In the July 25 edition of the Cape Gazette, credence was given to views held by a Sussex County resident Jennifer August, on the matter of noise from the game of pickleball. The story itself is not worthy of front-page attention, but that is not the significant issue. The Gazette quotes August saying things such as “some residents are saying…,” “pickleball can contribute to cardiac conditions, high blood pressure and concentration difficulties.”
In addition, she is quoted as saying that the safe distance between residences and pickleball courts is 600 to 1,000 feet to avoid health problems. Finally, she is quoted as saying that some communities have removed courts in response to controversial complaints.
Here are the issues. First, no credence should be given to anyone making claims they cannot substantiate. The Gazette provided a forum for August’s unsubstantiated claims. She is not an audiologist, a physician nor an engineer. She is an art therapist. Journalistic integrity requires that the Gazette not give credence to her statements regarding safe distances, removal by some communities without attribution, etc., even if the Sussex County Council gave her a forum.
Here is the science behind audible issues from the National Academy of Sciences. The measure of audible noise is dB(A) – decibels actually heard by the human ear. To give some examples, a non-EV car going 60 mph produces a sustained 60 dB(A), inside an airplane 80, a gunshot 140 and pickleball connection with a paddle of 90. The pain threshold is 140 dB(A). These numbers are the case if a person was very close to the sound source. The issue is not just the dB(A) generated; it’s the ability to attenuate the SNR (signal is noise ratio) to a lower dB(A). Sounds is attenuated by the square of the distance from the source, which means the sound falls off dramatically as a function of distance. There are also other factors such as wind direction and velocity and air pressure. Sound dampening techniques are also very effective in this regard, such as a building between the listener and the pickleball strike and other techniques beyond the scope of this response.
Finally, the Gazette certainly has the right to publish stories they believe are newsworthy. This one is doubtful mainly because it gives cover to one individual who has opinions that have nothing to do with science but rather personal views, hearsay and innuendo.
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