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Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)

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Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)

#341

Post by andersco »

DoughnutHole wrote: post #325
andersco wrote: post #323

The sharp beeping sound made by trucks backing up, and now also basically any type of construction vehicle when it moves, is in my opinion one of the great examples of a ham-handed solution to addressing a safety issue with no regard for noise pollution. While it is supposed to warn someone in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle, I can after hear these sharp alarm-like sounds over a block away, often inside my apar…

Improved reversal sounds have been invented - the classic beep isn't just bad from a noise pollution perspective, it's also an artificial sound that's difficult for people to process and determine its point of origin. There's been a gradual rollout of white-noise reversal beepers, which while they might seem strange are easier for people to locate aurally - as a result they can be played at a lower volume, and even i…

Thanks for sharing that video. The white noise solution is a huge improvement over the sharp beeps. I looked into if there is any movement in the US re requiring the white noise option but all I found was this non-committal response from OSHA: https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2004-...

Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)

#342

Post by JohnHaugeland »

javert wrote: post #190
saila wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Earplugs do essentially nothing to stop low frequency sounds. I can block out a lot of noise with white/pink/brown noise, but the only thing that will stop sounds you can feel , whether it’s an idling truck or a sound system cranked up, is substantial mass and/or decoupling from the source.

i got these Bose QuietComfort noise cancelling earbuds, and they are like magic, cancelling out bass noise from nearby outdoor stereos. i can't believe how well they work. I live by the beach where people play loud music---the concrete walls do OK for the midrange and treble noises, but not the bass.

The person you're replying to is talking about feeling in their body, not hearing in their ears.

Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)

#343

Post by imglorp »

andersco wrote: post #323

The sharp beeping sound made by trucks backing up, and now also basically any type of construction vehicle when it moves, is in my opinion one of the great examples of a ham-handed solution to addressing a safety issue with no regard for noise pollution. While it is supposed to warn someone in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle, I can after hear these sharp alarm-like sounds over a block away, often inside my apar…

For me it's yard equipment. Mowers, blowers, weeders, chainsaws, chippers etc. are usually not muffled or so high powered you can hear them for miles away. It's air and noise pollution. Electric equipment might replace some of it soon but not all.

I love heavily wooded suburbs, but logically speaking it's not efficient and not sustainable compared to more centralized housing, for many reasons.

Just on the noise front, statistics dictate in a given block, every day at least one house will be doing loud yard maintenance.

Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)

#344

Post by bingohbangoh »

drstewart wrote: post #2

This 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…

Lithuania is also spectacularly quiet

Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)

#345

Post by mastercheif »

crooked-v wrote: post #158
seattle_spring wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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!

> 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. With this one you're getting into the intersection with US cities' rabid opposition to actually building enough housing, so new units become labeled 'luxury' whether or not they're actually luxury, because zoning and permitting requirements push the prices of new units into the strato…

New construction apartments in NYC are horrid places to call a home. They’ve shrunk the average unit size by 100-200 sq/ft (10-20 sq/m), switched to “luxury vinyl plank” flooring, use PTAC HVAC units (the type that you would find at a motel), have paper thin walls between adjacent units, and to top it all off are shoddily constructed due to the rampant use of non-union labor which is working under unreasonable timelines to build out the apartments so the developer can start making money ASAP.

The Long Island City neighborhood is ground zero for this. Studios going for $3k a month that are no bigger than a dorm room.

And then there’s the noise pollution. The proliferation of delivery apps has caused an explosion in the number of gas powered scooters on the streets. Many of the delivery scooter riders enjoy “souping up” their rides by removing/modifying the mufflers and driving as recklessly as possible. Due to the giant holes in the walls left by the PTAC units you can hear them wizzing by every few minutes from 2PM to 11PM.

And then there’s the “fart cars”, dirt bikes, and ATV gangs, but those have already been addressed by others.

Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)

#346

Post by mft_ »

patrickk wrote: post #222
drstewart wrote: post #2

This 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…

Germany too. You can find noise maps[1] with measurements for all kinds of noise, including car noise, aircraft noise, industrial noise, etc. This allows you to make a more informed decision when renting or buying a new home. In the area around Frankfurt airport (FRA) there is ongoing noise monitoring[2] to make sure that the noise doesn't constantly exceed the agreed limits. The aircraft can only fly between 6am-11p…

Yep. A big road near us (2-3 lanes in each direction; also a major route into a large city) recently dropped from an 80km/h limit to 60km/h - and I understand the reason is noise pollution for nearby residents.

Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)

#347

Post by cjrp »

DoughnutHole wrote: post #325
andersco wrote: post #323

The sharp beeping sound made by trucks backing up, and now also basically any type of construction vehicle when it moves, is in my opinion one of the great examples of a ham-handed solution to addressing a safety issue with no regard for noise pollution. While it is supposed to warn someone in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle, I can after hear these sharp alarm-like sounds over a block away, often inside my apar…

Improved reversal sounds have been invented - the classic beep isn't just bad from a noise pollution perspective, it's also an artificial sound that's difficult for people to process and determine its point of origin. There's been a gradual rollout of white-noise reversal beepers, which while they might seem strange are easier for people to locate aurally - as a result they can be played at a lower volume, and even i…

I've seen some which are self-adjusting too; so in a quiet environment they only make their "angry crow noise" quietly, but on a busy site it'll be a bit louder. Clever stuff.

Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)

#348

Post by [deleted] »

afiori wrote: post #183
agumonkey wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And electric vehicles are a lot less so. Everytime I get passed by an e-bike my brain has a little pleasure seizure from not having to suffer the expected rawkus.

vehicles are make noise with the engine and wheels, so light electric vehicles are super quiet, but heavy vehicles tend to be loud regardless when moving fast

[deleted]

Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)

#349

Post by mastercheif »

goodpoint wrote: post #298
kfarr wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, and same with modified exhaust systems and mufflers.

I heard that in US some people pollute more on purpose and call it "coal rolling". Is it the same crowd with modified exhaust? Are they increasing the noise on purpose?

Yes. They’re IRL anti-social trolls looking to maximize the number of people they can piss off.

They look for loopholes in the “social contract” of what behavior they can get away with without facing serious consequence.

If loud car exhausts were aggressively policed they wouldn’t bother. As it stands, police departments view it as a “we have better things to do” offense and these trolls take advantage of it.

Re: Sounding the alarm: How noise hurts the heart (2021)

#350

Post by mannykannot »

nickjj wrote: post #336
gonehome wrote: post #56

Earlier 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.

> Often for hours. It really is, if you're on a block where a bunch of people use a maintenance service it's very possible to have 2-3 hours of commercial leaf blowers at least once a week for a few months. It could be twice a week if you happen to have a situation where let's say the east and west side of your block each have 4-5 houses who use a service but the middle doesn't. That usually means 2 different crews w…

I feel the average leaf in our neighborhood gets blown off a lawn four or five times before it decays or gets bagged. It's a great business model!

I suck up and chop the thicker drifts with an electric vacuum device, and mulch them. There is some noise, but no-one can hear it over the blowers.

Two sound sources that don't bother me at all are songbirds and kids playing.

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