101–110 of 132 posts
Not surprising that my area, 12 miles from NYC, is one of the noisiest places in the country. A little more surprising is that it's still the noisiest just from natural sources. Luckily, my tinnitus is noisier than both, so it doesn't matter where I live. I can't tell the difference.
What natural sources are so loud?
It pains me that noise pollution isn't taken as seriously as other forms of environmental damage when it's the one that most directly impacts (urban) people's quality of life.
The cars, trucks and motorcycles with booming exhaust pipes are insufferable. I despise hearing them revving by. I feel like I'm crazy for how much it bothers me. But then I read a story about a man shooting a driver who was just revving up and down his street, so I'm not alone. I spent a week in Helsinki, and was blown away by how quiet it was despite being far more dense than my city.
It pains me that noise pollution isn't taken as seriously as other forms of environmental damage when it's the one that most directly impacts (urban) people's quality of life.
The cars, trucks and motorcycles with booming exhaust pipes are insufferable. I despise hearing them revving by. I feel like I'm crazy for how much it bothers me. But then I read a story about a man shooting a driver who was just revving up and down his street, so I'm not alone. I spent a week in Helsinki, and was blown away by how quiet it was despite being far more dense than my city.
Cities aren't Loud, Cars are Loud.
Most "cities" in North America, to use the term generously, are miserable car sewers where you need to shout to have a conversation outside.
I often have this thought of how different the world sounded when combustion engines (cars, motorcycles, planes, tractors, etc) weren't ubiquitous. I happily grew up in the 80s in a place (communist Poland, so rather small car ownership) with very little artificial noise, but that is gone now. How was it hundreds of years ago?
I’m not sure whether the clatter of (ironed) hooves on cobblestone combined with the carriage wheels on stone plus the grind of the axles was so much quieter. It’s just that there are so many more sources of sound around us within our daily habitat that it is hard too escape it. Even in our relatively quiet city life (no heavy industry) people already seem adapted that they have trouble sleeping in our country side w…
On the other hand, a place I currently live in, almost no one keeps horses, cows, chickens etc, anymore, which are audible. Only a handful of dogs which love to bark. When every household was a private farm it had to be much louder around here! It's not as simple as I thought.
I think it’s important to differentiate (as this website does) the human made noise from the natural. I love being in the woods / fields / lakes. Fishing, hunting, hiking, etc. when you’re out there for a while you realize how much noise there really is. I wish everyone could / would take a few days a month and just spend it in the the natural world. I feel revived after spending a day or two listening to the leaves…
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This is a perfect example of why cops should be paid more. If you could be convinced to be a cop the world would be a better place.
This is the exact attitude that should be tested for and taken as "going to be a bad cop".
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"Loud pipes save lives" ugh
I roll my window up if I'm near motorcycles. There's been too many times when my ear got blasted all of a sudden. Worse is booming bass. Not while driving, but at home from the neighbors. Hours on end... boom... boom...
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> earplugs Can be unhealthy. Earmuffs seem to be as effective and, while you can still get damaged (risk of suction), it's difficult. Issue: earplugs and earmuffs are designed to reduce noise, not to cancel it - to facilitate that you don't get damage from a bang but can still faintly but clearly hear your colleague calling "watch out". And, reduction in background noise amplifies the impactive - not in absolute but…
I can't use noise cancelling headphones, at least on-ear and over-ear. I've never liked earbuds/IEM, so I never test them. However, active earmuffs are amazing. I had my favorite pair finally give out, they had FM radio and an aux jack, but we're not active. It was fun to run a chipper and listen to a podcast, for instance. For things I want hearing protection I have 4 choices now. The industry standard earplugs, whi…
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The cars, trucks and motorcycles with booming exhaust pipes are insufferable. I despise hearing them revving by. I feel like I'm crazy for how much it bothers me. But then I read a story about a man shooting a driver who was just revving up and down his street, so I'm not alone. I spent a week in Helsinki, and was blown away by how quiet it was despite being far more dense than my city.
I so relate. I was once able to test drive a Audi R8 Spyder because the agency I work for works for Audi. The motor sound isn't anything near quiet. Far from it. But I was astounded to find a button that enables a loud motor sound function. With this button pressed the sound makes a lot of bikes sound like child toys. I really don't understand how one needs to show off in such a fashion and explicitly expressing a lo…
I think it’s important to differentiate (as this website does) the human made noise from the natural. I love being in the woods / fields / lakes. Fishing, hunting, hiking, etc. when you’re out there for a while you realize how much noise there really is. I wish everyone could / would take a few days a month and just spend it in the the natural world. I feel revived after spending a day or two listening to the leaves…
A long time ago I moved from a big city to the country and the difference in noise was remarkable. In retrospect, I’d say noise level adjustment was actually the biggest pain point. I went from being fairly desensitized to constant noise to being hyper sensitive to something like a blade of grass being bent outside my bedroom (“WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?”), to finally acclimating to it. Nights were difficult. Any animal…