# Noise pollution



## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I am curious how you respond to environmental sounds. I am especially bothered by sounds in the work place when I'm trying to concentrate on some complex (and usually very boring!) problem or other. But I'm also bothered by environmental noise in general. John Cage may have said he appreciates traffic noise, but frankly it drives me up the wall. It is way, way way too loud! I cannot focus on my own thoughts.

I don't want the world to become like a morgue or to ruin anyone's exuberance, but I distinctly remember growing up when libraries and study halls were expected to be quiet places. There must have been a reason. Should an office be any different? Humans don't function at their best when other people around them are whooping and hollering and yelling into phones so loudly one wonders why a phone is needed.

When people talk around me I cannot focus on what I'm supposed to be doing. I simply can't. I've tried and tried and it's impossible. I get severe headaches trying. If I were less conscientious I could sit and do nothing until the noise level winds down, but then the day goes by at a snail's pace and I come home exhausted, bored out of my mind and in desperate need of sleep as if I had just worked a 10 or 12 hour day, and I have no energy to do art --the real work I _should_ be doing (according to all my real life friends).

When people everywhere talk all day every day I cannot be an artist, and that makes me angrier than I have ever been. 

Does anyone else have this issue. If so, have you discovered an antidote?


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

People who talk in libraries make me angry too. It's not just the noise - it's the fact that like you I remember a time when a librarian would have asked them to be quiet, but now libraries are no longer 'supposed' to be silent. So the whole situation seems unfair, and the talkers very selfish. But I know if I spoke to them, they'd be rude or self-justifying back & I'd feel even more stressed. If it was in my workplace, I'd have to wear earplugs or something. You have my sympathies. 

A year or two back, on British television, there was a series where a number of busy secular people went on retreat at a monastery where the abbot believed that we all need more silence. Every day they had to spend hours in silence - they were allowed to read, just not to phone or talk to the others. Inevitably, some cheated. But for those that gave it a try, there were huge dramatic results psychologically - getting a glimpse of God, coming to terms with grief, feeling calmer, getting family situations sorted. It hasn't made me build silence into my day but I can really see the point of it.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I can put up with most noise from within and without my (shared) office but if I have two sonic bugbears it's Heart FM on the radio (sadly the only channel we can receive without interference from the plant machinery across the road) and the occasional scenario when a succession of people come in and turn the place into something like a sports bar without the beer - some folk think our office is open house for whenever they are bored. I don't mind visitors as a rule but the noise three or four can make especially when they get excited talking about something I have little interest in for about half an hour is very irksome. My only recourse is to either take a break and go outside for a while or put on my headphones and play a CD in an effort to drown out their jabber.


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## Cheyenne (Aug 6, 2012)

I'm rarely bored by background noise; I can work through it.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Cheyenne said:


> I'm rarely bored by background noise; I can work through it.


I don't think I could work through talking - but it depends on the context. I had to sit some of my finals university exams in an exam room in the shadow of Durham Cathedral while they were doing bellringing practice. I managed to concentrate, I think because a) it was a loud noise but very monotonous so more easily switched off and b) I saw that I would have to.

I think some of my fellow-examinees felt angry about the bells and let it get to them; not surprisingly.


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## Cheyenne (Aug 6, 2012)

At one point I always read through the television and my parents and sister speaking about what appeared on it. Maybe I learned to adopt through that. In any case, noise pollution has never, as far as I can remember, bothered me.


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## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

I can generally tolerate the noise around me with a few exceptions. 

At the office, two days a week the cleaning crew vacuums the hall and every office and it takes forever. That drives me nuts. 

At home, my neighbor build kids sized motorcycles as a hobby, and the days he runs the motors all day can be pretty frustrating. 

Leaf blowers also suck. 

And the a-hole down the street with his obnoxiously loud Harley. Screw that guy, too.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

Ingélou said:


> A year or two back, on British television, there was a series where a number of busy secular people went on retreat at a monastery where the abbot believed that we all need more silence. Every day they had to spend hours in silence - they were allowed to read, just not to phone or talk to the others.


there are Buddhist retreats like that as well. People pay a lot of money to shut up for a whole week  I remember they were rather popular in NYC about 10 years back. There was a monastery upstate NY that ran retreats like that for management types.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

I definitely hate having to listen to crap music as background at work. Mostly, I prefer silence and the sound of others working. Background chatter can be soothing, although sometimes it simply distracts. Having some pop or rock station on with endless commercials, to boot, and I get headaches, lose the ability to concentrate and feel drained from the abusive mental stress.

What I find worst are the inescapable environmental sounds at home. I live on a fairly busy street that is subject to steady traffic (noisy cars, trucks, buses, emergency vehicles with sirens), punctuated by two rush hour periods, one from about 6:15 am to 9:00 am and another from about 3:30 pm to 6:45 pm weekdays. There is also a noticeable morning rush on Sundays, surprisingly, from around 6:30 am to 9:30 am. Saturday is the one day that doesn't have any peaks I have yet noticed.

The bedrooms are on the street and the noise level is so high that I was unable to sleep past about 6:00 am in the summer months. I rarely go to bed before 1:00 am, so I was not getting much more than 5 hours of sleep a night and I was a wreck for a couple of years. I couldn't even nap, due to the noise level in the afternoon. In the winter, it was better, as I had the window shut, but it didn't help much. The noise is so bad that I am unable to have a conversation on the telephone with the windows open. Sometimes I have to shut myself into the bathroom in order to hear. Sound seems to radiate outward and upward, since I am strongly affected by it here on the third floor. I used to live on a much busier street, but I was in the basement, and I had no problem with noise whatsoever.

Anyway, about 2 years ago, I couldn't take it any longer and I moved the bedroom furniture into the living room, which faces to the back of the building, off the road, and I put the dining room furniture into the bedroom.

I now have a very large bachelor condo, with a rather sizeable living room area, a kitchen nook and a sleeping area, all in one room; plus a gymnasium with weightlifting equipment and punching bags and darts in what used to be the large bedroom; and a dining room in what used to be the small bedroom. I really like it, as I have my stereo and television and food all close to where I spend my time: either sitting on the chesterfield or chairs, stretched out on the living room floor or in bed. The remote controls work from everywhere 

But the back side of the building faces the golf course, which got sold last year, and they want to start a housing development  Apparently, the plan includes a park, which I hope will be in the middle of the former golf course... and right across from my balcony!

Then, there is also the airport. It is sure noisy sometimes. When there is cloud cover, especially in winter when it is very cold, the sound of the jets taking off travels all the way to where I live. Also, in the summer, I have the balcony door open at night, which exacerbates the sound from the airport. The worst is not the regular airliners taking off, but the mechanical shop where they work on the engines. They make a racket, letting the engines run at top speed for hours at a time until 1:00 am. I'm not that close to the airport: I am on the west side of a wide valley and the airport is on the east side of it, and somewhat to the north. Still, the airport is a source of environmental noise that plagues me from time to time, but not like the continual drone of the vehicular traffic from the road.


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## Novelette (Dec 12, 2012)

My ears are very sensitive to loud or prolonged noise, a sensitivity no doubt exacerbated by frequent migraines.

Telephones are a sore point for me as well, and I'll shut up before I go off on a rant over them. But let it be known, Weston, that you are not alone in these matters.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

What bugs me the most are lawnmowers, weed-whackers and the lot. Beautiful Saturday afternoon and you have to listen to that all day.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

GreenMamba said:


> What bugs me the most are lawnmowers, weed-whackers and the lot. Beautiful Saturday afternoon and you have to listen to that all day.


Around my chateau, they start cutting the grass at 7 AM, so damn annoying!


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Don't they realize I need a full night's sleep because I have a full day of posting and listening ahead?
Perhaps, I should just go out and tell them..........maybe not.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Unless it would be hazardous to your welfare or that of your colleagues, or considered just downright anti-social, I'd try those sound-insulating / isolating earphones.

I thought for a moment of the foam rubber earplugs (which I've used about every time I've picked up a power tool) but the thought of wearing them for an eight-hour day seems repellent -- but if you must be accountable as respondent to hearing a phone, or a number of spoken communications, foam ear plugs would help a lot.

There is far too much unwelcome sound all around most of us, even 'country folk' get noise from the machinery in our buildings, the B-flatish buzz of fluorescent lighting in the workplace, the motor buzz of the refrigerator, air conditioner, and it goes on and on, at home, in the car, on the bus or train, on the streets, and in the workplace.

_No wonder so many people are currently walking about with earbuds, using music as a sound barrier to blot out all the other sounds._ Imagine if it were quiet -- you might listen to music only when you wanted to 

Shutting a good deal of that down or off is not at all unreasonable.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Ingélou said:


> People who talk in libraries make me angry too. It's not just the noise - it's the fact that like you I remember a time when a librarian would have asked them to be quiet, but now libraries are no longer 'supposed' to be silent. So the whole situation seems unfair, and the talkers very selfish. But I know if I spoke to them, they'd be rude or self-justifying back & I'd feel even more stressed. If it was in my workplace, I'd have to wear earplugs or something. You have my sympathies.
> 
> A year or two back, on British television, there was a series where a number of busy secular people went on retreat at a monastery where the abbot believed that we all need more silence. Every day they had to spend hours in silence - they were allowed to read, just not to phone or talk to the others. Inevitably, some cheated. But for those that gave it a try, there were huge dramatic results psychologically - getting a glimpse of God, coming to terms with grief, feeling calmer, getting family situations sorted. It hasn't made me build silence into my day but I can really see the point of it.


There's just no end to the rudeness and selfishness. I don't attend the cinema anymore because of all the cell phone texting. Those phones light up the theater! So distracting. I remember when I was a kid, if I made the slightest sound watching a film, an intimidating looking matron, who looked like she hadn't been allowed to eat for a week, would shine a flashlight in my face. I got the message. Days long gone!


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

I spent a small fortune at Ear Plug Superstore. I still have a drawer full of all kinds: soft ones, reusable, foam, some with a central stick to push it in further, ones for aircraft pilots, European models, American ones, some rated at various decibels of protection, etc. My ear canals were so sore that I could only wear them for 2-3 hours at a time and after a few days, my ears were so sore that I had to give them a rest for a few days.

Next, I tried white noise. I used to run the radio all night, tuned to a steady static between stations. That actually worked pretty well, for a bit, but only in the wintertime, when I had the window closed. It wasn't too reliable, though. One morning I was awakened by talking in my room. It turned out that the static was the frequency for a delivery service of some sort.

Then, I thought I would buy a sophisticated white noise machine. There are hundreds of models online to choose from, with programs, etc.

In the end, repurposing the rooms turned out to be the easiest solution.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

I don't mind if there is a "buzz" which the mind, concentrating on other things, can easily cancel out. I think living in a city with dense population, some sort of noise is a givens.

However, I like most of the rest of the population it seems, hate things that kind of stand out amidst the grey mass type background noise. One is listening to mobile phone conversation in public places, including on public transport. Its gotten to the stage that trains now have 'silent carriages' where you are not allowed to use a mobile phone. Its a bit like a concert, its about etiquette and respecting others. Other things like loud talking and using earbuds in a way that the whole carriage can hear the music only the individual listening to it should hear are also strongly discouraged.

But I really dislike hearing some conversation about last night's dinner party, about what you bought at some sale, or what or who you got up to in aspects of your life that should be private. I don't want it in my face! Some people enjoy that sort of eavesdropping, I for one don't.

Like many here, I also hate mechanical things like leaf blowers. I think some people use them just to spite their neighbours! Seriously.

As for retreats, its become a fad here too. Something like a week without the trappings of modern life, eg. the dreaded mobile phone and all other electronic devices. Its funny how people are just glued to these things (related to FOMO, which I did a thread about recently here). We need to go to a remote place, pay someone to take it away from us, then experience some sort of Nirvana.

No guessing, this is not what I think most people would call an ideal situation, but we've got to live with it for better or worse (or live further out of town, amidst more nature, but then have to endure a long commute in and out for work, etc.).


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Misery loves company, as they say, so I am gratified with the responses. It a shame others also have to put up with the noise though.

I should have mentioned I listen to a lot of music in headphones at work (much of it metal!) but perversely I don't like to turn it up too much because I don't want the bleed through bothering the other workers. I know that sounds crazy. I also made about 8 minutes of white noise I put on endless loop, but none of these things totally drown out the distractions. I also don't want to damage my hearing just to focus on my job. I suppose I could look into higher tech, more expensive headphones. 

We have an open office (stupid idea if you ask me) and between the exuberant phone conversations and people yelling across the room rather than getting up and visiting quietly to discuss work related issues, I'm at my wits end. 

Some people say, "If you had ever had kids you'd learn to tune out the noise." But that's just BS (Business Speak). I've been exposed to this for well over a decade, so it's not a matter of acclimation. I think it gets harder as I get older too. Meditation is supposed to help, but I have had trouble learning to do that. Having sleep apnea, I tend to fall asleep as soon as I start relaxing. 

Anyway, thanks for commiserating.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

greenmamba said:


> what bugs me the most are lawnmowers, weed-whackers and the lot. Beautiful saturday afternoon and you have to listen to that all day.


yesssssssssssssssss


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

I would tell them to stop but they must all be deaf by now!


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

Buy a pair of sound isolating earphones with active noise cancellation. I fly a weekly commuter and these babies reduce airplane noise to nothing. I had a horrific crying baby right behind me on a plane from Puerto Vallarta this Christmas break and the poor guy next to me with his Apple earbuds seemed ready to jump out the emergency edit but all heard was the sweet silence between the notes of Chopin. Can't really recommend them enough.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Couchie said:


> Buy a pair of sound isolating earphones with active noise cancellation. I fly a weekly commuter and these babies reduce airplane noise to nothing. I had a horrific crying baby right behind me on a plane from Puerto Vallarta this Christmas break and the poor guy next to me with his Apple earbuds seemed ready to jump out the emergency edit but all heard was the sweet silence between the notes of* Chopin*. Can't really recommend them enough.


Not Wagner? .............................


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

What brand and price range of noise cancelling should I look for? I'm ready to invest several hundreds US if needed to cure this thing. It is that bad. My phone at work runs through the computer so I get visual notification if it rings, so no problem there.


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## lupinix (Jan 9, 2014)

sounds are scary


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

It depends on the exact kind of noise with me. I stayed in houses right next to a major railroad line and a few miles away from the O'Hare airport in Chicago with several planes going in for the landing low overhead at any given minute, and it never bothered me. My office is quite a noisy place too, but I have learned to filter the noise out (with the exception of one German-speaking coworker - she sounds too loud and too musical for me not to pay attention to). 

However, things like rap or bad pop music booming out of someone's car or my neighbors doing a renovation job in their apartment with hammers and drills do bother me.


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## Flamme (Dec 30, 2012)

I have a issue with noice whether its an too loud traffic, yellin, breaking bottles or a sound of hilti driller or some other equipment...My old neighborhood was VERY noisy close to a down town centre and traffic, i could hear buses in liek 4 o clock very loud, but the major issue were young hoodlums who gathered in a near by park...From like 12 am to 3 am!!! Making a lot of noise, singing, breaking bottles doing all sorts of things, in the night even normal talk sounds loud, but yelling...New ''hood'' is a bit suburb but much more intimate and quiet although there is railway station near by and i can hear trains at night, highway is very close also, and also planes from a airport not to near but not so far away neither...Classical and other mostly r'n'r music was my soundscape always


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## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

I have to say, every time I see this thread title, this song gets stuck in my head:


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Well, I have to agree with Brian.^ I'd use this in headphones to drown out my coworkers. Weirdly I can come closer to focusing with this going on than with people yelling across the room or yelling into a phone. Must be how my neurons are wired up.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

In NYC I had a girlfriend whose apartment had the elevated subway train right outside her window. The train seemed to roar through every 20 minutes or so. That relationship didn't last too long.


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## presto (Jun 17, 2011)

I can put up with a fair amount of noise, It's selfish noise that winds me up though, loud music from cars and adjoining gardens. The worst one is people letting their dogs bark for hours on end!


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## Flamme (Dec 30, 2012)

Ingélou said:


> People who talk in libraries make me angry too. It's not just the noise - it's the fact that like you I remember a time when a librarian would have asked them to be quiet, but now libraries are no longer 'supposed' to be silent. So the whole situation seems unfair, and the talkers very selfish. But I know if I spoke to them, they'd be rude or self-justifying back & I'd feel even more stressed. If it was in my workplace, I'd have to wear earplugs or something. You have my sympathies.
> 
> A year or two back, on British television, there was a series where a number of busy secular people went on retreat at a monastery where the abbot believed that we all need more silence. Every day they had to spend hours in silence - they were allowed to read, just not to phone or talk to the others. Inevitably, some cheated. But for those that gave it a try, there were huge dramatic results psychologically - getting a glimpse of God, coming to terms with grief, feeling calmer, getting family situations sorted. It hasn't made me build silence into my day but I can really see the point of it.


Yes the loud noises and sounds unpleasant to outr ears can make us nervous, stressful and unfocused...I have found hard to concentrate when i study if there is some loud noise i used to study in libraries or during the night


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