Romito presents pickleball noise poster

Authored by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition

My newest noise colleague, Kathleen Romito, presented a poster based on her groundbreaking research on the self-reported health effects of pickleball noise at the Acoustical Society of America meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. As described in this paper Kathleen and I wrote for the ASA, those living near pickleball courts reported both physical symptoms like racing hearts and psychological symptoms including stress, PTSD-like symptoms, hearing phantom pickleball “pops” and suicidal thoughts. I worked with Kathleen on the poster, the paper and a scientific manuscript submitted for publication.

Pickleball noise is different from most noise in everyday life. It can be classified as impulse noise, with a sharp rise and a very short duration. Impulse noise is difficult to study in the occupational setting because it occurs intermittently, and is subsumed into average noise calculations in occupational noise exposure recommendations. This averaging may not accurately consider the impact of impulse noise on hearing. 

Kathleen’s research may be the first study to examine the effects of impulse noise on the public, and also the first to examine the non-auditory health effects of impulse noise exposure. Why does her research matter?  Pickleball is the most rapidly growing sport in the United States, with an estimated  20 million players in 2024. In many communities and apartment or condominium complexes, tennis courts have been converted for pickleball use. One tennis court can fit four pickleball courts. Pickleball is usually played as doubles, so those living near the courts can be subjected to thousands of pickleball pops per day, for up to 13 hours a day if the courts are lit.

We are not opposed to pickleball play. We think it’s great that those who play have found a sport that gives them joy, an activity that deals with two major public health problems in the United States, loneliness and lack of exercise. Smokers can smoke all they want as long as no one else has to smell or breathe in their secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke is a health problem. Similarly, we think pickleball players should play all they want, but cities and homeowners associations can’t allow them to endanger the health of those living nearby by exposing people in their homes to dangerous impulse noise around the clock. Pickleball courts should be placed as far away as possible from homes and apartments, or an absolute minimum of 750 feet.