Vuvuzelas Can Cause Deafness and Disease, Experts Warn

More than just a challenge for the ears of soccer fans around the world, the ubiquitous vuvuzela horns might also pose significant health risks to stadium spectators at the World Cup.

Experts are warning that the sheer decibels of the vuvuzelas -- at 127, they're louder than a chainsaw -- leave soccer watchers in danger of permanent hearing loss, the Wall Street Journal is reporting.

Surprisingly, though, hearing problems aren't even the biggest risk.

Instead, the sprayed spittle from thousands of spectators, all blowing into their vuvuzelas, could spread the common cold, chicken pox and even tuberculosis and SARS.

"We measured what happens when healthy people blow the vuvuzela and were astonished at the number of aerosols formed," Ruth McNerney of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine told the Journal. "If someone with a chest or throat infection uses the vuvuzela in a crowded place then they could spread the infection to people around them."

And among South Africans, the vuvuzelas might also pose a threat to physical safety. The horns are being blared, day and night, at workplaces, from cars and on sidewalks -- apparently causing arguments and fist fights among locals.