SOUND BARRIER

Amid the wail of tortured rubber and the bellow of highly tuned engines, there’s an oasis of calm. High-tech ear protection comes to a Southern Cape motorsport tradition

DURING THE WEEKEND OF 6 TO 8 MAY, flagman Marck Cooper counted down and waved off more than 1 000 revved-up racers towards the daunting ascent to Simola, pretty much as he did in 2015.

The difference this time round is that Cooper remained in permanent communication with the Jaguar Simola Hillclimb’s timekeepers. Importantly, that enabled them to co-ordinate the release of each competitor perfectly and to be able to react to a number of factors that impacted on the smooth and safe running of the event – right at the epicentre of it all.

Up close and personal with the deafening din of highrevving engines, Cooper could hear and be heard thanks to his Peltor Litecom Plus level-dependent headset. Besides protecting his ears, the headset is equipped with a twoway system that allows communication on a public frequency over a distance of up to two kilometres.

Headset suppliers HPC* also provided a number of Sporttac active noise-suppressing headphones (extremely popular in recreational shooting circles) and other, passive noise attenuation headphones. These were used by marshals and other event personnel who were exposed to high levels of noise over the course of the three-day event.

Communication and safety are both critical aspects of the annual event, says Sparky Bright, longstanding clerk-ofthe-course for the Jaguar Simola Hillclimb. “It has been great to have HPC involved in these two important areas. Exposure to noise can cause permanent long-term damage, but in the short term it can also lead to mental fatigue and ‘fuzzy’ communication in an environment where it is very important to know exactly what’s going on minute by minute.”

NOISE BY THE NUMBERS Decibels

QUIET ROOM CONVERSATION, 1 METRE CITY TRAFFIC JACKHAMMER, 15 METRES ROCK CONCERT (TYPICAL) JET ENGINE AT TAKE-OFF GUNSHOT FROM A SMALL-CALIBRE HANDGUN PERMANENT HEARING DAMAGE THRESHOLD (PROTECTED) SMART EAR PROTECTOR: HOW IT WORKS. Built-in surround microphones capture external sound, analyse it at high speed and attenuate it before it reaches the ear. Weak sounds are amplified; noise, including sudden loud noises like a gunshot, is attenuated to a harmless level. (A gunshot-type noise is an impulse noise, which is particularly harmful to the human ear. A single shot can cause permanent damage without the proper hearing protection.) An equaliser function makes it possible to cancel out certain frequencies to help hear better. Stereo balance can be adjusted to take into account hearing imbalances. Passive hearing protectors attenuate all noise, including speech frequencies, so this gets in the way of communication with the external environment. Combined with an external radio and microphone, level-dependent hearing protectors allow complete two-way communication. There’s also the possibility of Bluetooth connectivity for wireless connection to a mobile phone or other communication device. (Source: Roadworx)

* Hearing Protection & Communication (HPC), suppliers of ear protection and communication solutions to motorsport and other industries.