While in the subject of noise, I'd like some research on the effect of "popcorn" tuned car exhausts on the mental health of people suffering from PTSD or are just generally sensitive.
The Effect of Noise on Sleep
141–150 of 202 posts
Re: The Effect of Noise on Sleep
#142The worst is this a "fashion" of modifying vehicles, illegally, to make them sound like airplanes. I live in Sweden and, believe me, it is absolute hell on hearth.
Re: The Effect of Noise on Sleep
#143I’ve spent years “fixing” my sleep. Things I recommend: * a sleep tracker. I love AutoSleep - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/autosleep-track-sleep-on-watch... * Any kind of white noise. I use an air purifier at home, and a little pocket size white noise machine when I travel. * find and eliminate any noises in your home. Computers, fridges, squeaky doors, etc. * find and eliminate any lights. Especially stupid power a…
I may suggest custom ear buds. Best $200 you'll spend. The original method is a wax form, but now there is a 3D scanning tool to map the shape of your ear.
2 euro silicone ear plugs from Aliexpress easily beat the custom ear plugs I had.
Re: The Effect of Noise on Sleep
#144FYI, there's been tons of research of the effects of noise on sleep from different sources. There have been studies ranging from in-lab experiments, to in-home experiments with artificial and natural sources. If you're interested, some resources: Institute of Noise Control Engineering Digital library: https://www.inceusa.org/publications/ince-digital-library/ (papers older than 10 years old are available free) Federa…
Interesting, perhaps age related deafness contributes.
>age-related deafness
https://canadianaudiologist.ca/a-new-perspective-on-chronic-...
https://www.icben.org/2017/ICBEN%202017%20Papers/SubjectArea...
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41370-024-00660-3
I think partly the issue is that how we measure noise doesn't match how noise causes injury. Your cochlea acts as a spiral resonant tube, essentially a "physical FFT," concentrating energy at a particular frequency onto a particular location in the spiral. Too much (local!) energy damages the hair cells, causing conductive hearing loss.
But because we calculate A-weighted decibels by summing all frequencies and then checking if we're above the injury threshold (vs checking whether we exceed the injury threshold at any frequency), using A-weighted decibels can't accurately determine damaging noise levels. If all the energy is concentrated at Middle A it will cause more damage than spreading the energy out across the spectrum, even if the A-weighted decibels come out equal.
It's a somewhat subtle, wrong order-of-operations problem. There's also a separate problem that A-weighting is designed to normalize for perception at various frequencies, not hearing damage.
I've tried searching the literature to find out whether this is either 1)wrong, or 2)generally known within the fields of audiology and occupational hygiene, but so far I've come up empty.
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I recall an HN poster long ago saying how they wore earplugs daily to achieve "super hearing." It occurs to me that all they were doing was actually protecting their ears from damage. :-|
Re: The Effect of Noise on Sleep
#145I’ve spent years “fixing” my sleep. Things I recommend: * a sleep tracker. I love AutoSleep - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/autosleep-track-sleep-on-watch... * Any kind of white noise. I use an air purifier at home, and a little pocket size white noise machine when I travel. * find and eliminate any noises in your home. Computers, fridges, squeaky doors, etc. * find and eliminate any lights. Especially stupid power a…
Any advice on how to eliminate noisy neighbours that would randomly drop their shit at random intervals in the middle of night and let their child to stomp around every late evening?
Re: The Effect of Noise on Sleep
#146I don't know how to state this well but I find the fact that nearly all new apartment buildings in California are only allowed to be built on busy streets very frustrating. I'm guessing it's part nimby-ism and part zoning but every time I see a new apartment complex it's next to the busiest streets in the city (LA, SF). It's like many things, if you want health you must be rich. If you can't afford a house then F.U.…
> only allowed to be built on busy streets Is this true or a misleading observation? I can see some argument about it, increasing traffic in areas that aren't equipped for it if the building is large enough. But it might just be market forces, too: in larger cities, it's often more desirable to be near a major artery. Earplugs (if the noise bothers you) vs a longer commute.
I don’t know about “only allowed”, but this is a thing:
https://sd11.senate.ca.gov/news/senate-passes-senator-wiener...
Re: The Effect of Noise on Sleep
#147Earlier quoted context omitted.
Any advice on how to eliminate noisy neighbours that would randomly drop their shit at random intervals in the middle of night and let their child to stomp around every late evening?
Ear plugs! https://acscustom.com/uk/products/other-products/sleep-sound
That would be my no 1 go-to, if I didn't have to remain alert for my 3 year old sleeping next door (he can seep through the noisy neighbors though!)... (btw our neighbours are underneath and they cook at night, and talk very loudly)
Re: The Effect of Noise on Sleep
#148Earlier quoted context omitted.
What does AutoSleep offer above and beyond Apple’s Health app? I have (and recommend) a white noise machine at home, but when I travel, I use the awesome MyNoise app, which lets you EQ the noise precisely so you can target the specific annoyance in your environment.
> What does AutoSleep offer above and beyond Apple’s Health app? In my experience. After initial setup, it is way more accurate. Apple commonly says I get more hours of sleep than I know I do. Apple counts just being relaxed as sleeping. Whereas I can tune AutoSleep to correctly identify the difference between me sleep and just being super relaxed. Thus I get a much more accurate image of what is working Also the app…
I will definitely check it out then as I am frustrated by the same problem where Apple shows me as asleep when I am meditating myself back to sleep. It even shows me as sleeping when I have pushed the crown to see the time!
Re: The Effect of Noise on Sleep
#149Some days I joke that there should be a set of Nobel prizes for making machines quieter. Categories could include: air-conditioning units and mini-fridges, construction and landscaping equipment, old university buildings, pump-housings, etc. The quality of life of many would be improved if we had quieter machines. It boggles my mind that a) in many hotel rooms one can hear a good deal of machine noise and neighbors'…
Re: The Effect of Noise on Sleep
#150A lot of folks are talking about the “consistency” of a sound (constant white noise vs random sounds) and its volume, but I feel like the nature of the sound matters a lot more. I’ll respond much differently to my bedroom door opening or a voice speaking than I do a bus outside. It reminds me of the anecdote where human researchers rang bells near bears (human sounds) and the bears didn’t care, but if they broke a la…
The last time I lived in a flat the guy downstairs got up at 6am and used an iPhone. I know that because I could hear his alarm through the floor. Couldn't have been anywhere near 60dB in my room, but it would wake me up every damn time. Oddly, even today I am absurdly sensitive to that awful Apple alarm sound.
Same! I will jump out of my seat if I hear it loud, sleeping or not. If it goes off anywhere on a bus or a plane, I hear it at very low volume. I'm glad they've (since) changed the defaults to less jarring sounds.