just as a product of aging as well. You probably didn't even notice, but the frequency response of our ears rolls off over time. Most adults can't hear over ~15k. You could put little earmuffs to help a bit, but I would say just keep pressuring for a babysitter just out of principle (who drags their tiny ones to a football game?).

If you want to be more scientific about it, just get a sound level meter and have them take it to a game. They're not terribly expensive, you could probably borrow one, and it might give you a more accurate idea of just how bad things are. Plus, having *relatively* (assuming you use it correctly) scientific proof makes it all the more fun to rub "I told you so" into the ground.
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