Apple Hearing Study on the Apple Research app, and the Apple Watch Noise app. Image credit: Apple
People are exposed to more noise in the United States during special events like the Super Bowl, the Apple Hearing Study has confirmed, with elevated levels happening well before the game takes place.
The Super Bowl is one of the most-watched live events on the planet, and supporters often get a little loud during the game. The latest results from the Apple Hearing Study indicate that it’s a phenomenon that is felt across the United States.
The report published by the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health examined the data from 115,049 Apple Hearing Study participants, capturing levels via the Apple Watch Noise app. The team wanted to know if the noise levels of participants were raised during major events.
The noise levels during the 2021 to 2024 Super Bowls were monitored, along with the six hours before and six hours after the game. They were averaged out, then compared against the same times of day on the following Sunday.
Decibels experienced during the Super Bowl – Image Credit: University of Michigan
Across all participants, there was a detectable rise on Super Bowl Sunday of between 1.5 and 3 decibels. The increase versus the following Sunday started about three hours before the game started, and persisted until about three hours after it finished.
A three-decibel rise is approximately a doubling of sound energy. While not a level that is easily perceivable at the time, it is still a hefty increase that ears have to deal with.
Game states
Breaking the data down further, the team also wanted to compare the volume increases in states where the game is taking place, and those where the teams taking part come from. They were put against averaged data for participants in states not involved in the Super Bowl that particular year.
In all four instances, the volume levels in game states was significantly higher than those in non-game states.
The team believes it is the first analysis demonstrating how far noise levels increase across the United States for a single, brief event.
The report concludes with some words of hearing health wisdom.
“We encourage people to monitor their noise exposure (using the Noise app on Apple Watch or iPhone app, for instance) and to protect their hearing (by wearing earplugs, for instance) when they attend or watch noisy events to ensure that they can have fun safely.
Previous reports produced from the Apple Hearing Study include the May 2024 finding that 15% of people experience tinnitus daily, and approximately 77.6% of participants had experienced tinnitus at some point.
It was also claimed in 2023 that people in population-dense areas were exposed to more noise on average. Puerto Rico had the highest percentage of people exposed to excessive noise, at 44%.
To join the Apple Hearing Study and other research projects, iPhone users can download the Apple Research app from the App Store.
