You don’t have to be inside the Super Bowl stadium to experience elevated noise levels during the game. A recent study using the Apple Watch discovered that noise intensity across the United States significantly increases for approximately nine hours on Super Bowl Sundays.
On average, nationwide, individuals are likely to encounter noise levels that are 1.5 to 3 decibels higher than normal, which can pose a risk to hearing health despite what might seem like a minor increase.
While one expects the stadium to be incredibly loud during the event, it turns out that noise levels escalate wherever you are on game day.
The Apple Hearing Study, a project in partnership with the University of Michigan and Apple, employs the Noise app on Apple Watches worn by over 115,000 participants to analyze exposure to noise. In this particular research effort, the focus was to determine if noise levels in the U.S. spiked during significant events, even for those far from the venue.
Our analysis included noise data from the last four Super Bowls (2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024). We evaluated the average noise levels six hours before and six hours after the game started on Super Bowl Sunday and compared them to noise levels at the same times the following Sunday.
On average, over the past four Super Bowls, we recorded a noise level increase of about 1.5 to 3 decibels among participants compared to the subsequent Sunday. This increase began around three hours prior to kickoff and continued for about three hours post-game.
While this might not seem significant, it’s important to note that decibels are measured on a logarithmic scale; hence, a 3dB rise indicates that the sound energy is effectively doubled.
The challenge lies in the fact that our ears do not perceive this increase in the same way. Consequently, we may be subject to potentially harmful noise levels with little awareness. The university advises utilizing the Noise app on your Apple Watch to keep tabs on your exposure and suggests wearing earplugs or noise-cancelling headphones at loud events.
Photo by Jumping Jax on Unsplash
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