Oh, my poor ears

I downloaded several iPod apps last weekend that are related to vision and hearing. I originally went on this search because I wanted to find apps that make John R's iPad more accessible. Unfortunately, the vision related apps all employ the camera, which it turns out the first-gen iPad doesn't have. Farg. But I digress.

One hearing-related app I downloaded is called TooLoud. It measures the decibel level of the room and tells you if the noise level is dangerously loud. So for fun, I fired up TooLoud at the Flyers game tonight. Good thing I had ear protection on, because the sound level I measured early on was between 90 and 95 That's far enough into the danger zone that I got a popup alert, warning me that the sound levels were at a damaging volume.

Now obviously, there's a difference between an iPod Touch and a professionally calibrated measuring device. But you won't catch me at another game without hearing protection, ever. I like my ears. Even though they have had tinnitus for 21 years, they still work more than well enough to get by, and I'd like to keep them that way for as long as possible.

I think I will post decibel levels for the next few games. After I tweeted my results early in tonight's game, the sound level dropped into the 80s for the rest of the night. It wouldn't surprise me if the Powers That Be (or their interns) monitor Twitter for the phrase "Wells Fargo Center" during events. If they realize that the volume levels have reached into the territory where it's an OSHA violation, maybe they'll rectify the situation.