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

knowablemagazine.org

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

#451

Post by throwaway0a5e »

nradov wrote: post #398
smallerfish wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Blowing leaves is perhaps not the way to manage the organic matter that needs to be embedded in that soil You're doing your own reductionism. Not all leaf blowing is to collect leaves for disposal in plastic bags (and I'm 100% for using leaves as mulch where they fall on beds, and also with not having lawns). Leaves need to be blown out of gutters, drains, and ditches - otherwise the road will start being eroded. L…

How did landscape maintenance workers perform that task before leaf blowers?

They didn't.

The standards to which we maintained things were far, far lower in the past because doing so was much more laborious and therefore expensive.

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

#452

Post by hinkley »

grapeskin wrote: post #77
tayo42 wrote: post #27

Earlier 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…

The absolute best thing about leaving the US several years ago is the silence. I can go to bed every night knowing some random guy won't decide 3 AM on a Wednesday morning is the best day to crank up the bass to max and start a party. I can sleep knowing some old guy isn't going to compensate for his masculinity by revving up his modded motorcycle at 4:30 AM everyday. I can sleep knowing people aren't going to start…

During my flirtation with buddhism it came up quite often how inured some people are to constant noise. Everyone had stories of people who simply could not cope with a silent retreat.

Some people who are constantly 'on' are avoiding sitting with their own thoughts, in some cases due to treatable psychological conditions. The noise or the activity keeps them from being alone with themselves and sitting in a silent space, all of their intrusive thoughts hit like a ton of bricks and they can't even.

I wonder how much of the noise around us is invited rather than simply tolerated or excused.

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

#453

Post by bombcar »

mft_ wrote: post #346
patrickk wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Did the speed limit drop actually coincide with people slowing down or was it a paper change only?

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

#454

Post by chiefalchemist »

Noise all the time. Light all the time. Both of these are counter to human living until recently. These physical stresses, plus an infinite number of low level chemical stresses and the progress of modern life feels underwhelming.

That said, I have a "weekend home" in Vermont. It's dark. It's quiet. Guests, as well as myself, sleep extra well. Noticeably well.

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

#455

Post by bombcar »

noahtallen wrote: post #442
ggm wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When earbuds came on the market, Audiologists said "this is going to be a disaster in 20 years time" and guess what: tinnitus and high frequency hearing loss levels are through the roof. I think its to one side of your concern, but related: we truly don't socialize the needed guarding of our eardrums. It's a vicious cycle: unexpected mechanical noises stop us sleeping, leads to weight gain, diabetes, heart problems,…

Super true. Go to any modern concert, or even most movie theaters, and much of the experience will be well over 80, and even 90db. This is frankly unacceptable. Even the supposedly good standards for audio engineering (Dolby atoms and IMAX) — which specifically make sure theaters are following the spec — are over 90db. A wedding DJ had the music at over 90db in a small venue recently. The last concert I went to, whic…

OSHA requires mitigation above 85 db, and yet there aren't anything mentioning it on venues.

https://www.osha.gov/noise

It's understandable that a movie or song might WANT to get loud at a particular time, but squashing everything to max is not the way to go.

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

#456

Post by bombcar »

cwalv wrote: post #401
throwaway0a5e wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The HN demographics would regulate things to the point of absurdity if left to their own devices. In the US they only reach critical mass to do so in affluent suburbs, so you get stupid local laws about lawn height and other attempts at legislating conformity. Occasionally they get thrown a bone by the federal bureaucracies or legislators on some meaningless issue that nobody will care enough to oppose. This is how y…

I don't know what the demographics of HN are, but while reading this I had similar sentiment. I don't like having to hear leaf blowers, but I really don't like other ppl telling me I can't use one. All regulations have a cost; I think I just weigh the cost more heavily in principle than many folks here.

Things like leaf blowers have solutions between "Wild West v8 supercharged beasts" and "every leaf must be hand picked up by your current cadre of indentured servants".

A perfectly practical solution would be for the town to designate "outdoor power equipment times" such as "Saturday, 10-4" or "any day, 10-12, 3-4" or similar.

Electric is helping but even then there's noise created from just the action of the device, and you also reach a paradox where as things get quieter the remaining noise sources become more annoying.

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

#457

Post by bombcar »

gonehome wrote: post #85
sarchertech wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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…

It does sound ridiculous but I’ve lived in DC, London, and SF now and all were quieter than the suburbs I’ve lived in. Mostly because of lawn stuff and garbage pickup. Also probably a factor that I’ve been in new city buildings with good insulation and not on the ground floor.

Insulation is a huge factor - up north the sounds are as present but much less noticeable because the houses have to be insulated, and have double-pane windows.

Down in San Diego the noises are much MORE noticeable because many houses have poor or no insulation at all, and the windows are single pane (or open).

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

#458

Post by Khelavaster »

Zircom wrote: post #50
eliseumds wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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)_/¯

Not to be rude but you ascribing an equal likelihood of causing tinnitus to one night of using earplugs(which BLOCK sound from your ears) vs presumably regular/sustained use of noise cancelling headphones(which BLAST sound into your ears) borders on ridiculousness and make me think you're just trolling..

Noise cancelling headphones definitively promote tinnitus

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

#459

Post by bombcar »

nradov wrote: post #398
smallerfish wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Blowing leaves is perhaps not the way to manage the organic matter that needs to be embedded in that soil You're doing your own reductionism. Not all leaf blowing is to collect leaves for disposal in plastic bags (and I'm 100% for using leaves as mulch where they fall on beds, and also with not having lawns). Leaves need to be blown out of gutters, drains, and ditches - otherwise the road will start being eroded. L…

How did landscape maintenance workers perform that task before leaf blowers?

You didn't have trees in lawns, basically. Look at the pictures of old English manors - there would be hedges next to grass lawns but the trees were few and far between in the lawns.

The areas of the garden with trees would be a different thing.

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

#460

Post by bradstewart »

noahtallen wrote: post #442
ggm wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When earbuds came on the market, Audiologists said "this is going to be a disaster in 20 years time" and guess what: tinnitus and high frequency hearing loss levels are through the roof. I think its to one side of your concern, but related: we truly don't socialize the needed guarding of our eardrums. It's a vicious cycle: unexpected mechanical noises stop us sleeping, leads to weight gain, diabetes, heart problems,…

Super true. Go to any modern concert, or even most movie theaters, and much of the experience will be well over 80, and even 90db. This is frankly unacceptable. Even the supposedly good standards for audio engineering (Dolby atoms and IMAX) — which specifically make sure theaters are following the spec — are over 90db. A wedding DJ had the music at over 90db in a small venue recently. The last concert I went to, whic…

It's absolutely wild how loud modern sound systems get, even relatively small ones. I even bring earplugs to weddings at this point because the band is so incredibly loud (out of the amplified speakers).
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