I haven't read the underlying studies but I wonder if this applies to consistent noise or just intermittent sounds, like the airplanes and railway line examples they focus on. Personally I can't sleep in a quiet room, so I put on white noise generator plus usually music or podcasts. I find that subjectively I sleep better with some relaxing sounds. However, it could be possible that my brain isn't properly turning of…
Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)
111–120 of 531 posts
Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
> dog crate sorry, what is that?
A little home for your dog within your home. It helps them feel secure and that they have a space that is their own.
Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)
#113Earlier quoted context omitted.
I hope you aren't running with ear plugs and noise cancelling headphones or have some dedicated safe place to run.
I’ve tested and thanks to the low volume I can hear more than I did with normal earbuds. Noise cancelling is great at blocking out constant sounds like wind and background traffic, but it doesn’t do much for acute noises like horns, nearby cars, bicycle bells, or people talking/shouting. With regular earbuds they were cranked up to 80% to block out the wind so I couldn’t hear any of the acute sounds I can hear with n…
Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)
#114Earlier quoted context omitted.
Earplugs gave you tinnitus? Do you mean earbuds? Earplugs are typically hearing PPE.
I've done pretty much everything I could imagine to try to identify the root cause, no doctor could give a reasonable diagnosis. My tinnitus started after a night with earplugs, but it could have been a coincidence since I also used noise-cancelled Sony headphones. Who knows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)
#115This is one of the things I struggle with the most in life. I feel like most people don't seem to care about noise pollution and zero care is put into designing living spaces or cities to minimize it. I've moved into apartments and nearly cried because I realized that there was some noise pollution that wasn't apparent when I visited it (e.g. a water boiler that ran constantly at night, road noise during the day, etc…
People are so unbelievably disrespectful with noise in the US. Peaceful hike? Here's Katy Perry crackling out of my iPhone at full blast! Luxury apartment at $4k a month? No insulation between units, and the guy above you comes home at 2am and never takes his shoes off. Small country street? Here comes Chad with his straight-piped civic with the muffler removed!
Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)
#116Earlier quoted context omitted.
A generation or so ago vehicle noise laws actually were enforced in California, and now it seems they effectively are not. No obvious technology change behind it, rather somehow the will to enforce has eroded, and/or the burden of proof has shifted away from the perps.
Enforcement of almost all driving offenses is next to nonexistent in the US. Need more automated enforcement in my opinion.
Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)
#117I skimmed the article but it seems to align with the literature back then. The thinking was during our evolution that high volume low frequency sounds would represent a precursor to mortal danger (avalanches, earthquakes, stampedes, thunder, wind) so we were attuned to secreting stress hormones in early response. Unfortunately, much of our urban built-environment is full of (human-made) constant low-frequency sources, although we appear to have adapted to a degree (HVAC systems in buildings, traffic, industrial process plants, airports and air traffic, explosions, concerts).
What isn't mentioned here, that I remember finding particularly concerning, was that while we seem to adapt, it's over our own time, as children we secrete more cortisol to low frequency noise than when we are adults... maybe some form of long term CBT I don't know.
I have no idea where my old paper is but I remember (and someone with more time might want to check/confirm this) one important study showed cortisol levels of children at schools close to Heathrow compared to out in the UK countryside and how this affected standardised testing. There were limitations, and of course you had to control for a range of factors, socio-economic, teaching staff etc, but there was some measurable negative effect (again no idea if this was repeated/corroborated).
The actual research I was doing was into our auditory perception of urban spaces. We took recordings of various urban settings and had participants listen and rate their emotional responses, if it felt "hot" or "cold" (and other adjective pairs), we also had them draw something to represent what they were listening too.
Our "findings" were pretty limited for a short undergrad project but it was interesting how we generally appreciate background chatter and live-music and generally fearful and cold from large flat surface reflected sound (empty city plazas).
Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)
#118Earlier quoted context omitted.
I find by far the biggest disruption in US suburbs is lawn equipment. Suburbs are louder than cities imo because there is always a leaf blower, lawn mower, and weedwacker going at all times during the day within 100 yards of you. Often for hours. Moving from Palo Alto to SF things got way quieter.
>Suburbs are louder than cities imo because there is always a leaf blower, lawn mower, and weedwacker going at all times during the day within 100 yards of you. That's hugely hyperbolic. But in the city there really are constant sirens, car horns, diesel trucks, construction noises, roadway noise etc... The most comprehensive study done on this (admittedly a long time ago in 1970) shows a clear correlation between po…
Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)
#119Earlier quoted context omitted.
I find by far the biggest disruption in US suburbs is lawn equipment. Suburbs are louder than cities imo because there is always a leaf blower, lawn mower, and weedwacker going at all times during the day within 100 yards of you. Often for hours. Moving from Palo Alto to SF things got way quieter.
They may be louder but do you have a dump truck waking you up at 4am several times a week? I really don’t know what to do anymore. Obviously they need to pick up trash that early to beat the traffic and save a few bucks /s. But the city doesn’t care and I’m constantly told that condos/apartments are a more sustainable way of living. Thats great but I’m about done with this nonsense and about to move out to the burbs…
Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)
#120Earlier quoted context omitted.
I had this "conversation" with my neighbor (it was more like me being yelled at) It kind of blew my mind they didnt care about noise interruptions at all hours and told me its my problem. Like maybe if you got a full night of sleep you wouldn't be so angry? I guess this study supports that. The noise in my current apartment is endless, car alarms, screaming and crying kids along with their loud toys, idling cars, the…
> instruments being practiced As a musician... although I understand that, in the end, instrument practice is still noise, it hurts to see this listed among the rest of your items. Last year, I had to move out of an apartment complex because our neighbors would not tolerate even 30 minutes of practice a day (in spite of the ~2 daily hours of lawn care racket, but whatever) and complained to building management. I get…