New golf clubs causing hearing loss

The report claims that the new generation of thin-faced drivers golfers are using in their efforts to hit longer distances maybe producing a sonic boom that could damage hearing.

A golfer who played three times a week using the King Cobra LD titanium club had suffered unexplained hearing loss in his right ear and tests concluded it was typical of a noise induced hearing loss.

The golfer had commented that the noise of the club hitting the ball was "like a gun going off" and according to British reports it was so unpleasant he ditched the club but had already suffered some hearing loss.

Doctors searched the internet for reviews of the club, finding some interesting comments.

"Drives my mates crazy with that distinctive loud 'BANG' sound. Have never heard another club that makes so distinctive a sound. It can be heard all over the course, it is mad!!"

"A very forgiving club ... albeit the 'unusual' clanking sound."

"I don't mind the loud BANG as it sounds like the ball goes a really long way. It sounds like an aluminium baseball bat, so some may not like it."

"This is not so much a ting but a sonic boom which resonates across the course!"

Doctors then decided to test several clubs and employed a professional golfer to hit three two-piece golf balls with six thin faced titanium drivers such as King Cobra, Callaway, Nike, Mizuno and Ping, and six standard thicker faced stainless steel drivers.

"The thin faced titanium clubs all produced greater sound levels than the stainless steel clubs," the report said.

"Interestingly, the club used by our patient (King Cobra LD) was not the loudest." That honour went to the Ping G10 at over 310 decibels.

The doctors concluded that the thin-faced titanium drivers may produce sufficient sound to induce temporary, or even permanent, cochlear damange, in susceptible individuals and said that caution should be exercised by golfers who play regularly with thin faced titanium drivers to avoid damage to their hearing and a suggestion was made for earplugs for protection.

The BBC reported Crystal Rolfe, an audiologist, as saying: "Exposure to loud impulse sounds over time can cause damage. It is a short, sharp burst of very loud peak sound with this type of golf club.

"Earplugs would offer some protection and if someone was playing regularly with these types of club they might consider wearing them. But this is only one individual case so we need more research."

However, Dr Martin Strangwood, an expert in sports equipment engineering at the University of Birmingham, said manufacturers engineered the sound of the club to get a "good" sound for the player.

"There has been a tendency to make booming clubs for drivers. But if this were a problem it would be easy to remedy by filling the head of the club with foam to reduce the sound," the BBC reported.

He said wearing earplugs was another solution, but said players use the noise as feedback to assess how they are playing and how well their equipment is performing. "So it might not work for all."

No details of the actual testing environment - indoor or outdoor - were supplied, except to say the sound level meter was positioned 1.7 metres away from the point of impact - the recorded distance from the right ear of the test golfer to the point of impact between the golf club and the ball.