Phonak have customised one of their state-of-the-art hearing protection
systems - typically used by helicopter pilots; fire-fighters; industrial
staff; and security professionals - to filter out the endless drone of the
vuvuzela. Several of these prototype systems have been sent to South Africa
for testing purposes, with the aim of enabling journalists in the stadiums
to focus on their work; stay connected to the overall atmosphere in the
stadium; and engage in regular verbal communication, while being protected
from dangerously loud noise levels.

Continuous exposure at just 85 dB puts us at a risk of permanent noise
induced hearing loss, and when subjected every working day to 100 dB or
more, hearing damage can occur in just 15 minutes. Recent measurements at
big games have shown the combined noise of the crowd and their vuvuzelas to
almost constantly exceed 130 dB - even at a South African Premier League
soccer match that took place before the World Cup, measurements conducted by
the University of Pretoria indicated peaks of 137 dB, and an average of 100
dB over the match, when there were only 30 000 fans in attendance.

The prototype was made by first analysing the precise sound emitted by the
vuvuzela, and then deciding on the Serenity DP dynamic hearing protection
system as the base for the prototype, as its digital signal processing
capabilities provide a versatile platform for experimentation with a
multitude of digital filters. It works by damping impulse sounds the moment
they occur, and as long as the surrounding noise is within safe limits, the
system is fully transparent - ie, it will not alter the ambient sound and
communication capabilities of the user.

If this prototype proves successful, and vuvuzelas take off in stadiums
around the world, mass production might be an option going forward.