{"id":6892,"date":"2020-03-06T10:58:05","date_gmt":"2020-03-06T17:58:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arizonahearing.com\/?p=6892"},"modified":"2022-06-07T12:40:13","modified_gmt":"2022-06-07T19:40:13","slug":"football-hearing-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arizonahearing.com\/football-hearing-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"Football & Hearing Loss"},"content":{"rendered":"
When you\u2019re at a football game, feeling the energy in the stadium as you clap, stomp, shout and sing to cheer on your team is one of the greatest parts of the experience. But sports stadiums\u2019 average noise levels are around 100 dB \u2013 loud enough to cause damage to your hearing in just 15 minutes \u2013 and can top out at 142.2 B \u2013 the volume of a jet at take-off.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s no wonder that professional athletes are prone to hearing loss.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Terry Hanratty, former NFL quarterback and two-time Super Bowl winner during his time with the Pittsburg Steelers, now lives with hearing loss that impacts his daily life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I had perfect hearing,\u201d Hanratty said in an interview<\/a>. But the telltale sign of the too-high TV volume told the real story, according to his wife.<\/p>\n Hanratty suffers from sensorineural hearing loss, which is caused by permanent damage to the stereocilia of the inner ear \u2013 tiny hair cells responsible for converting soundwaves to electrical energy for the brain to interpret as sound.<\/p>\n His diagnosis came after his football career had ended. He had been experiencing symptoms of tinnitus<\/a> for over a month when the NFL Retired Players\u2019 Association invited him to get a comprehensive physical exam.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s a really cool thing; this is one of those executive physicals where you get to see about eight different doctors,\u201d Hanratty said. \u201cYet there was nothing in the physical about hearing.\u201d Fortunately, there was a write-in option for other issues former players could request, and Hanratty took the opportunity to get his hearing checked.<\/p>\n After being diagnosed with hearing loss<\/a>, Hanratty reported that the NFL has added hearing checks as part or routine physicals.<\/p>\n According to Hanratty’s audiologist, Dr. Nancy Datino, his hearing loss \u201ccould be due to noise exposure over time \u2026 but also could also be a result of a combined degeneration from aging or perhaps nerve damage from the\u00a0head trauma\u00a0he experienced as a professional football player.\u201d<\/p>\nFootball & Traumatic Head Injuries<\/h2>\n