Sports fans will create noise in an attempt to distract other teams, and some sports teams have been known to create artificial noise in an attempt to make the stadium louder. In doing that, workers, teams, and fans may be at potential risk for damage to the auditory system. NIOSH conducted a health hazard evaluation and studies at Monster Trucking and Stock Car racing events, spectators average noise levels ranged from 95 to 100 dBA at the Monster Truck event and over 100 dBA at the stock car racing event. NIOSH researchers also published noise exposure levels for drivers, crew members, and staff. Noise levels at the Bristol Motor Speedway ranged from 96 dBA in the stands to 114 dBA for a driver inside a car during practice. Peak noise levels in the Pit area reached or exceeded 130 dB SPL, a level often associated with human hearing threshold for pain. Several prominent NASCAR drivers have complete or partial hearing loss and other symptoms from their many years of exposure.During the FIFA World Cup in 2010, noise levels created by fans blowing Vuvuzela averaged 131 dBA at the horn opening and 113 dBA at 2 meter distance. Peak levels reached 144 dB SPL, louder than a jet engine at takeoff.A study of occupational and recreational noise exposure at indoor hockey arenas found noise levels from 81 dBA to 97 dBA, with peak sound pressure levels ranging from 105 dB SPLto 124 dB SPL.
Along the same line of research, higher dietary or supplemental intakes of magnesium combined with antioxidant vitamins, specifically β-carotene and vitamin C, appear to be associated with a lower risk of hearing loss. Consuming excessive amounts of magnesium can be potentially harmful, so any treatments should be followed with caution.Tentative research in a mouse model suggests that blocking the GluA2-lacking, calcium-permeable forms of the AMPA receptor protects against hearing damage. Sound or stress training
Despite different people having different thresholds for what noises are painful, this pain threshold has no correlation with which noises cause hearing damage. The ear can not get more resistant to noise harmfulness by training it to noise. The cochlea is partially protected by the acoustic reflex, but being frequently exposed to noise does not lower the reflex threshold. It had been observed that noise conditioning (i.e. exposure to loud non-traumatizing noise) several hours prior to the exposure to traumatizing sound level, significantly reduced the damages inflicted to the hair-cells. The same "protective effect" was also observed with other stressors such as heat-shock conditioning and stress (by restraint) conditioning. This "protective effect" only happens if the traumatizing noise is presented within an optimum interval of time after the sound-conditioning session (-24 hours for a 15 min. sound-conditioning; no more protection after 48 hours). This "protective effect" had long been thought to involve the active mechanisms of the outer hair cells and the efferent system commanding them.