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Everything Is Getting Louder

theatlantic.com

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Re: Everything Is Getting Louder

#311

Post by blunte »

DocNoise wrote: post #295
blunte wrote: post #26

Many people either cannot hear very low frequency sound, and they cannot understand what it’s like for those of us who can. The sounds don’t necessarily get louder at night - there are just fewer competing sounds to mask them. Earplugs and other sound barriers make it worse by filtering out higher frequency sounds, making the remaining VLF sounds seem louder. VLFs also penetrate earth, stone, concrete, etc. And becau…

Just realized that Stackexchange is currently showing only an abridged version of my blurb on the question of "adaption to LFN (low frequency noise)", so I paste the long version below. Links to literature can be found in my other post(s). I don't cover the involvement of the otolith organs (yet) but that's your connection of a low-frequency sound stimulus to the sensation of (whole body) vibration, dizziness, balanc…

Wow. This is much more information on this topic than I've ever found on my own searching. I also laughed at "living in a low-pass filter". Yes! Never considered that, but indeed it's true.

I do wonder, however, that since our brains interpret sensory signals, could one train the brain to disregard annoying ones?

Re: Everything Is Getting Louder

#312

Post by DocNoise »

blunte wrote: post #308
DocNoise wrote: post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a difference between "being able to hear" very low frequencies and a situation where the inner ear has been sensitized - in many cases through a continuous LFN immission that's slightly below the average hearing threshold. If the exposure is constant, the dampening mechanism that is managing the adaption of the cochlea to sound of various intensities can "wear out" on a cellular level and the ear is basicall…

I wonder if it's any relation to other heightened sensitivities, such as to bright light (compared to how other people handle it), lots of competing sounds (large loud halls full of people having independent conversations), and just general hyper-awareness of everything around oneself. Whether it's accepted or not as "a thing", the book "The Highly Sensitive Person" did mostly describe me. I read the book only recent…

It is important to stress that the mechanism described are completely disconnected from so-called psychological aspects "personality traits" and general sensory processing (like falling into the HSP definition). Elaine Aaron's work is remarkable from a scientific standpoint but should also encourage people to pay more attention to the type and amount of external stimuli we expose ourselves to.

The effect of being unable to follow a conversation in a noisy environment however, IS a solid indicator of the processes I describe (you might want to look up "hidden hearing loss" - Kujawa & Libermann have published on this phenomenon).

Re: Everything Is Getting Louder

#313

Post by DocNoise »

blunte wrote: post #311
DocNoise wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just realized that Stackexchange is currently showing only an abridged version of my blurb on the question of "adaption to LFN (low frequency noise)", so I paste the long version below. Links to literature can be found in my other post(s). I don't cover the involvement of the otolith organs (yet) but that's your connection of a low-frequency sound stimulus to the sensation of (whole body) vibration, dizziness, balanc…

Wow. This is much more information on this topic than I've ever found on my own searching. I also laughed at "living in a low-pass filter". Yes! Never considered that, but indeed it's true. I do wonder, however, that since our brains interpret sensory signals, could one train the brain to disregard annoying ones?

Well, a certain level of habituation can sometimes be seen - especially when the exposure isn't constant and the level is rather low. But the process can take years and is influenced by many factors. If sleep quality is good and blood pressure & cortisol levels are ok, one might consider "waiting it out"... if secondary effects increase, additional stress sources (job) pop up or relationship trouble starts, moving might be the smartest option. Another way would be to do a survey in the neighborhood and if other people are affected, collecting some money and hiring a acoustician with a proven track record of solving LFN cases to find the source. Once the source is identified, searching for a solution would be the next step. Sometimes simple things like swapping a fan in an air chiller can make a huge difference.

Re: Everything Is Getting Louder

#314

Post by DocNoise »

blunte wrote: post #311
DocNoise wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just realized that Stackexchange is currently showing only an abridged version of my blurb on the question of "adaption to LFN (low frequency noise)", so I paste the long version below. Links to literature can be found in my other post(s). I don't cover the involvement of the otolith organs (yet) but that's your connection of a low-frequency sound stimulus to the sensation of (whole body) vibration, dizziness, balanc…

Wow. This is much more information on this topic than I've ever found on my own searching. I also laughed at "living in a low-pass filter". Yes! Never considered that, but indeed it's true. I do wonder, however, that since our brains interpret sensory signals, could one train the brain to disregard annoying ones?

Wait. I need to answer your question properly on a physiological level as well: The problem is that LFN signals that reach the inner ear get sent to the brain on 3 separate channels, with a signal from the otolith organs going to the vestibular nuclei and finally also to areas that regulate autonomic functions. As it seems, these effects show a much lower ability to adapt to "noise" in the broadest sense.

Re: Everything Is Getting Louder

#315

Post by DocNoise »

sasaf5 wrote: post #159
btrettel wrote: post #12

Whoever decided to make cars beep when you lock or unlock them did humanity a disservice in my view. I don't think the small benefit of helping the driver locate their vehicle outweighs the shear number of times that has woken people up.

The whole idea of a private car is to be as convenient as possible for the owner without any regard for others. Considering how deadly they are to pedestrians and how damaging they are to the environment, noise polution due to alarms is just a drop in the ocean.

I love you humor... this sort of logic could be expanded to basically everything mankind invented since we climbed down from the trees ;-) ...Shoes! Consider how deadly the are to ants! ... Soap! Consider how deadly it is to microbes! ... Nah, seriously: It's a matter of design. Cars don't need to harm the environment and they don't need to be noisy or overly dangerous. The problem is inconsiderate pea-brained idiots that don't think of others - and noise regulations that lag behind what's known in the scientific community by decades.

Re: Everything Is Getting Louder

#316

Post by tempestn »

lolsal wrote: post #306
tempestn wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One nice thing is that battery electric versions of all of those are now quite good and are becoming more popular. They still make some noise of course, but far, far less than gas powered versions. The lack of maintenance is great too. I could have a conversation at a normal speaking volume beside my lawnmower if I wanted. (Of course I would probably shut it off, since it's only a pull of a switch to start it again!)

I find it interesting that you associate electric versions of lawn tools with less maintenance. It's been my experience that when they break, there's not much you can do (I guess that's where the less comes in) - fixing batteries and motors is harder or impossible compared to small engines for me. All of the other maintenance still applies: sharpening blades, replacing edging wire, oiling moving parts, etc.

It's true that when it breaks there's often little you can do, and that is a downside. But gasoline engines do require maintenance, and you do save that effort with electric tools. Really the main effort saved is just refilling the gas though, especially when you forget you're out and end up halfway through the lawn having to go get more. Of course you still need to sharpen blades and change trimmer string and such; I didn't say no maintenance, just less.
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