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

knowablemagazine.org

421–430 of 531 posts

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

#421

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…

For what it’s worth I empathise so deeply with you here. I have what I believe is referred to as sensory processing disorder, or hypersensitivity, but I would call normal and reasonable noise-caused stress.

At my last address I struggled with helicopters hovering overhead all day. I just moved into a new place and have building plumbing running 24/7 next to my flat. Over time I’ve accustomed to wearing either NC headphones or earplugs every hour of the day, but it just upsets me so much to have to do that.

Yet nobody takes it seriously and I’m considered ‘weird’, or told that I’ll ‘get used to it’. Well, I don’t.

I’ve taken to using float tanks for occasional hours of total silence and I’m once again looking for a new place to live, and considering leaving to go live in a cabin in the woods or something..

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

#422

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

As someone who grew up playing piano, I'm sad that it's incompatible with urban living. I know some cultures are more likely to tolerate it than others, but overall I see it as on the way out.

> it's incompatible with urban living

No, it's incompatible with houses with poor sound insulation.

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

#423
I tried a walking meditation on the Sam Harris Waking Up app while in a shopping mall. It is incredible the amount of background noise and lights that are there all vying for your attention. The human mind does an incredible job of blocking it out. I really couldn’t wait to be around some nature after that experience.

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

#424

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…

I wish we would take car caused health impacts as serious as we did covid. We have a never ending stream of research and yet no one cares. We can’t even take action against modded motorbikes and cars which damage peoples health for zero functional gain.

> as serious as we did covid

Is that sarcasm? Human society utterly failed at handling Covid.

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

#425
post #395

It's hard to take noise pollution seriously when you so much as read the comments here after reading and agreeing with much of the article. Yes I believe living under an airport to be detrimental to anyone's sanity, but yet it devolves quickly into an agoraphobic hand wringing competition going from city sirens, to cars in general, to the neighbors dog barking sporadically. There are prices to pay for living in city…

People don't move to cities for "conveniences". They do so because it's necessary for their livelihood. It's also dramatically better for the environment and economy for people to live in denser settings. Life shouldn't be so miserable, and the idea that the city is an ~aesthetic~ rather than a necessity needs to die as soon as possible.

It is necessary to just live in pods, take our soma and encase ourselves in silent solitude surely the world will become a better place with no external problems. Only dissidents and bad guys would disagree i'm sure.

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

#426

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…

It was strange the article focused so much on airport noise when there is another kind of noise pollution for city residents so much more widespread – ambulances/emergency vehicles. I've lived in San Francisco for awhile (and still come back to live there some of the time), and this is the thing that I notice increases my heart rate every time I come back. In SF, they're so loud! Even late in the evening! I didn't pa…

I hate how loud the sirens are in SF. Absolutely obnoxious for how dense of a city it is and there is a complete lack of noise insulation in any housing there. It’s barbaric. However, I have to thank the fire department in my old neighborhood for waiting until they were blocks away from the station before turning on their sirens. So some people are mindful at least.

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

#427

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!

Over time, I've found that the most expensive real estate feature is silence .

Been looking at property in London recently due to a horrible renting situation, and can confirm: properties that are reasonably quiet are priced considerably higher for the same floor area/spec

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

#428
post #23

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…

Sometimes out of a similar desire I will wear noise cancelling earbuds inside of noise cancelling over the ear headphones. No music no sound, pure silence. Obviously not a cheap solution but doubling up is better than any earplugs I've ever used.

The first time I tried my friend's hearing protection for shooting I was absolutely amazed. I've always gone to headphones built for listening, with the noise cancellation a secondary consideration. Professional grade heading protection is really good. (MPOW HP102A is the only brand/model I personally know, but I suspect if you ask people who hunt, they'll have good recs. A quick Google search finds things with higher "Noise Reduction Rating" ratings.)

For sleeping, I used the Bose QuietComfort for a long time. I'm a side-sleeper, so large headphones were a challenge.

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

#429

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cities aren't loud, cars (and trucks) are loud https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTV-wwszGw8 Video discusses this thoroughly. There ARE quiet cities amazingly enough. And suburbs are a HUGE source of the noise IN the cities they surround because it's the car traffic from suburbs into the cities that makes much of the noise. Cities ARE loud, but they don't HAVE to be.

How about the non-stop construction and non-stop road work? How about clubs and bars with outdoor speakers? Helicopters, industrial cooling/HVAC. I could go on. It's far more than just cars. What are these quiet cities that magically have none of these things?

> What are these quiet cities that magically have none of these things?

There is no magic, just legal regulation and it just works. Switzerland and Japan are good examples.

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

#430

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…

After months of being effectively homeless I moved in to a new place 3 weeks ago. There's this stupid air ventilation system making noise 24/7 and it's already driving me up the walls, and that's with the windows closed . It's like having a car idle outside your house all day and night. Because it's newly built I couldn't have a viewing; normally I would have just passed, but I was kinda desperate. Been trying to con…

With you there buddy. Moved into a place at short notice because I was desperate and squeezed, only to find it is next to the plumbing for the whole building’s heating system. 24/7 noise of radiator pipes and boiler running filling the apartment. And I have the same equation: fuck this shit, not worth it, they can keep my deposit
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