Brass[1] The vuvuzela /vuːvuːˈzɛlə/ is a horn, with an inexpensive injection-moulded plastic shell about 65 centimetres (2 ft) long, which produces a loud monotone note, typically around B♭ 3[2] (the first B♭ below middle C).

[4] The indoor noise level caused the U.S. NCAA to permanently ban them after the 7 February 1987 Division I Men's Ice Hockey game between the Brown Bears and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers.

Its high volume can lead to permanent hearing loss for unprotected ears after close-range exposure,[11] with a sound level of 120 dB(A) (the threshold of pain) at one metre (3.3 ft) from the device opening.

It is also known in the Sepedi language as Lepatata; a Bokoni dialect word meaning to make a blowing sound (directly translated: ukuvuvuzela).

[17] The world association football governing body, FIFA, proposed banning vuvuzelas from stadiums, as they were seen as potential weapons for hooligans and could be used in ambush marketing.

The 35-metre (115 ft) blue vuvuzela mounted on the Foreshore Freeway Bridge, Cape Town, was intended to be used at the beginning of each match; however, it did not sound a note during the World Cup, as its volume was a cause of concern to city authorities.

[27][28][29][30] The BBC, RTÉ, ESPN and BSkyB have examined the possibility of filtering the ambient noise while maintaining game commentary.

Competitors believed the incessant noise hampered the ability of the players to get their rest, and degraded the quality of team performance.

Proposals of adaptive filters by universities and research organisations address this issue by preserving the amplitude and clarity of the commentators' voices and crowd noise.

[43][44] A study conducted in 2010 by Ruth McNerney of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and colleagues, concluded that the airborne transmission of diseases by means of vuvuzelas was possible.

[45][46] They measured tiny droplets emitted from a vuvuzela that can carry flu and cold germs that are small enough to stay suspended in the air for hours, and can enter into the airways of a person's lungs.

[4][10][11][45] Prof James Hall III, Dirk Koekemoer, De Wet Swanepoel and colleagues at the University of Pretoria found that vuvuzelas can have a negative effect when a listener's eardrums are exposed to the instrument's high-intensity sound.

[10] Hearing loss experts at the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommend that exposure at the 113 dB(A) level not exceed 45 seconds per day.

[76] The convention committee declared that any attendee carrying a vuvuzela could have it confiscated from them, and that anyone blowing one could face expulsion from the event.

[82] In March 2012, German protesters used vuvuzelas during the official traditional torchlight ceremony, the Großer Zapfenstreich, which bid farewell to President of Germany Christian Wulff.

Wulff had resigned earlier over corruption allegations, yet he still received the honour of the military ceremony, which left Germany divided.