Love or hate them, vuvuzelas are here to stay!

Football fever is running high with teams fighting it out in the field. But another ubiquitous thing besides players, fans and football is causing some serious concerns to World Cup organisers and players alike. It’s the vuvuzela and the racket it creates during match-time. So much so World Cup organisers had received several complaints and demands to ban the instrument but it has been polite and yet firm on its decision not to ban it. Cover your ears, exposure to South Africa's infamous vuvuzela horn could damage your hearing. But for this World Cup they are here to stay. Football World Cup 2010 in South Africa is now faced by a unique problem- the deafening sound of African trumpet ‘Vuvuzela’.  Instead of the chanting of football fans that have arrived from all over the world the only sound audible is of the plastic trumpets. Criticism of the vuvuzelas has been almost as loud as the instruments themselves with broadcasting companies complaining the din is almost drowning out commentary. The sound of the plastic horn has been likened to the drone of a thousand bees or a herd of stampeding elephants. Many players have complained that breaks concentration and television viewers complain of a constant drone in the ear while watching the matches. A recent survey found that the sound emitted by a vuvuzela was the equivalent to 127 decibels - louder than a drum's 122 decibels, or a referee's whistle at 121.8 decibels.      The debate about whether FIFA should ban the vuvuzelas at World Cup matches has been raging in bars, street corners and on the internet. World Cup 2010 organizer FIFA was pressured by a Face book group campaigning to ban the plastic horns known as vuvuzelas from the event in South Africa. Over 100,000 people have joined a Face book group calling for the ban of vuvuzelas from the 2010 World Cup since the tournament kicked off last Friday. While there are a lot of complains some feel Football without the vuvuzelas won’t be as much fun as with it. German fan Patrick Bertels says "I think they should keep them in the stadium" adding that the noise generates a lot of atmosphere at games. Shola Awe, a Nigeria fan visiting from Canada argues that vuvuzelas are "part of South Africa's tradition" and that they shouldn't be banned. But at Pretoria University, Professor Mashudu Tshifularo says your hearing could be at risk if you are assaulted by blaring vuvuzelas during several matches each week, "There's a potential danger to your hearing if you are prolonged exposed to that noise level of the vuvuzela for a long time and for a soccer match, its 90 minutes." Meanwhile, World Cup organisers say they will not ban vuvuzelas from stadiums in South Africa despite numerous complaints. Local Organising Committee (LOC) spokesman Rich Mkhondo says guests in South Africa should instead embrace the local culture, rather than complaining about the vuvuzela. So for World Cup 2010 the vuvuzela is here to stay - the unanswered question is whether the TV audience will stay tuned too.