Hotel Bans Vuvuzelas: Are Soccer Horns Causing Hearing Loss, Spreading Flu?

NEW YORK (CBS/AP) The British hotel chain Premier Inn banned vuvuzelas Saturday after English soccer fans blowing the noisy plastic horns kept a manger awake at a hotel in Newcastle, AFP reported. But the horns are also being blasted for their alleged health risks.

Critics say all those fans blowing vuvuzelas cause such a racket that fans might have trouble hearing announcements if a stadium needs to be evacuated.

Vuvuzelas have also been blamed for spreading illness.

"Vuvuzelas have the potential to spread colds and flu, as a lot of breath goes through the vuvuzela," said Dr. Ruth McNerney of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She said people expel tiny droplets of saliva when they blow a vuvuzela, and that these droplets can carry germs that cause colds and flu.

The particles are small enough to stay suspended in the air for hours, and can be breathed in by other fans, she said.

And then there is the threat to fans' and players' hearing: The sound produced by a vuvuzela has been measured at 127 decibels - louder than a lawnmower (90 decibels) or a chainsaw (100 decibels), according to a press release issued by the hearing aid manufacturer Phonak.

Extended exposure to just 85 decibels is enough to cause permanent hearing loss, according to the release. When the decibel level rises about 100, hearing loss can occur in as little as 15 minutes.

It's not just while sitting in the stands at a match that hearing damage can happen," audiologist Robert Beiny said in the release. "Our ears can be exposed to damaging noise levels when in the pub surrounded by excited cheering fans, or even while at home, with people often turning the sound on the television up very loud in order to create an atmosphere when watching from their sofa."

So, soccer fans, take along some earplugs - even if you're not headed to South Africa.