A chorus of vuvuzelas has variously been compared to a stampede of elephants, a hive of angry bees, and the protests of a goat on its way to slaughter Photo: GETTY IMAGES
But now a sound engineer claims to have devised a hi-tech antidote to the deafening plastic trumpets, which have attracted complaints from viewers and players alike.
For just £2.45, armchair fans can download a 45-minute audio clip which purports to cancel out the ear-splitting din of the traditional South African stadium horns during televised matches.
The "anti-vuvuzela filter" is based on a technique called active noise control, which is widely used in the music industry to erase unwanted buzz on records. Noise-cancelling headphones work according to the same principle.
While acoustic experts expressed scepticism that the method could silence a cacophony of vuvuzelas, the download has already proved popular with fans desperate to enjoy World Cup matches in peace.
The South African organising committee yesterday dismissed suggestions that it would ban the instruments from future matches, with Fifa president Sepp Blatter insisting that they reflected Africa's "different rhythm, a different sound"
And any British football fans hoping that they would never hear a vuvuzela again after the tournament final on July 11 may be disappointed.
Supermarkets reported selling tens of thousands of the horns over the weekend, leading to speculation that they could become a common sound at Premier League matches next season.
The anti-vuvuzela filter is the brainchild of Clemence Schlieweis, 29, a recording and mixing engineer from Munich in Germany. He sampled vuvuzelas from an early World Cup match and created an "inverse" sound wave with the same amplitude as the original, but with the peaks and troughs of the wave reversed.
If the MP3 music file is played on a computer placed near television speakers during a game, Mr Schlieweis claims that the two sounds will effectively cancel each other out.
He said: "I used it to watch Germany play Australia on Sunday evening and it was perfect. I only launched the website that morning but I've already had dozens of orders."
Scientists said that the noise cancelling theory behind the filter was sound, but cautioned that it may not prove effective in practice.
Trevor Cox, Professor of Acoustics at the University of Salford, said: "I can't see how it could work. The vuvuzela chorus may come across as a single sound on television, but it is actually hundreds of instruments being blown at different times.
"Active noise control depends on lining up the two sound waves exactly, and that seems physically impossible in this case."
He added: "My advice is to football fans is to be Zen about it; accept vuvuzelas as part of the World Cup soundscape and pour another beer."
The online download also offers no respite for fans attending games in South Africa, who have been warned that they could suffer irreparable damage to their hearing.
Crystal Rolfe from the Royal National Institute for the Deaf said: "We know that these horns can cause damage to peoples' ears.
"They have been measured to reach more than 125 decibels – a pneumatic drill in the street can get to between 90 and 100 decibels, so it's much louder than that."
A chorus of vuvuzelas has variously been compared to a stampede of elephants, a hive of angry bees, and the protests of a goat on its way to slaughter.
They became popular in South African stadiums in the 1990s, but critics have complained that they drown out fans' chanting and prevent players from communicating on the pitch.
Vuvuzelas sparked further controversy in yesterday's group matches, when Holland striker Robin van Persie claimed that he could not hear the referee's whistle because of the drone from the crowd.
Portugal winger Ronaldo has also criticised the horns, saying: "It is difficult for anyone on the pitch to concentrate. A lot of players don't like them."
The objectors have been dismissed as killjoys in South Africa, and yesterday Mr Blatter came out in defence of the horns. In a message on Twitter he asked: "Would you want to see a ban on the fan traditions in your country?"
While acoustic experts expressed scepticism that the method could silence a cacophony of vuvuzelas, the download has already proved popular with fans desperate to enjoy World Cup matches in peace.
The South African organising committee yesterday dismissed suggestions that it would ban the instruments from future matches, with Fifa president Sepp Blatter insisting that they reflected Africa's "different rhythm, a different sound"
And any British football fans hoping that they would never hear a vuvuzela again after the tournament final on July 11 may be disappointed.
Supermarkets reported selling tens of thousands of the horns over the weekend, leading to speculation that they could become a common sound at Premier League matches next season.
The anti-vuvuzela filter is the brainchild of Clemence Schlieweis, 29, a recording and mixing engineer from Munich in Germany. He sampled vuvuzelas from an early World Cup match and created an "inverse" sound wave with the same amplitude as the original, but with the peaks and troughs of the wave reversed.
If the MP3 music file is played on a computer placed near television speakers during a game, Mr Schlieweis claims that the two sounds will effectively cancel each other out.
He said: "I used it to watch Germany play Australia on Sunday evening and it was perfect. I only launched the website that morning but I've already had dozens of orders."
Scientists said that the noise cancelling theory behind the filter was sound, but cautioned that it may not prove effective in practice.
Trevor Cox, Professor of Acoustics at the University of Salford, said: "I can't see how it could work. The vuvuzela chorus may come across as a single sound on television, but it is actually hundreds of instruments being blown at different times.
"Active noise control depends on lining up the two sound waves exactly, and that seems physically impossible in this case."
He added: "My advice is to football fans is to be Zen about it; accept vuvuzelas as part of the World Cup soundscape and pour another beer."
The online download also offers no respite for fans attending games in South Africa, who have been warned that they could suffer irreparable damage to their hearing.
Crystal Rolfe from the Royal National Institute for the Deaf said: "We know that these horns can cause damage to peoples' ears.
"They have been measured to reach more than 125 decibels – a pneumatic drill in the street can get to between 90 and 100 decibels, so it's much louder than that."
A chorus of vuvuzelas has variously been compared to a stampede of elephants, a hive of angry bees, and the protests of a goat on its way to slaughter.
They became popular in South African stadiums in the 1990s, but critics have complained that they drown out fans' chanting and prevent players from communicating on the pitch.
Vuvuzelas sparked further controversy in yesterday's group matches, when Holland striker Robin van Persie claimed that he could not hear the referee's whistle because of the drone from the crowd.
Portugal winger Ronaldo has also criticised the horns, saying: "It is difficult for anyone on the pitch to concentrate. A lot of players don't like them."
The objectors have been dismissed as killjoys in South Africa, and yesterday Mr Blatter came out in defence of the horns. In a message on Twitter he asked: "Would you want to see a ban on the fan traditions in your country?"